What is it?
It’s Indiana Dunes: a beach day, a history lesson, a swamp, good woods, and some folksy small towns a stone’s throw from the Windy City.
The Ridley Review:
During the 2018 Winter Olympics, NBC was showing live primetime coverage of the Women’s Super G Alpine Skiing event. After the first 20 or so contenders had completed their run, NBC crowned Austria’s Anna Veith the gold medalist, cutting to a commercial before swapping to another event. It was at this point that an Czech snowboarder named Ester Ledecka started her run. Participating in her secondary sports, she was not expected to compete, let alone win. Yet she followed an usual course route to finish .01 seconds faster than Veith, claiming a gold medal so impossible that she thought the timer was broken at first.
Underdogs are common in sports and many other parts of life. But this was a whole different breed of upset: a super-sleeper if you will, so far off the radar they weren’t even considered. Which brings me to Indiana Dunes National Park: the Ester Ledecka super-sleeper of US national parks. I bet 99% of Americans don’t even know there are beaches on Lake Michigan, let alone a diverse ecosystem featuring river, prairies, bogs, forests, dunes, and all sorts of fun stuff to wet the beak with.
The Layout
Indiana Dunes is hodgepodge of non-connected pieces of land, which can be largely divided into a smaller, western portion near Gary, and a larger, Eastern section that wholly surrounds a state park inside. The visitor center, a good first stop, is actually outside the park boundary right off the intersection of highway 49 and Interstate 20, in the Eastern portion. If you have two days to visit, I recommend starting here and spending the first day in the Eastern section, and the second day in the West.
Activities
There are more options here for recreation than most national parks: it’s shoreline setting allows for all sorts of activities, from beach-bumming to kayaking and birding to swimming. Hiking is, per usual, the most popular activity, and there are an abundance of day-hikes to suit all tastes and fitness levels (overnight backpacking, due to the small size of the park, is less of an option). It’s close proximity to Chicago (you can actually see the skyline from the beach on a clear day) makes it a perfect weekend getaway, or part of a trip to the area. It’s not THE destination around, but a place that surprises both in beauty and by its lack of crowds. Fishing is legal with an Indiana Fishing License (info here), but you need to bring your own craft for all water activities.
The State Park
One important thing to note before going is that there is an Indiana State Park inside the Eastern section of the larger National Park. This is key because the state park system charges their own entry fee ($7 in state, $12 out-of-state) in addition to the fee to enter the national park.
Roads and Gas
I90 goes right near the park coming from either the West by Chicago or from the East. Interstates 6 and 421 come up from the South. There is gas outside the park at several nearby towns.
In an extremely rare twist of fate, there is public transportation available to the park: the South Shore Line from Chicago (tickets available here), starting at the Van Buren St. station. Bus options are also available from Chicago.
Rating:
It won’t crack any Top 10 list, but if in Chi-Town, you gotta go see it. A day of solitude and reflection amongst the dunes and laying on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Fast Facts:
Location: Northern Indiana bordering Lake Michigan, only an hour’s drive from downtown Chicago
Founded: 2019 (had been a National Lakeshore since 1966)
Size: 23.98 square miles
Cost: $25/car; $45/year1 (Just buy the $80 America the Beautiful pass – full access to every national park for a year)
Visited: 2023
Food & Lodging
Food
The only food service inside the park is located at the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk, in the Western half of the park. While there is also food at the Bathhouse in the state park portion of the Eastern half, you need to pay a separate state fee to access that part of the park.
There are loads of food options just outside the park, however. The towns of Chesterton, Portage, Porter, Michigan City, Hobart, and Lake Station have restaurants all within 30 minutes of the park, and Gary, Indiana is close by as well.
Lodging
The only traditional camping in the park is at the Dunewood Campground in the Eastern half of the park. For $25 a night, you can reserve a spot up to 6 months in advance on the recreation.gov website. May the odds be ever in your favor.
Other options include the Dunbar Group site for larger groups – $100 to reserve the one site that can hold up to 30 people and primitive (no amenities/rough sites) camping for $25 a night. Both are located in the Eastern half of the park.2
This park is perfect for a day trip from one of the nearby cities, but there are hotel options nearby outside the park.
Hikes and attractions:
Hikes
Centuries of Progress Houses – Eastern part. Less a hike and more so a stroll down E State Park Rd., this neat little jawn takes you back in time to the 1933 Chicago World Fair. These 5 houses, in various states of restoration, were designed to provide a vision of the future of home architecture (probably worth 7 figures in today’s housing market) It is cool to see what the future looked like back in the Great Depression. Guided tours are given several times of year, so check the NPS site for details. Several homes are resided in, so respect their privacy!
Cowles Bog Trail – Eastern part. A very neat trail that provides just the tip for each of the park’s ecosystems. Parking at one of two parking lots on Mineral Springs Road, you follow a straightaway for about a mile, taking you along the park’s largest and most scenic bog. Some cool flowers, plants, and wildlife might show up on your route. Then you reach the loop portion of the hike, which takes you through some moderately-dense and moderately-hilly forest and brush before reaching the Big Kahuna: the dunes. From the top you get your first glimpse of Lake Michigan, then descend to the ground, getting close to the beach. The sand hiking back up the dunes on the return trip is what makes this trip a beast if you aren’t in good shape.
West Beach Trails – Western portion. 3 different trails that can be combined into one, epic hike: Long Lake Trail, West Beach Trail, and Dune Succession Trail. Each are about 1 mile loops on their own; I did the West Beach and Dune Succession Trails, which I feel is a good combo if you don’t have a ton of time. The West Beach trail takes you to Long Lake and along it’s shore for a bit, and also takes you up a nice sand dune. The Dune Succession trail is the real money maker here: it brings you across multiple dunes, through a wooded section, down to the pristine shore of West Beach on Lake Michigan. There is surprising elevation change – this is no joke in the sand! Some spectacular views, and you are rewarded with one of the most unexpectedly beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen.
Big-Name Hikes I haven’t done
Tolleston Dunes – Western portion, 2.9 miles of dunes and marsh-y lands
Little Calumet River Trail – Eastern portion. 3.4 miles when combined with several smaller trails into a loop. Goes along a river and a restored prairie3
Great Marsh Trail – Eastern portion, 1.3 miles of marsh-y goodness
National Park Rankings
- Yosemite National Park
- Olympic National Park
- Zion National Park
- Mount Rainier National Park
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Arches National Park
- Canyonlands National Park
- Crater Lake National Park
- Indiana Dunes National Park
- Shenandoah National Park
- Capitol Reef National Park
- Acadia National Park
- Redwood National Park
- Pinnacles National Park
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
A note: as with all reviews to come, this will be updated upon any re-visit to the park. Feel free to comment or send in your own reviews or recommendations and we will get it added here!
Where does Acadia fit in your rankings?
You will have to wait to see! It’s coming soon