Visiting Indiana Dunes National Park

My life goal has always been to travel the world. I want to see it all. Like for most people, COVID threw a wrench into those plans. But, COVID lockdowns also gave me the opportunity to start exploring things closer to home. The first summer of COVID I did all the National Parks in Utah for example. I’ve always loved hiking, but that really reinforced for me a desire to try and tackle another goal- to visit all the National Parks. I have a scratch off map and National Park passport book to help me keep my goals in sight. I am super thrilled that my dear friend Tricia shares this NP goal with me. Visiting Indiana Dunes National Park was an easy decision and weekend road trip for us.

Getting to Indiana Dunes National Park.

Visiting Indiana Dunes National Park

Indiana Dunes became a National Park in February of 2019, making it the 61st US National Park. Prior to becoming a NP it was a National Lakeshore starting in 1966. Indiana Dunes becoming a National Park is estimated to bring in an additional 800,000 people to the park. Admission to the park is $25 per car, but that ticket is good for a week. That is unless you have an America the Beautiful National Park pass. I got one when I did the Utah National Parks, and if you plan on visiting more than 3 National Parks in a year, it is well worth it at $80. The park is open every day from 6am-11pm. Get more information at their website.

Nature v. Industry

Way back in 1899, the first movement to preserve the dunes of Indiana began. People worried that industry was going to ruin the natural beauty of the landscape. A group led by Henry Cowles, a botanist, fought for the preservation of the seashore, but their efforts were lost with the beginning of WWI. In 1926 Indiana Dunes State Park was opened, but that only protected a small area. And thus the fight for the protection of the lakeshore and the fight for industry (in the form of steel plants and power plants) continued. Located between Gary and Michigan City, Indiana, no other National Park shows industry and recreation butting up right next to each other like Indiana Dunes. The National Park surrounds the Port of Indiana, so don’t be surprised when you see power plants and steel mills while you are exploring.

What do see and do in Indiana Dunes National Park

Indiana Dunes NP encompasses 15 miles of the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The National Park has so much to offer. Visitors can hike the trails, which include a variety of terrain including beaches, forest, wetlands and of course sandy dunes, there are over 50 miles of trails. Take in a swim at the beaches, or if ornithology is more your thing there are places for scouting birds. For you history buffs, you’ll enjoy the homesteads and World’s Fair progress houses. Despite all this, it’s a relatively small National Park at 15,000 acres and you can see a lot of the park in one day. But I think it is not to be missed! Click on the map below to get more info.

Indiana Dunes visitor center

I think most people would agree- it’s always a good idea to stop at the visitor center. The center at Indiana Dunes NP is very small with just a wee little info center and gift shop. And it’s the place to get the all-important passport stamp. This is one of four places where you can get your pass into the park (the others being at the Douglas Center, the West Beach entrance or online at recreation.gov). We found out when we visited that it was the weekend of the Outdoor Adventure Festival and admission was free!

Hiking at Indiana Dunes National Park

Three Loop/West Beach Trails

On suggestion of the park ranger we talked to at the visitor center, we drove west to the Three Loop/West Beach trails. These three loops combined are 3.4 miles total, but you can do them individually.

Loop 1- Dune Succession Trail

We started with the Dune Succession Trail by walking from the parking lot to the West Beach bathhouse onto the beach. This is when we first realized that in the National Park, you don’t walk on dunes but only on sandy marked trails (unlike the sand dunes in Michigan I talk about in this blog post or White Sands National Park in New Mexico where I went sand dune sledding!). This was our first glimpse of Lake Michigan, and it was lovely to dip our feet into. This is when we took sneakers off in lieu of sandals, which we stayed in the rest of the day.

There is a nice sandy path to follow, which soon becomes a wooden boardwalk. Climbing the steps gives a nice panorama, as seen in the video below, before leading back to the parking lot.

The Dune Succession loop was about a mile total, and does have some climbing regardless of which part you start (we ended on the steps visible from the parking lot, but we really enjoyed starting by the beach house and going the other way around).

Loop 2- West Beach

The second loop, West Beach, begins at the bottom of the steps near the parking lot and is 1.2 miles long. This part of the trail was relatively flat, but the highlight of the trail for us were all the butterflies we saw! They were all over the gay feather flowers. Later we realized this is part of the migration pattern of the monarchs, so that is a bonus of visiting Indiana Dunes National Park in September! We also spotted some prickly pear cacti, and dodged some obstacles set up for “America’s Race” that was being held the next day.

Loop 3- Long Lake

The third loop was Long Lake. This is 2.2 miles, follows along Long Lake (which really looked like a marsh when we visited), looped around the ranger station and had some elevation changes. It’s so interesting hiking a dune which is covered by trees and vegetation. You’d forget its a dune except for it being a hill and having the sand under your feet. The Long Lake trail is when we noticed a lot of poison ivy along the trail edges- so take care! My favorite part was a steep downhill in the sand at the end of the trail. We took advantage of a water filling station to clean the sand off our feet (the water is also filtered, and has a dog water station).

Portage Lakefront and River Walk

Our next stop was Portage Lakefront and River Walk. It is a .9 mi hike if you start at the beach and continue down the concrete fishing pier. This was a popular spot for beach-goers, and we saw a few fishermen too. Here is another reminder of the industry meeting nature I mentioned earlier because behind it is a steel mill.

Stop at the pavilion which is a certified “green building” and offers food at the snack shop (we opted for a beer and ice cream) to enjoy with lake views from the Adirondack chairs. Here we also saw more of the beautiful monarch butterflies as they migrate south.

Dune Ridge Trail

Dune Ridge trail is considered a moderate trail because it has some incline, but it was short (under 1 mile) and was mostly sand. This loop trail has forest, flowers, and an overlook of the Great Marsh. Located near Kemil Beach, there are facilities located at the trailhead, and leashed dogs are welcome on the trail.

Mount Baldy Beach Trail

Our last hike of the day was on the very east side of the National Park- Mount Baldy. Mount Baldy is the tallest dune in the park standing at 126 feet tall. While you can’t hike on the dune (there are some ranger-led tours offered at specific times, see the website for information), there is a nice 3/4 of a mile trail to and from the beach. The trail includes a steep slope and is therefore rated at moderate to rugged by the National Park. A power plant can be seen from the beach, but my favorite part of arriving at the beach was the access to the dune. I enjoyed climbing up to the top and running back down, as you can see from the video below.

Some fun facts about Mount Baldy- it is moving 5-10 feet a year, with the beach sand moving when the northwest wind exceeds 7mph. Also, because beach erosion is taking away more sand that is being brought in by the waves (because of the breakway built for Michigan City Harbor), sand has had to be brought in on four different occasions.

Other hikes…

There were several hikes I didn’t get to take while while visiting Indiana Dunes National Park (at least during this trip) including:

• Great Marsh Trail- this 1.3 mile easy hike is on packed dirt and gravel, and can get wet and muddy.
• Tolleston Dunes Trail – 2.9 miles moderate trail– this is a good hike if you are wanting some more dunes. There’s also a wheelchair accessible trail that leads to an observation deck.
• Paul H. Douglas Trail – there are two trails, the center loop which is an easy 0.9 miles and also a beach trail. The beach trail is 3.4 miles and rated as moderate with some elevation changes. An out-and-back trail at the far eastern end of the park takes hikers through some wetlands and sections of savanna-covered dunes in Miller Woods.
• Cowles Bog Trail – 4.7 miles and listed as moderate to rugged, this loop trail takes visitors through several distinct habitats, including swamps, bogs, and beaches. It has some challenging climbs up dunes.

Beaches and swimming at Indiana Dunes National Park

Yes, you can vacation in the midwest and go to a beach! Why travel for hours in a car, or fly, when you can drive a few short hours and have miles of glorious beaches, with beautiful blue water? True, it gets cold and depressing in the winter, but its a great option in the summer. And, as the signs near the beach frequently remind visitors- no sharks no salt. While I’m not a swimmer, here is some information about the beaches you can go to while visiting Indiana Dunes National Park (of which there are 15 miles worth):

• West Beach – This is a large beach with a bathhouse, picnic area with grills, and access to hiking trails.
• Portage Lakefront- located near the cement pier and the pavilion, this beach was a bit more rocky than some of the others we saw.
• Kemill Beach – This beach is below the Beverly Shores neighborhood of Beverly Shores.
• Mount Baldy Beach – This beach is at the far eastern end of the park, right near the Mount Baldy dune. This walk a bit of a hike to get to, but has a large parking lot.
• Porter Beach – This beach is within walking distance to the state park and its bathhouse.

Some things to keep in mind about the beaches:

1. All beaches and parking lots are open daily from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm and have potable water and restrooms. However, sometimes the lots are a short walk away, and many of them are small and fill up fast. So get there early!
2. Life guards are only on duty at the beach within the state park, and at West Beach from the Friday of Memorial Day through the Monday of Labor Day weekends. At all other beaches (or during “off-season”) you swim at your own risk.
3. Glass bottles are prohibited at all beaches. Alcohol is prohibited at West Beach and Porter Beach within the national park and is NOT allowed within the state park. You can picnic at the beaches, but may not have open fires.
4. Pets on leashes are allowed on all beaches except the swimming area at the state park beach and at West Beach.

Chellberg Homestead

The weekend we visited, the Outdoor Adventure Festival was happening, and many of the events were taking place at this homestead located in the park. Chellberg Homestead features a brick farmhouse that was built in 1895 (replacing a home that was destroyed in a fire in 1884). The Chellbergs, a Swedish immigrant family, lived and worked here for three generations. Today, you can visit the inside of the house and the farm.

The Chellberg Farm represents a typical 1890 through 1910 Swedish and Northwestern Indiana farmstead. Anders and Johanna Chellberg, with their young son Charles, made the long journey from Sweden to the states in 1863.  In 1869 they purchased 40 acres of land and established their own farm in what was a growing Swedish community, and later added 40 more acres. Three generations of the family lived here, until it was sold to the National Park Service in 1972. The farmhouse was restored in the 1980s by the National Park Service.

There are a few hikes that start at this homestead. Visitors can hike to the Bailly Homestead, home of independent fur-trader Joseph Bailly. This homestead, which was a fur-trading post, was authorized as a National Historic Landmark in 1962. We hiked to the Bailly family cemetery from- a 6/10 mile one-way hike.

Progress homes

I love visiting historical homes- and I was so excited when I read that Indiana Dunes National Park has 5 homes that were built for the 1933 Worlds Fair in Chicago. The houses were brought to the dunes in 1935 by barge (except for the log cabin which was dismantled and moved) and later used to promote the new community of Beverly Shores.

The world fair’s theme was “Century of Progress”- so the House of Tomorrow, Florida Tropical, Armco Ferro, Wieboldt-Rostone and Cyprus Log House featured innovative building materials. They also featured modern (for the time) appliances and new construction techniques.

The Pink House was built to promote tourism of Florida. Built with a goal of bringing the indoor and outdoor spaces together with the open roof terraces and overhanging balcony.

The Cypress Home was built to show the many different uses of cypress. The Armco Ferro house was built with the Fair committee’s criteria of “a house that could be mass produced and was affordable for the average American family” in mind. It was made with porcelain panels that could be replaced easily.

The Wieboldt-Rosone home was made with an experimental material called “Rostone” that was supposed to be very sturdy. Rostone was a mix of shale, limestone, and alkali but proved to not stand up to the weather conditions of the Great Lakes. It had to be replaced by concrete stucco (though you can still see remnants of the Rostone in certain areas of the house).

There is a fifth house that is in the process of being rehabilitated. Once a year visitors can do tours inside the homes- which are inhabited. Tickets sell out fast! Find out more about the tour on their website.

What to do near Indiana Dunes National Park

Indiana Dunes State Park

For an extra adventure, and if you have more time, consider doing the 3 dune challenge in the state park. Entrance to the state park (which sits inside the National Park) is an extra $12. Read more about it at their website. The three dunes are all taller than even Mount Baldy. The trail is 1.5 miles with 552 vertical feet. Definitely would earn your bragging rights if you complete it.

We stayed in the town of Michigan City, and Chesterton and Valparaiso are also cute towns near the National Park. When I travel, one of my favorite things to do are check out local breweries. There were quite a few nearby. Read about them below.

Shoreline Brewing

Located in Michigan City, Shoreline Brewery has a large outdoor patio and bar area, in addition to its indoor dining and bar area. It had quite an extensive food list and large draft and cocktail list. They are open from Sunday through Thursday from 11am-9pm and weekend from 11am-10pm.

Zorn Brew Works

Another large brewery in Michigan City, complete with indoor and outdoor seating, food and an extensive tap list, is Zorn Brew Works. Open every day from 11-11 or midnight on weekends. The legacy of Zorn started in 1871 by Phillip Zorn Jr., who ran a brewery in the same location. Though it closed in 1938, in 2015 operations of Zorn Brew Works began again in the former carriage house of the brewery. There was live music playing when we visited. They also have plans to open a hotel and event space nearby in the future.

Hunter’s Brewing

Hunter’s Brewing, located in Chesterton, IN, was first opened in 2013, but came under new owners in 2021. I loved this brewery- the owner was super friendly and had a great selection of beers, including 5 they brew themselves. There is an outside patio, games, and a small food menu.

Burn’em Brewing

Thanks for reading my blog post about visiting Indiana Dunes National Park. I hope it helps you plan your future trip to the National Park. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions for future trips. Until my next adventure!

-Catching Katie