Dunes Highway

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Dunes Highway
Length:	25 miles (40 km)
Formed:	1899 through 1922[1]
Direction:	East-west
From:	Interstate 65, U.S. Route 20 in Gary, Indiana
To:	Porter/LaPorte county line
Major cities:	None
System:	U.S. Highway System

The Dunes Highway is the name for a section of U.S. Route 12 that is largely located within Porter County, Indiana. The Dunes Highway begins on the east side of Gary, Indiana (specifically, Interstate 65), travels through Portage, Indiana and ends on the west side of Michigan City, Indiana one half mile (0.8 km) east of the LaPorte County line. The Dunes Highway carries U.S. Route 12 near, but not on or within sight of, the shoreline of Lake Michigan.

This segment of U.S. 12 is about 25 miles (40 km) long. As the predecessor to Interstate 80, Interstate 90 and Interstate 94, this segment of road between Detroit, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois was one of the most important and most heavily traveled roads of the early 20th century.

The Dunes Highway is considered the gateway to Lake Michigan's picturesque dunes of northern Indiana and western Michigan. Access is provided to the dunes via the National Park Service's entrance to West Beach of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, between Beverly Shores, Indiana and a U.S. Steel mill. The State of Indiana Department of Natural Resources runs Indiana Dunes State Park, located further east at Indiana State Route 49.

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