Indiana Dunes State Park

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Indiana Dunes
Designation	State Park
Location	Indiana USA
Nearest City	Chesterton, Indiana
Coordinates	41°66′N, 87°04′W
Area	2,182 acres
Date of Establishment	1925
Governing Body	Indiana DNR

Indiana Dunes State Park is located 47 miles east of Chicago, Illinois. The beaches are bounded by Lake Michigan and the National Park Service operated Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The 1,530 acre (66.2 km²) Dunes Nature Preserve makes up the bulk of east side of the park and includes most of the park’s hiking trails and dune landscape. Like all Indiana state parks, there is a fee for entrance into the park.

The beaches were formed by winds coming off Lake Michigan, which drop sand when the wind hits plants, dunes, and hills. As the lake level of Lake Michigan dropped at the end of the Ice Age, the shoreline receded, and new dunes were formed along the lakeshore. Vegetation took over the previous dunes, and eventually forests grew on top of them. There are "blowouts" along the dunes, where dead stumps were revealed after the wind blew the sand from ontop of them; the most notable is Big Blowout.

Indians used the area for years; the Potawatomi and Miami chief among them. The Dunes were along trade routes the Indians from the Mississippi River used to trade goods with Indians along the Great Lakes.

[edit] Notable Attractions

Forest growing on dunes

Sand dunes
Singing sand
Smelt Fishing
Haunted Shores (Diana of the Dunes)

[edit] Facilities and activities

Swimming and Sunbathing A small portion of the shoreline is set aside as a public swimming beach and is protected by lifeguards between Memorial and Labor Day weekends. It is a clean, all sand beach. The remainder of the beach (approximately 2-miles) is open for sunbathing, beach combing, and other similar activities. Dogs are permitted on the non-swimming portion of the beach, so long as they are kept on a short leash and any feces is promptly and safely removed from the shores.
Beach house with concessions during summer season.
Observation platform near the top of 'Mt. Tom.' Looking west, Chicago can be seen above the forested sand dunes. Gary is also visible.
Birdwatching (A bird observation tower is located along Trail 10 overlooking a marsh community.)
Nature Center The nature Center is a year-round facility that has a wildlife observation window, library, and a large auditorium. An interpretive naturalist provides public hikes and programs.
Picnic Shelters
Hiking trails 16 miles (26 km), some of which pass not only the sand dunes, but historic structures and wet prairie
Guided Hiking Tours
Interpretive Naturalist Service
Arts and Crafts
Camping The campground was totally rebuilt in 2004. It has 140 roomy campsites laid out on sand with new, level, asphalt paved pads, 50 amp electrical hook-ups, picnic tables. Drinking water hydrants are located throughout the campground. The roads are newly laid out and paved in 2004, arranged in several connecting loops. The smoothly paved loops of roadway lend themselves to bicycling, rollerblading, etc. Most of the trees were spared during the rebuilding so that many sites have full or partial shade. There are two, large, newly built shower house/restroom structures. There is a short, level forest path to the swimming beach.

The park also has a "Youth Tent Area" separate from the public campground.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Indiana State Parks
Brown County - Chain O' Lakes - Charlestown - Clifty Falls - Falls of the Ohio - Fort Harrison - Harmonie - Indiana Dunes - Lincoln - McCormick's Creek - Mounds - O'Bannon Woods - Ouabache - Pokagon - Potato Creek - Prophetstown - Shades - Shakamak - Spring Mill - Summit Lake - Tippecanoe River - Turkey Run - Versailles - Whitewater Memorial - White River