Protecting a series of extraordinary sand dunes, beaches, oak forests and wetlands, Indiana Dunes National Park is natural oasis on the urbanized and industrialized south shore of Lake Michigan.
Formerly known as Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana Dunes was redesignated as a national park in 2019. This fascinating park protects fifteen miles of Lake Michigan shoreline between the towns of Gary and Michigan City, as well as inland dunes, forests, lakes and streams.
It’s a natural oasis amid a heavily urbanized and industrialized landscape in northwestern Indiana, only a short drive from bustling Chicago. Indiana Dunes National Park consists of several separate areas, a patchwork of federally protected parklands. It also surrounds Indiana Dunes State Park.
The park’s main feature and namesake are the series of sand dunes that line the south shore of Lake Michigan. The youngest dunes are closest to the lake, while the further inland you go, the older the dunes are—an indication of the retreating shoreline of the lake.
Those older dunes are usually covered with trees and shrubs, some supporting thriving oak forests. Closer to the lake, the dunes get barer and are dotted with beach grasses. In between the Indiana Dunes, marshes and bogs provide a habitat to numerous plants and animals alike, especially birds. It’s one of the most biodiverse national parks in the United States.
The designation of Indiana Dunes as a National Park Service unit was a deal between conservationists and industrialists. When the U.S. Congress created Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 1966, it also created the adjacent Port of Indiana, a port that serves the area’s power plants and factories.
Now established as Indiana Dunes National Park, the park will forever protect these historic sand dunes and their related glacial landforms (both are the result of the retreat of huge ice sheets during the last Ice Age).
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Highlights of Indiana Dunes National Park
Indiana Dunes National Park protects a treasured lakeshore landscape, the home of numerous bird species, mammals, amphibians and other animals, as well as countless plants.
People also enjoy the park’s many opportunities for outdoor recreation, from sunbathing and swimming to kayaking, fishing, horseback riding and hiking. There’s lots to see and do in this beautiful park, enough to fill at least a day or two.
- Hike the 3-Loop Hike at West Beach
- Explore the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk
- Visit the Bailly Homestead, an 1820s fur trading post
- Visit the Chellberg Farm, an early-20th-century farmstead of a Swedish immigrant family
- Walk or ride horse through the Glenwood Dunes
- Picnic and watch the sunset over Lake Michigan at Lake View
- Hike the Cowles Bog Trail through wetlands and to a remote beach
- Walk the Mount Baldy Beach Trail past the park’s most dynamic sand dune
- Observe abundant birdlife, including swallows, herons, goldfinches, mallards, geese and sandhill cranes
- Sunbathe and swim at 15 miles of sandy beaches
Useful Info
Location: Northwestern Indiana, on the south shore of Lake Michigan
Nearest Cities: Chicago, Illinois; Michigan City and South Bend, Indiana; and several others
Area: 23.5 square miles (60.9 square kilometers)
Annual Visitors (2021): 3,117,210
Features: Miles of sand dunes, beaches and Lake Michigan shoreline, prairie landscapes, lakes, ponds and marshes, oak forests, wildlife such as beavers, turtles, raccoons and a plethora of bird species
Top Attractions: West Beach, Portage Riverwalk, Cowles Bog, Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm, Glenwood Dunes, Lake View Beach and Mount Baldy Beach
Popular Activities: Swimming in Lake Michigan and sunbathing on beaches, fishing, sailing, kayaking and canoeing, bird watching, cycling, hiking, picnicking and horseback riding
Suggested Stay: 1-2 days
Campgrounds:
- Dunewood Campground (66 sites)
More Information: National Park Service
Nearby National Parks:
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
- Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
- Gateway Arch National Park, Missouri
Indiana Dunes National Park Map
Credit for this map of Indiana Dunes National Park: National Park Service (NPS)
