Indiana Dunes is one of the worst national parks. Wait… what? Compared to the more “grand” parks in the national park system, it’s – admittedly – a bit underwhelming. The park lacks memorable views, its hikes are limited, and urban encroachment among its disjointed units dismantles the escapism that other parks offer. This makes it easy for travel enthusiasts to lambaste the park whilst ranking it amongst the 63 US national parks. So, you’ll often hear reasons not to visit Indiana Dunes National Park rather than reasons to seek it out.
For a long time, I was one of the Indiana Dunes haters. It was hard for me to find the same enjoyment in the park as I did in places like Yosemite or Big Bend. I wanted longer hikes, bigger wildlife, and more solitude than the park’s meager setting could offer. But… after 3 visits to the park, I’ve finally come to understand why this underappreciated park is such a special place.
Plan your visit to Indiana Dunes National Park
What Are the Indiana Dunes?
Indiana Dunes National Park resides on the shores of Lake Michigan, near the sprawling Chicago skyline. The park protects a 20-mile-long section of wilderness along the lake shore. Near the shoreline, rolling sand dunes reach inland where they interact with a collection of forests, marshlands, and prairies. This unique blend of ecosystems houses some of the richest biodiversity in the entire country. The park’s ~1,400 species of plants and ~370 species of birds ranks it fourth among all national parks in biodiversity… even though it is the sixth smallest national park.
The park is therefore known for its diverse hikes. In only a few miles of hiking, visitors can encounter several ecosystems, hundreds of plant species, and dozens of animal species. Perhaps Indiana Dunes’ biggest draw, however, is the ability to climb its namesake dunes, paired with a beach day on the shores of Lake Michigan. Paddling, fishing, cycling, and camping are other popular activities in the park.
Visitor Statistics at Indiana Dunes
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was established in 1966. Fifty years later, a group of senators from Indiana sponsored a bill to redesignate the park and bring it more recognition. Finally, in 2019, Indiana Dunes became America’s 61st national park. In the 5 years since the park’s redesignation, it has seen nearly a 50% increase in visitors compared to the 10 years before.
More than 2 million people visit Indiana Dunes National Park every year. Indiana Dunes sits in close proximity to Chicago, Indianapolis, and Detroit. With so many cities nearby, it’s within a 3-hour drive for over 30 million people! In other words: it’s the closest national park for 1 in 11 people in the United States. Its location, therefore, makes it an easy and convenient place to take a day trip or spend a weekend.
Why Should You Visit Indiana Dunes?
But anyway… enough about the park! You came so I could persuade you to make a trip all the way to northern Indiana to check out Indiana Dunes. Here are 9 reasons why should give Indiana Dunes National Park a chance…
1. Indiana Dunes’ Biodiversity
As mentioned above, Indiana Dunes is renowned for its incredible – and surprising – biodiversity. Its biodiversity is impressive for a park that is surrounded by urban development. The resources that the park protects are under constant threat from pollution and human disruption, making it hard to understate how important of a park Indiana Dunes is.
Within the park, there are many hikes that explore this incredible biodiversity. On the same trail, you might encounter oak forests, black oak savannas, marshlands, bogs, and prairies… all amidst the park’s namesake dunes.
Wildlife abounds at Indiana Dunes, too. Small mammals like foxes, raccoons, chipmunks, and squirrels are common in the park, as are white-tailed deer. The park is also home to an incredible variety of bird species… but more on that later! Keep an eye out for furry friends while you hike or camp in the park, but keep your distance and DO NOT FEED THEM.
Here are a few hikes that highlight Indiana Dunes National Park’s incredible biodiversity:
- Cowles Bog (4.3 miles, 216 feet elevation gain): My absolute favorite trail in the park, Cowles Bog starts along boardwalks that meander through a swamp. The trail then gives way to a black oak savanna and eventually reaches a series of dunes along Lake Michigan’s shoreline.
- Paul H. Douglas Trail thru Miller Woods (3.5 miles, 124 feet elevation gain): Similar to Cowles Bog, this trail first navigates boardwalks over a series of ponds before releasing hikers into a black oak savanna. The trail eventually meanders through some dunes and ends at the beach, where you can get a distant view of Chicago on a clear day.
- Dune Ridge (0.7 miles, 88 feet elevation gain): This short trail ascends a dune that offers views of the Great Marsh to the south, while navigating a collection of ecosystems.
- Tolleston Dunes (2.9 miles, 180 feet elevation gain): Sitting further inland, this hike climbs its namesake dunes while passing through wetlands and forests.
2. To Conquer the 3 Dune Challenge
Located within Indiana Dunes State Park – adjacent to the national park – the 3 Dune Challenge has gained popularity in recent years due to its dub as a “challenge.” As the name implies, this hike traverses the three highest dunes in the state park: Mount Jackson, Mount Holden, and Mount Tom. Though the hike is short at 1.5 miles, the journey requires hikers to slog through hundreds of feet of deep, shifting sand… for a total of 552 feet of elevation gain. One step on a sand dune can feel like four or five steps on solid ground, so it’s important not to underestimate what might otherwise seem like an easy hike.
The 3 Dune Challenge offers stellar views of Lake Michigan and nearby Chicago on the horizon, making it a worthwhile excursion while you’re visiting Indiana Dunes. Check out the hike on AllTrails or visit Earth Trekkers for a detailed overview of the hike.
Keep in mind: if you plan to conquer the 3 Dunes, you’ll have to pay a separate entrance fee to enter Indiana Dunes State Park. It costs $7 per vehicle, or $5 if you’re an Indiana resident. While you’re there, consider checking out the park’s other trails or visiting its well-kept beach.
3. Mount Baldy
Mount Baldy is one of Indiana Dunes National Park’s must-see attractions. A “wandering dune,” Baldy moves 5-10 feet per year. Winds from Lake Michigan constantly shift and reshape the dune. In a few years, the parking lot near the dune may be completely buried in sand!
At ~125 feet tall, it’s impressive to see Mount Baldy up close. Its southern face is a steep, smooth pile of stand that rises steeply towards the sky. Its summit is accessible via a short, steep hiking trail that is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. The only way to visit the top of this dune is via ranger-led hiking tours that take you to the summit while offering interesting facts about the history of the dune. Times and days for these tours can be found on the park’s calendar.
Like other dune summits in and around the park, it’s important to be prepared for a tough slog to the top. Climbing a huge pile of sand is much easier said than done.
4. Indiana Dunes is in Chicago’s Backyard
Chicago is an hour’s drive from the national park, and its skyline can even be seen from the park’s beaches. Its proximity to Indiana Dunes makes it easy for residents of the Windy City to visit the national park. And – thanks to O’Hare International Airport – it also makes it easy for those visiting from afar to visit the park via cheap(ish) flights and car rentals.
If you love nature but also like the speed of a big city, consider pairing Indiana Dunes with a weekend in Chicago. The city offers no shortage of things to do. See the list below for some “must-do” activities courtesy of a friend who’s local to the Wrigleyville area:
- Walk or ride along the Lakefront Trail
- Enjoy the Chicago Architecture Center River Cruise
- See exotic animals at the Lincoln Park Zoo
- Visit a museum, including, Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, or Griffin Museum of Science + Industry
- Kayak on the Chicago River
- Attend a concert at Millennium Park (or, just visit the park!)
- Get a drink at Three Dots and a Dash
- Enjoy sweeping views of the city atop the Willis Tower or John Hancock Center
- Catch a ball game at Wrigley Field in the summer
- Indulge in craft beer at a brewery, like, Hop Butcher for the World, Half Acre Beer Co, Old Irving Brewing Co, or Goose Island
5. To Enjoy a Beach Day
Indiana Dunes is located along a beach, so you’d think a beach day would be a good way to spend your time, right?
In the summer, Indiana Dunes National Park & State Park both maintain great beaches to relax and swim in Lake Michigan. In the national park, West Beach is the most popular spot for beach-goers. It is the only beach in the national park with lifeguards and a shower/bathroom facility. If you don’t mind crowds and prefer amenities, consider a visit to West Beach. The beach in the state park – a few miles from West Beach – offers a bathroom facility and lifeguards.
If you’re looking for some solitude and feel comfortable enjoying the beach without a lifeguard, there are plenty of spots to enjoy the sounds of Lake Michigan on your own. My personal favorite spots are Kemil & Dunbar Beach and the beach at the end of the Miller Woods hike, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.
See the NPS’s website for a full list of named beaches in the national park.
6. Birds, Birds, and More Birds!
Indiana Dunes ranks among the Top 5 national parks with the highest number of recorded bird species. Among its over 350 confirmed species (according to the NPS), some the park’s most common residents include the northern cardinal, American robin, red-winged blackbird, common yellowthroat, common loon, and great blue heron, among many others.
The park’s abundance of birds makes it – unsurprisingly – a great place for birdwatching. In fact, birding is so popular that the area hosts the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival every year in May. This festival is an excellent time for bird enthusiasts to visit the park.
To enjoy birdwatching at Indiana Dunes National Park, hiking or camping in the park offer the best front-row seats. Any of the hikes in the “Biodiversity” section are a good bet, or you can check out the following:
- Heron Rookery (3.2 miles, flat): Following the Little Calumet River, this trail once passed over 100 great blue heron nests. Though most of these nests have since relocated, the trail continues to offer birdwatching opportunities on a long, flat jaunt through the woods of the park. The Heron Rookery trail is also notable for its showcase of wildflowers in the spring.
- Great Marsh (1.4 miles, flat): This short, flat hike traverses part of the “largest interdunal wetland in the Lake Michigan watershed.” The wetland is a stunning habitat of wading birds like herons and egrets, and the ecosystems around the trail house a number of other bird species, too.
Visit Wikipedia for a more comprehensive list of the birds found in the park.
7. Indiana Dunes + Michigan
If you’re looking for more nature time outside of Indiana Dunes, I have good news… Michigan is a hop, skip, and a jump away from the park!
Michigan’s western edge is chalk-full of exciting destinations. Warren Dunes State Park, for example, is only 30 miles northeast of Indiana Dunes. This popular state park contains dunes over 200 feet tall, which makes for exciting hikes and great views of the lake. You can pair a visit to this state park with an evening in New Buffalo, a charming small town with access to the lake.
As you continue north along Lake Michigan’s shoreline, you can find Grand Mere, Van Buren, and Saugatuck Dunes State Parks. If you head even further north – a 4.5 hours’ drive from Indiana Dunes – you’ll find the mother of all dunes along Lake Michigan at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Here, dunes soaring over 500 feet high offer great recreation opportunities. Plus – once you’re that far north – you might as well visit the Upper Peninsula, right?
No matter how you slice it, Michigan is full of exciting natural wonders. Visit Pure Michigan to learn more about the things to do there.
8. To Catch an Epic Sunset
Indiana Dunes National Park surprised me in the first evening of my first visit. My wife (then girlfriend) and I pulled up to Kemil Beach shortly after the sun had set. We parked and walked across a boardwalk over a small dune… our jaws dropped when we discovered a gorgeous palette of colors with the distant lights of Chicago in the foreground. As it got dark, we enjoyed the changing colors as the waves of Lake Michigan crashed against the sand.
As I learned in 2019, Indiana Dunes is a great place to catch a sunset. The park’s many beaches are a great place to watch the setting sun in the summer & fall.
9. It’s Friendly for Beginners
Perhaps the greatest appeal of Indiana Dunes is its accessibility. Its mix of challenging and chill activities and proximity to major population centers makes it family-friendly and enjoyable for people of all ages. Visiting the park is less of a commitment than other national parks, and you don’t have to be an endurance athlete to get the most out of its offerings. It’s an approachable park, which might explain why over 2 million people visit Indiana Dunes every year.
Flat boardwalk hikes, a well-developed campground, accessible beaches, and overlooks with short approaches all highlight some of the “easy” activities to enjoy at Indiana Dunes.
Getting Around at Indiana Dunes
Upon your first visit to Indiana Dunes National Park, you might find the park’s disjointed layout confusing. The reasoning for this is complicated, but I’ll boil it down as best I can. In the 20th century, conservationists hoping to protect the dunes fought with businessmen seeking to exploit Lake Michigan for economic gains. This fight for land resulted in a fragmented series of land parcels, some protected by the federal government and/or conservation groups, others snatched by greedy industrialists. You can read more about the creation of the park here.
History aside, the layout of the park necessitates that you have a car when you visit Indiana Dunes (unfortunately). Most of the park hugs the Lake Michigan shoreline, with US Route 12 acting as a “bridge” between the various units. See the map below for an idea of the park’s layout…
See the section below for a breakdown of the park’s segmented units, listed from west to east.
The West Side
At the park’s westmost end, you can find the Paul H. Douglas Center and one of my favorite hikes in the park through Miller Woods to the lakefront. Three miles east of Miller Woods, US12 takes you to the West Beach area.
West Beach is the park’s most popular beach, as it’s the only one with developed facilities and lifeguards. It’s easy to pair a day on the beach with a trudge through the Dune Succession, Long Lake, and West Beach trails. These three hikes can be done on their own (~1 mile each) or as a longer combination hike that links the three trails together. On the other side of US12 from West Beach, you can find the Tolleston Dunes hike and overlook.
Cowles Bog
Several activities are clustered into the Cowles Bog unit. Here, you can access the Calumet Bike Trail, a 9-mile gravel trail and stretches all the way to Mount Baldy. This is also the home of my favorite hike in the park: Cowles Bog. Across US12, you’ll find the park’s headquarters, the visitor center, and the Bailly Homestead. The latter – a National Historic Landmark – is a former fur-trading outpost that was once an important stop on the journey between Chicago & Detroit in the 1800s.
Indiana Dunes State Park
Separate from the national park but containing its own slate of activities, the state park is a great addition to a visit at Indiana Dunes. The park has a well-developed beach and is home to the aforementioned Three Dune Challenge, a fun but difficult hike across a series of tall dunes.
If you visit the state park, remember that it charges a separate entry fee: $7 for out-of-state residents, $5 for in-state.
The Great Marsh
In this area you can find the Dune Ridge and Calumet Dunes hikes. Along Lakefront Drive, a few secluded beaches offer respite from crowds and provide great vantage points for a summer sunset. Further along US12 lies Mount Baldy, the wandering dune that is a fascinating point of interest in the park. Dunewood Campground – the park’s main campground – is also located here.
Heron Rookery & Pinhook Bog
These two units are separate from the rest of the park, sitting further inland and south of the main park. Both units offer great nature walks, with opportunities to see some of the bird species at Indiana Dunes and explore the park’s varied ecosystems. I wouldn’t necessarily call either of these units “must-sees” on your first visit to Indiana Dunes, but they are great to check out on return visits. Visit these units to check out the previously-mentioned Heron Rookery hike and the shorter Pinhook Bog trail.
Indiana Dunes National Park Map
The map below provides an overview of the park’s attractions, trailheads, and activities described above.
Where to Stay at Indiana Dunes
Indiana Dunes National Park is close in proximity to several towns & cities in northern Indiana, and Chicago is only an hour away from the park. This means that hotel options near the park are plentiful. If you want a hotel, I’d recommend looking along I-94 and I-90 south of Burns Harbor. Check any major booking site to see your options.
If you’re looking for a classic camping experience at Indiana Dunes, look no further than Dunewood Campground. The campground is close in proximity to several trails and points of interest in the park. It features 66 sites, most of which you can drive and park to. Dunewood also hosts well-maintained restrooms, showers, and potable water. What more could you want for a comfortable weekend of camping?
Make reservations for Dunewood Campground on Recreation.gov.
Tips for Your First Visit to Indiana Dunes
Indiana Dunes National Park offers lots to do for visitors of all shapes, sizes, and skill levels. Still, it’s good to come to the park with the proper preparedness and knowledge to enjoy your trip.
- Beware of ticks. Ticks can be found in the park during warmer months. They can latch onto clothing or hiking boots and lodge themselves into your skin without your knowledge. Ticks can carry diseases such as Lyme disease, among others. Wear bug spray at Indiana Dunes during the summer, and read about tick safety on the NPS website.
- Prepare for mosquitoes. Like ticks, mosquitoes are common in the park during warmer months. Their bites cause persistent itchiness, and they can carry diseases. Be sure to apply DEET-based bug spray regularly while you hike or camp.
- Watch out for poison ivy. Three leaves: that’s an important rule to remember. Poison ivy can be found everywhere at Indiana Dunes from spring until the fall. If you stray from any of the hiking trails, it’s likely you’ll brush against this plant if you’re not paying attention. The urushiol oils on its leaves can cause allergic reactions that last days to weeks. The NPS’s safety page provides some additional tips for identifying and avoiding poison ivy.
- Taper your expectations. Though I love Indiana Dunes National Park, it’s important to remember that it looks much different than other national parks in the United States. You won’t get the grand vistas of the Grand Canyon, rocky shorelines of Acadia, or cascading waterfalls of Yosemite… but THAT’S OKAY. It’s still an incredible place, it just requires the right mindset to appreciate it fully.
- Pick the season wisely. Every season at Indiana Dunes offers something to enjoy. Summer is a popular time for beach-goers, as the weather is warm and the sun shines often. However, summer also brings a multitude of bugs and poison ivy, something that other seasons evade. The fringe seasons – in spring and fall – are better times to go for a hike. Bugs are fewer, and either spring wildflowers or fall foliage can make the park even more beautiful. Winter sees the fewest visitors, but – during this time – you can discover a winter wonderland at Indiana Dunes that completely changes your perception of the park.
- Don’t underestimate rip currents. Swimming in Lake Michigan can yield danger in the form of rip currents, which have been responsible for injuries and deaths of beachgoers in the past. These currents can pull unsuspecting people underwater and away from shore. The best thing to do is to NOT panic and swim perpendicular to the shore… do not try to fight a rip current. Read more about rip currents on the NPS’s beach safety page.
In Conclusion…
Though Indiana Dunes National Park is often labeled as one of the “worst” national parks, there is plenty in this humble park to enjoy and appreciate. With some of the richest biodiversity in the entire country despite its close proximity to several large population centers, it’s an impressive nature preserve. I doubt I’ll convince anyone that Indiana Dunes is as incredible as our more grand national parks, but I hope I can convince people to visit and value the park.
Check out my guide page on Indiana Dunes for a streamlined summary of the park and its offerings. And – of course – visit paulintheparks.com for more guides, videos, and stories from America’s national parks!
— Paul