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The Glenwood Dunes Trail is a horse and hiking trail at Indiana Dunes National Park. It was formerly known as the Ly-Co-Ki-We Trail and sits south of Indiana Dunes State Park.
Trail System
The Glenwood Dunes Trail is 6.4 miles long and is the longest trail in the park. It can be challenging because the ground is very loose from the horses. I wasn’t too thrilled by the trail in general.
The full trail system at Glenwood covers almost 15 miles. Extensions include the 4.4 mile Dunewood Trace Campground Trail; the 2.6 mile Glenwood Dunes Extension Trail; and the ½ mile accessible Calumet Dunes Trail. There are 13 junctions so a trail map is a must.
The Dunewood Trace Campground Trail leads to the Dunewood Campground, which is the only campground in the park. The Glenwood Dunes Extension Trail leads to the Dune Park South Shore Railroad Station.
Glenwood Dunes Trail
I covered the entire Glenwood Dunes Trail and the Calumet Dune Trail (see below). The trail winds through the oldest sand dunes in the park, created over 12,000 years ago when Lake Michigan’s water level was about 60 feet higher than it is today.
The majority of the trail is shaded under tall oak trees, with a few sections out in the open. Small portions of the trail are on a boardwalk.
I was able to spot a lot of interesting plant life, flowers, and fungus along the way. There were also a few crazy spider webs.
Calumet Dunes Trail
The accessible Calumet Dunes Trail is a ½ mile paved loop trail next to the old Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center.
It’s very easy and a nice overview of what you can see on the rest of the trail system. I hiked this short trail two days before I came back to do the Glenwood Dunes Trail.
