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Indiana Dunes State Park sits along the south shore of Lake Michigan just a few miles north of Chesterton, Indiana. It has incredible biodiversity for such a small park.
Introduction to Indiana Dunes State Park
Indiana Dunes State Park is the older sister of the Indiana Dunes National Park. Founded in 1925 after years of efforts by conservationists, the park is surrounded on three sides by the National Park and Lake Michigan to the north. It consists of 2,182 acres of natural landscape, including 3 miles of beach and 16 miles (26 kilometers) of trails. The eastern ⅔ of the park makes up the Dunes Nature Preserve, which was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974.
Visiting Indiana Dunes National Park
Admission to the park is US$7 for cars with Indiana plates and US$12 for all others (as of March 2025). It’s open daily year-round from 7am to 11pm. Check the official website for more info.
Obviously it’s great to visit the park during the summer when the beaches are open, but in the winter it’s a whole different world. There’s also cross-country skiing on some of the trails.
Camping
There’s a large campground with 140 tent sites. Each site has an electrical hookup, picnic table, and sand tent spot with a paved pad. There’s also a camp store and showers.
Safety
It’s not safe to swim unless there’s a lifeguard on duty and you’re in the designated swimming area. Lake Michigan has very strong rip currents. It’s also a good idea to take insect repellant. There are mosquitoes and biting flies on the trails in the park.
The Beach at Indiana Dunes State Park
There are three miles of beach at Indiana Dunes State Park, but only a small section is safe for swimming. The beach is pretty clean but the scenery isn’t exactly the best. To the east is miles of open beach, but to the west are steel mills. On a clear day, however, you can see the Chicago skyline.
Dunes Pavilion
The historic Dunes Pavilion was constructed in 1929. It has a bathhouse, restaurants, and a rooftop observation deck. It fell into disrepair over the years but was renovated in 1973 and again between 2015 and 2021. During the summer, you’ll find food carts out front selling ice cream, hot dogs, and more.
Natural Features
There are a couple natural features near the beach. One is Dunes Creek, which forms a small lagoon at the lake’s edge. Swimming is not permitted in the creek. There’s also Devil’s Slide, a sand dune that’s fun to climb up and roll down.
Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center
The Nature Center is open daily from April through October and Wednesday through Sunday from November through March. It has a display with some of the reptiles found in the park, the park’s history, nature in the park, and a display about the shipwreck of the JD Marshall, which sank on June 11, 1911. Click here for a virtual tour of the wreck.
Trails at Indiana Dunes State Park
There are over 16 miles of trails at Indiana Dunes State Park. All of them pass through the Dunes Nature Preserve. Of the 7 trails, I’ve done 5 of them so far (#4, #7, #8, #9, and #10) and only missing Trails #2, #3. I’m not sure why there isn’t a Trail #1, #5, or #6!
Trail #4
Trail #4 connects the beach to the campground. It’s ¾ of a mile long and rated moderate. It climbs up a stairway to Mt. Tom and back down through a black oak forest. I only took a part of the trail, which makes up part of the 3 Dune Challenge and shares a short section of Trail #7 ending at the beach.
Trail #7
Trail #7 runs between the beach and the Nature Center. It’s 1.1 miles long and is rated moderate. Like Trail #4, it goes through a black oak forest.
Trail #8
Trail #8 is a rugged trail that’s 1 ½ miles long and climbs to the top of the three highest sand dunes in the park. Parts of the trail run on 40° slopes. That may not sound bad to some people, but try climbing up in the sand! Make sure you have plenty of energy for this trail. It starts at the Wilson Shelter, but it’s also possible to catch it from near the Nature Center. The trail makes up a part of the 3 Dune Challenge and ends at the beach.
Trail #9
Trail #9 is the first trail I did and my favorite. It’s 3.75 miles long and rated moderate difficulty. It starts near the Nature Center and is lasso-shaped. The first section is through a forest. I decided to go counter-clockwise at the split.
The trail went through more forest and then passed by the Furnessville Blowout. A blowout is a depression in a sandy environment where strong winds have removed the sand. Shortly after, the trail climbs up a bit. Some spots along the way have great views of Lake Michigan.
Later on, I came to the Beach House Blowout, which is much easier to observe than the Furnessville Blowout. As I walked along the ridge, I was able to see thousands of treetops looking all the way south. From there, the trail had a quick and steep descent. It was back to a relatively flat forest trail until the end.
Trail #10
Trail #10 is 5.5 miles long and rated moderate. It runs about 2.5 miles along the beach and the rest through the forest. I picked it up by taking Trail #7 to the beach from the Nature Center, walking the trail in a clockwise direction.
After a short distance there wasn’t much beach to walk on. The waves washed right up to a small ridge along the shore for most of this stretch. It was a windy day and Lake Michigan was very choppy.
The view of the Chicago skyline in the distance was one of the highlights of this part of the trail, as well as passing a few blowouts along the way.
After the long walk on the beach, the trail cuts back into the forest through a gorgeous stretch called Paradise Valley. It then turns into a boardwalk passing several colorful flowers.
The final part of the hike goes through an area called the Pinery, but strangely, there are no pine trees to be seen. There’s also a wooden bird observation deck overlooking a marsh but it was closed for safety purposes.
3 Dune Challenge at Indiana Dunes State Park
If you’re visiting Indiana Dunes State Park for the first time, you can’t leave without doing the 3 Dune Challenge. It’s a difficult 1 ½ mile loop trail following parts of Trails #8 and #4, starting and finishing at the Nature Center. The challenge takes you to the top of the 3 tallest dunes in the park for a total of 552 feet of elevation gain.
The 3 Dune Challenge is exhausting but fun and is also a great workout. According to scientists, walking on sand takes 1.6 times more energy than walking on hard surfaces!
Mt. Jackson
I took the trail in a counter-clockwise direction, picking up Trail #8 from the Nature Center. It didn’t take long to get to Mt. Jackson, which is the first dune I climbed. It has an elevation of a whopping 176 feet and is made of 32 million cubic feet of sand. It was named for Edward Jackson (1873-1954), the Indiana governor who established the park.
Mt. Holden
Next is Mt. Holden, which is a bit higher at 184 feet. It’s made up of 53 million cubic feet of sand and was named for Charles Holden, the first president of the Prairie Club. The club was instrumental in conservation efforts of the Indiana Dunes parks.
Mt. Tom
Finally, after climbing in the sand up the first two dunes, it was a relief to see a staircase for the third one, Mt. Tom. When I reached the top, I was greeted with a sign that congratulated me for completing the 3 Dune Challenge. I was also able to see Lake Michigan and the skyline of Chicago very faintly in the distance.
Mt. Tom is the highest of all the dunes at 192 feet and is made up of 56 million cubic feet of sand. It was named after Tom Brady (no, not the quarterback!). He was a former British officer who supported the Americans during the Revolutionary War. He fought minor battles against British soldiers in the Dunes area, including at Petit Fort, a small fur trading outpost established by the French and acquired by the British in the French and Indian War. Petit Fort was located somewhere south of the Dunes Pavilion and demolished in 1779. No trace of it exists today. Personally, I found it fascinating that the American Revolution reached as far west as Northwest Indiana, in what was at that time frontier wilderness!
After coming down Mt. Tom, the trail finishes down the steps along Trail #4, leading to the campground and back to the Nature Center.
1 Comment
You answered my question about swimming in the comments from the last post. Got it, thanks.