| Indiana Dunes National Park | |
| Iucn Category: | II |
| Location: | Porter County, Lake County and LaPorte County, Indiana, United States |
| Nearest City: | Beverly Shores, Indiana Porter, Indiana |
| Coordinates: | 41.6481°N -87.1081°W |
| Area Acre: | 15349 |
| Established: | November 5, 1966 (national lakeshore) February 15, 2019 (national park) |
| Visitation Num: | 2,834,180 |
| Visitation Year: | 2022[1] |
| Governing Body: | National Park Service |
| Website: | Indiana Dunes National Park |
Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation's 61st national park on February 15, 2019.[2] The park runs for about 20miles along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers 15349acres. Along the lakefront, the eastern area is roughly the lake shore south to U.S. 12 or U.S. 20 between Michigan City, Indiana, on the east and the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant on the west. This area's conservation scheme is enhanced by the older Indiana Dunes State Park. To the west of the steel plant lies West Beach and a small extension south of the steel mill continues west along Salt Creek to Indiana 249. The western area is roughly the shoreline south to U.S. 12 between the Burns Ditch west to Broadway in downtown Gary, Indiana. In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog, in LaPorte County to the east; the Heron Rookery in Porter County, the center of the park; and the Hoosier Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County, the western end of the park.
See main article: History of the Indiana Dunes.
There is little evidence of permanent Native American communities forming during the earlier years; rather, the evidence suggests that seasonal hunting camps were the norm. The earliest evidence for permanent camps was the occupation of the Ohio valley by the Hopewell culture. Five groups of mounds have been documented in the dunes area. These mounds are consistent with the period of 200 BCE (Goodall Focus) to 800 CE (early Mississippian),[3] though even that was a short lived permanency. Beginning in the 1500s, European exploration and trade introduced more changes to the human environment. Tribal animosities and traditional European competition affected tribal relations. Entire populations began moving westward, while others sought to dominate large geographic trading areas. Once again, the dunes became a middle point on a journey from the east or the west. It continued to remain a key hunting ground for villages over a wide area.[4]
It wasn't until the 19th century that native villages once again were scattered through the area, but this was soon followed by European settlement.[5] Joseph Bailly was the earliest recorded settler in the dunes. He moved here from trading villages around Niles, Michigan. Settling along the Calumet River. Soon he was joined by a series of other settlers and the communities in the dunes began to develop. They included Chesterton, Porter, Tremont, and the Town of the Pines. These pioneer communities grew and expanded.
City West was one of several "ghost towns" situated in the dunes. Planned as a rival to Chicago,[6] it was partly built in 1837 but failed that summer, during a national economic panic. The remains of the town, partly carted off to be used as lumber, were located near where the pavilion in the state park now stands, until a forest fire in the 1850s destroyed whatever was left. Today, most of the coastline has been settled for use as homes, factories, and businesses, with some areas reserved for public parks.
Triggered by a publication on the unique flora of the dunes in the 1899 Botanical Gazette by University of Chicago botanist Henry Chandler Cowles,[7] a movement began to preserve the dunes habitat.[8] In 1916, the visionary National Parks Director Stephen Mather held hearings in Chicago on a "Sand Dunes National Park".[9] Another factor leading to the desire to preserve the dunes was the disappearance of the Hoosier Slide, a particularly large dune along this shore. The sand from this dune was found to be ideal for glass manufacture, and much of this sand was transported to the Ball Brothers and Hemingray Glass Co. plants in Muncie, producing the well-known 'Ball Blue' canning jars and 'Hemingray Blue' insulators. The Hoosier Slide was completely consumed by 1920, and a power plant sits on the site today.[10] In 1926, the Indiana Dunes State Park opened. In the 1950s, a desire to maximize economic development through a "Port of Indiana" spurred interest in preservation. The Save the Dunes Council, including its president Dorothy Richardson Buell and activist Hazel Hannell, began a nationwide campaign to buy the land. Their first success was the purchase of 56acres in Porter County, the Cowles Tamarack Bog.[9] The Kennedy Compromise entailed the creation of a national lakeshore and a port.[8] Illinois Senator Paul H. Douglas led the Congressional effort to save the dunes. In late 1966, the bill passed and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore became a reality. Four subsequent expansion bills for the park (1976, 1980, 1986, and 1992) have increased the size of the park to more than 15000acres.[9]
A bill to reclassify Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore as Indiana Dunes National Park was sponsored by Representative Pete Visclosky and Senators Todd Young and Mike Braun and previously by Senator Joe Donnelly, who wanted to bring the site more recognition.[11] [12] Deputy Director of the National Park Service Paul Daniel Smith testified that the Service opposed the redesignation because it would be inconsistent with the Service's naming conventions and the Indiana Dunes have more in common with other national lakeshores and seashores than national parks, which are typically much larger.[13]
H.R. 1488 originally passed in the House of Representatives on November 1, 2017, but it did not receive a vote in the Senate during the 115th Congress. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019 included the bill as a provision and was signed by President Donald Trump on February 15, creating the country's 61st National Park and the first in Indiana.[14] [15]
The creeks and rivers of the national park include:
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Indiana Dunes National Park has a hot summer Humid continental climate (Dfa). According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the plant hardiness zone at Indiana Dunes National Park at 614 ft (187 m) is 6a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of −9.4 °F (−23.0 °C).[17]
The primary feature of Indiana Dunes National Park is Lake Michigan. The lake brings with it several weather-related conditions that can create threats to the enjoyment of the area.
The Lake Michigan Basin was formed during the Wisconsin Glacial Period. The Michigan Lobe of the continental glacier began its retreat northward over 20,000 years before present (YBP)[19] forming the southern shore of the Lake Michigan Basin.
The Valparaiso Moraine is the dominant geologic form that created the various landscape forms of the Indiana Dunes about 40,000 YBP.[19] Within the arc created by the Valparaiso Moraine are the two younger recessional moraines of the Tinley Moraine and the Lake Border Moraine. Each moraine created an dam across the southern outflow of the melt waters of the receding glaciers. As each glacial lake breached a low spot in the moraines, water levels receded, leaving a series of shorelines and dune ridges.[19]
The Calumet Shoreline is the oldest visible shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is a visible sand ridge along Ridge Road through Lake and Porter Counties, Indiana. Two older shorelines, the Tolleston and the Glenwood Shoreline are much harder to identify and further south in those counties.[20]
During the periods of glacial retreat, there were periods of stability. During these times, glacial lakes formed along the southern borders of the glaciers, bound into the Lake Michigan Basin by the recessional moraines. Four major glacial lake periods created the Indiana Dunes. They are the glacial Lake Chicago (14,000 YBP), glacial Lake Algonquin (9,000 YBP), glacial Lake Chippewa (7,000 YBP), and the Nipissing Great Lakes stage (4,000 YBP). Once the glaciers had fully retreated from the Lake Michigan basin, after the Lake Nipissing stage, the same factors that created the dunes south of the current shoreline, expanded the existing shoreline.[19] The littoral currents or Longshore drift transport sand southward along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. As they encounter streams bringing water from inland, sandbars are created, pointing down current, either southward if the shore is north to south or westward along the southern shore itself.[20] If the currents were strong enough, as they were when the Glenwood Shoreline was created, shallow inland bays would be formed with a wide sand spit between each bay and the open lake.[20] Over time, the sand spits would merge with the far shoreline, forming interdunal ponds.[20] Each sand spit would become a dune ridge. As the ponds filled in and wind built the outer sand ridges higher, the ponds would dry up and only a stream would remain, as with the Little Calumet River today, just south of the state and national parks. As the shoreline moved northward, new ridges formed along with additional streams, now slower and less powerful, and the process duplicated itself. To the west of the Indiana Dunes, Wolf Lake in Hammond, Indiana, forms a western border to the dunes. Here the same process is at work, only the littoral drift is again south, but along the western shore, pushing the sand and sand spits eastward.[20] Today, it is the remnants of the marsh lands and inter-dunal or inter-sand spit lakes that have formed this region over 40,000 years.[20]
The park is in the central forest-grasslands transition ecoregion.
According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. Potential natural vegetation Types, Indiana Dunes National Park has an Oak/Hickory (100) potential vegetation type and an Eastern Hardwood forest, aka Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest (26) potential vegetation form.[21]
The park includes habitats for several rare plants and animals. The park has more than 1,400 species of vascular plants, ranking it 8th in total plant species among all units of the National Park System. At least two plant species are on the Federal list of Threatened and Endangered Species:
Several others are on the list of state T&E species.[22] Populations of each plant group are estimated to be around 100–120 individual plants. The species included are:[22]
Among the federally threatened and endangered wildlife are:[22]
In addition, the park has habitat suitable for the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).[22]
| Group | Number of species | Extirpated species | Main article | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chordates or Animals with Backbones | ||||
| Mammals or Mammalia | Mammals of the Indiana Dunes | |||
| Birds or Aves | Birds of the Indiana Dunes | |||
| Reptiles or Reptilia | List of reptiles of the Indiana Dunes | |||
| Amphibians or Amphibia | List of amphibians of the Indiana Dunes | |||
| Fish | List of fish of the Indiana Dunes | |||
| Invertebrate or Animals without Backbones | ||||
| Arthropoda (Crustacea)-Crustacean | List of crustaceans of the Indiana Dunes | |||
| Arthropoda (Chelicerata)-Arachnida | List of arachnids of the Indiana Dunes | |||
| Arthropoda (Chelicerata)-Insects | ||||
| Arthropoda (Myriapoda)- Other invertebrates | Invertebrates of Indiana Dunes | |||
| Annelida-segmented worms | ||||
| Mollusca | List of non-marine mollusks of the Indiana Dunes | |||
| Plants or Plantae | ||||
| Vascular plant−ferns.[23] | ||||
| Vascular plant-clubmosses | ||||
| Vascular plant-flowering plants | ||||
| Vascular plant-conifers | ||||
| Vascular plant-gymnosperms. | ||||
| Fungi | ||||
| Bryophytes – Bryophyta (mosses), Marchantiophyta (liverworts), and Anthocerotophyta (hornworts). | ||||
| Algae – especially the green algae. | ||||
| Lichens algae and fungi in a symbiotic arrangement[24] | Change in the number of species between 1896 (Calkins) and 1986 (Wetmore) | |||
| Invasive Plants | List of invasive plant species in the Indiana Dunes | |||
| Plankton and other microscopic life forms | ||||
| Plankton[25] | ||||
| Total to date | ||||
Indiana Dunes National Park is host to wide variety of wildlife, including white-tailed deer, red fox, raccoons, opossums, cottontail rabbits, various rodents, Canada geese, gulls, squirrels, hawks, turkey vultures, mallards, great blue herons, songbirds, and garter snakes. Recent records, documented photographically, indicate that North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) and bobcat (Lynx rufus) began returning to the area in 2011 and 2018, respectively. As of 2023, the Indiana Audubon have observed nearly 370 bird species living in or migrating through the Indiana Dunes.
Indiana Dunes has over 369 species of flowering plants. Of these, thirteen are considered threatened or in danger of extinction. Additionally, there four invasive flowering plants on the list. Some of the most common spring flowers include the May apple, buttercups (six varieties), and violets (14 varieties). Summer brings out the orchids (five varieties) and much goldenrod (11 varieties).[26]
Invasive plants are those introduced species that dominate a landscape pushing out traditionally native species and others species by their ability to multiply rapidly. There are 54 such species in the dunes.[27]
In October 1920, a rare Arctic three-toed woodpecker was captured a mile west of Dune Park Station. Later that month another male was captured east of Dune Park Station. One was busy digging out grubs and the other was nervously flying from tree to tree.[28]
In May 1919, a clay-colored sparrow was found near Dune Park. It was a part of a larger flock of Harris's sparrow migrating along the western shore of Lake Michigan.[28]
Several species of plants and animals have disappeared from the dunes. Few can be clearly identified. Among those species thought to be gone are listed below:
| Species | Latin Name | Last Seen[29] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern cougar[30] | Puma concolor couguar | ||
| American bison | Bison bison | ||
| Elk/Wapiti | Cervus canadensis canadensis | ||
| Canada lynx | Lynx canadensis | ||
| Bobcat | Lynx rufus | ||
| Gray wolf | Canis lupus | ||
| Red wolf | Canis rufus | ||
| American black bear | Ursus americanus | ||
| Fisher | Pekania pennanti | ||
| River otter | Lontra canadensis | ||
| Porcupine | Erethizon dorsatum | ||
| Passenger pigeon | Ectopistes migratorius | ||
| Piping plover | Charadrius melodus |
See main article: List of invasive plant species in the Indiana Dunes. Alien or exotic species are plants and animals which are not native to the area. These plants can be classified as Invasive if they rapidly replace other plants and animals in the ecosystem, creating a monoculture and threatening the extinction of the traditional plants and animals. Among plants found in the park, the following are considered to be exotic. Those marked with an '*' are listed as invasive.
On May 15 and 16, 2009, the park hosted an All Taxa Biological Diversity survey. In a 24-hour period, as part of the BioBlitz 2,000 students and thousands of additional volunteers surveyed the park for every available living species. John Francis, vice president of research, conservation and exploration for the National Geographic Society, stated that 890 species had been inventoried.[31] The tally at the close of the 24 hours was 890 species, including 26 amphibians and reptiles, 101 birds, 18 fish, 27 fungi, 11 mammals, 410 plants, and 178 insects.[32] The tally had risen to 1,200 unique species by June 1.[33]
See main article: Habitats of the Indiana Dunes.
Calumet Prairie is a joint venture between the National Park Service and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve in the northern portion of the land between Interstate 90 to the north and the Little Calumet River on the south. The National Park owns the southern half of this plot.
See main article: Cowles Bog. Cowles Bog, a National Natural Landmark, is a wetland complex containing bog, fen, marsh, swamp, wet meadow, and pond habitats; named in honor of biologist and ecologist Henry Chandler Cowles. Located south and west of Dune Acres, Indiana, Cowles Bog is the sole remnant of the "Central Dunes" where Cowles performed his pioneering field studies of ecological succession and species diversity. The complex is drained by Dunes Creek, which flows to Lake Michigan at the Indiana Dunes State Park swimming beach. A National Park trail runs from Mineral Springs Road into Cowles Bog.[34]
The Great Marsh is an interdunal wetland just south of the dune ridge overlooking Lake Michigan. It stretches from steel plants in Burns Harbor, 12miles east to County Line Road on the edge of Michigan City. A century ago, it was the nesting and migratory layover for many birds which depended on its variety of plants.[35] In the late 19th century, the marsh was drained through a series of ditches, creating three watersheds and reducing the water table. As the water levels changed, new plants and trees moved in, creating a new habitat and displacing the wildlife that was dependent on the pre-existing wetlands.[35]
Beginning in 1998, the national lakeshore began restoration of the marsh by closing Derby Ditch and restoring 500acres. The work consists of:[35]
See main article: Heron Rookery. The heron rookery is located along the East Arm Little Calumet River in the northeast corner of Porter County. The rookery is physically separated from the main part of the park. It is accessible from County Road 600 East, south of County Road 1400 North. The rookery is a hardwood forest. The great blue heron nests for which the site is named are no longer a feature of the area. Spring brings out a variety of wildflowers.[36]
Hobart Prairie Grove is an area of forested ravines along the west shore of Lake George. The Hobart Prairie Grove preserves several habitats including wetlands, prairie remnants, white oak flatlands, and a rare bur oak savanna. At about, the grove contains 343 native plants and a variety of birds and animals. The unique soil is at least 70 percent silt and clay with some sand. The soil supports a diversity of life. The Hobart Woodland trail is a 0.05miles walk to an overlook on Lake George from the Oak Savannah rail trail. The Oak Savannah rail trail runs from North Hobart Road, Hobart to South Colfax Street, Griffith. Of the trails 9miles length, are through the Hobart Prairie Grove. The trail follows the old Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad route and connects with the Prairie Duneland rail trail, continuing east to Chesterton.[37]
See main article: Hoosier Prairie.
Hoosier Prairie, a National Natural Landmark, is a 430acres tallgrass prairie adjacent to Griffith, Indiana. It is a geographically isolated unit of the park, owned and maintained by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as a state nature preserve. Some 574 species of plants have been observed growing in this patch of prairie.
See main article: Miller Woods.
Miller Woods is located in Miller Beach, Indiana. It is accessed through the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education on Lake Street. The area is dominated by ridge and swale topography. the ridges or swells are beach and dune sand. They date from the post Glacial Lake Nipissing period some 3000 years before present. The swales are the depressions between the ridges. They are generally either ponds or marshes.[38]
Mnoké Prairie is an active prairie restoration along Beam Street in the central portion of the park. The prairie's name was suggested by Potawatomi elders; "mno" means good, "ké" means earth. It is pronounced "mno-ca" (the second syllable is like the word "cat" without the "t".) The Little Calumet River Trail provides access through the prairie. It is accessible from the Mnoké Prairie parking lot on Beam Street.
See main article: Mount Baldy (sand dune). Mount Baldy is a sand dune located at the east end of the park. At 123feet tall, it is one of the tallest sand dunes on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. It is a wandering dune that moves an average of 4feet every year, and so is called a "living dune". Mount Baldy is accessible from U.S. Route 12 (also known as Dunes Highway) between the Town of Pines and the western border of Michigan City. Visitors were formerly allowed to hike up the dune., much of the dune itself, including the summit, was closed to allow beach grasses and other native plants to regenerate, and prevent injuries to visitors. An alternative trail leading to the beach takes visitors directly past the dune, cresting just slightly lower than the summit itself. On a clear day, there are views of Lake Michigan, Chicago's skyline, and south shore, from this point.
See main article: Pinhook Bog. Pinhook Bog, a National Natural Landmark, is a geographically isolated unit of the national park. The quaking peat bog is located near U.S. Route 421 approximately 9miles south of Michigan City. The bog formed from a postglacial kettle moraine left behind about 14,000 years before the present by the melting of the ice sheet during the end of the last glacial period. The acidic bog is noted for pitcher plants and other wetland species. Access to the bog is restricted to ranger-led guided tours.[39]
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Indiana Dunes National Park.
See main article: Joseph Bailly Homestead. This is the location of the pioneer trading post established in 1822 by fur trade pioneer Joseph Bailly. Bailly settled here and his last home, adapted from his 1830s retirement house, survives.[40] The Homestead was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1962.
See main article: Chellberg Farm. The real estate became the home of the Chellberg family, who built a farm on its sandy soil., the park maintains a heritage farm on the Chellberg land, with the Bailly family cemetery on the northern edge of the property.[41]
See main article: Bailly Cemetery.
The Bailly Cemetery is located half a mile north of the homestead. Its location is a sandy bluff, which once looked out across the dunes to Lake Michigan.[42] Today, the forest covers the dunes and the lake is not visible. Numerous changes have occurred since the first burial in 1827.[43]
Joseph Bailly buried his only son by Marie in the fall of 1827 on a sandy knoll. He erected an oak cross on the site and a three-sided shelter. After 1866, the Bailly area was no longer the quiet place that it had been. Other families now lived in the area and some had been using the cemetery for their families as well. However, late in 1866, Rose Howe (granddaughter of Joseph Bailly) had the family plots fenced and requested that those other families remove their deceased to other cemeteries. In 1879, she had the entire cemetery walled in and an iron gate installed to the north.[43]
Finally in 1914, Rose Howe took one further step to protect the cemetery of her family. She had the area inside the wall filled with sand. Stone steps replaced the gate to a contemplative walk atop the cemetery. An oaken cross was raised atop this new ground, continuing the tradition started by her grandfather. Rose Howe died in 1916, while in California. She was returned to Indiana in 1917 and was the last burial in the family cemetery.[44]
See main article: Century of Progress Architectural District.
The Century of Progress Architectural District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located in the east portion of the park. The district consists of a total of five buildings, all from the Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition during the 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair which took place in Chicago.[45]
Created by the Good Fellow Club of U.S. Steel in 1941, the camp served the children of Gary, until 1977. It provided outdoor recreation and a chance to leave the city behind for a week or more.[46] The camp used tent cabins with a central restroom and shower house. Atop a rise was the main lodge where meals were provided and a trading post with a bowling alley were maintained.
The national park acquired three Lustron houses during its land acquisition process. The Jacob Klien House was located in an endangered habitat. It was moved to the east side of Drake Avenue in Beverly Shores and placed atop a dune overlooking the lake. The Schulof house located on Lakefront Drive was transferred to the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana for preservation and was moved to Stephens Street in Porter. The Powell house remains inaccessible within the park on Lakefront Drive.[47]
See main article: Swedish Farmsteads of Porter County, Indiana. The Swedish Farmsteads of Porter County, Indiana, are representative of the numerous rural communities settled by a significant ethnic population. They influenced the religious community and social community. Swedish immigration was at its highest from 1840 until 1920. At its height in 1910, it was estimated that 1 out of every 5 Swedes was living in the United States.[48]
The park contains 15miles of beaches, as well as sand dunes, bogs, marshes, swamps, fens, prairies, rivers, oak savannas, and woodland forests. The park is also noted for its singing sands. More than 350 species of birds have been observed in the park. It has one of the most diverse plant communities of any unit in the U.S. National Park System with 1418 vascular plant species including 90 threatened or endangered ones. The Indiana Dunes area is unique in that it contains both Arctic and boreal plants (such as the bearberry) alongside desert plants (such as the prickly pear cactus).
First-time visitors to the park often go to the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center at U.S. Route 20 and Indiana Route 49, near Porter. This center offers standard visitor-center amenities, including a video, brochures, hands-on exhibits, and a gift shop. It is free to the general public.[49]
Camping is available at the Dunewood Campground on U.S. Route 12. The campground includes an RV dump station and two loops of trailer accessible sites (some with pull-through drives). All sites have grills, a picnic table, and access to restrooms with running water and showers. There are a limited number of walk-in sites in the Douglas Loop.
The park provides opportunities for bird watching, camping, 45miles of hiking, fishing, swimming, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing. Cycling is available on the Calumet Trail, a crushed limestone multiuse trail which runs through the eastern section of the park, providing access to Indiana Dunes State Park, as well as to the communities of Beverly Shores; the Town of Pines; and Mount Baldy on the edge of Michigan City, Indiana. The Great Marsh Trail opened in 2010 with an accessible, paved section usable by wheelchairs opening in fall 2012. The trail is off Broadway in the east end of the park. The park has about 2 million visits a year. Rules state not to feed any of the wildlife, including seagulls, deer, or raccoons. Collecting crinoid fossils on the beach is strictly prohibited. Possession or use of a metal detector is also prohibited – as in all national parks.
Rangers provide free walks and talks throughout the park on a regular basis. The Singing Sands, the official newspaper of the national park is published semi-annually with a listing of Ranger lead activities.[50] Events in 2013, showed that on large dunes unexpected sink holes may develop. Scientists concluded these are caused by buried trees that eventually decay causing cavities.[51]
Indiana Dunes has numerous short hike trails and a few longer distance trails:
The Marquette Plan, a Lakeshore Investment Strategy for Indiana, is composed of two key elements. A 50miles trail is planned to cross Indiana to link Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan communities along the Lake Michigan shore. There are planned both land trails for bicycles and hikers and a blue water trail for kayakers.[54]
The Lake Michigan Water Trail, was designated a National Recreation Trail in 2011 and currently extends 45miles from Chicago's Northerly Island to Michigan City's Millennium Plaza.[55]
There will be links to major parks and a wide variety of cultural and natural sites. The 9miles Calumet Trail will eventually connect the eastern and western segments of Indiana Dunes National Park. The 3abbr=NaNabbr= Porter Brickyard Trail opened in 2012 as part of the Burnham Plan Centennial. It will link several community hike/bike trails to the Calumet Hike/Bike trail creating a link between the Lake County communities and Michigan City. Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission is guiding the work with assistance from local governments, the National Park Service, private landowners, and the American Planning Association.[54]
West Beach, located adjacent to U.S. Route 12 and County Line Road, lies on the border of Gary and Portage, Indiana. It is a geographically separated section of the park that is preserved as a piece of public beach access and an example of the same theme of plant succession as is found in Cowles Bog. This section of the park displays most of the successive stages of Indiana Dunes biotic progression, from open beach sands to mature Eastern Black Oak forest. The 0.7abbr=NaNabbr= West Beach Succession Trail opened in 2007 and features different stages of plant succession in the beach and inland dunes.
The Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk was completed in 2009 as a project of the National Park Service, Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, and the City of Portage. The National Park Service owns the site and all facilities. The site is operated by the City of Portage through a cooperative agreement.
Porter Beach, located north of U.S. Route 12, is a small, public sand beach within Indiana Dunes National Park. The surrounding area is residential and is governed by the town of Porter.
Indiana Dunes National Park partners with the non-profit 501(c)(3) American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation to provide on-board educational programs for train passengers on the South Shore Line. On select Saturdays, interpretive guides with the APRHF Rail Rangers ride roundtrip between Millennium Station and South Bend Airport station to provide narration about the park and the other sites passengers see outside their window.[57] [58] [59] [60]
During the academic year, Indiana Dunes National Park and the Dunes Learning Center (DLC) provide professional development opportunities for teachers in the K–12 setting. Workshops feature experts in various fields of study, hands-on activities, and adventures within the national park. Illinois and Indiana teachers can receive continuing education units (CEUs) or continuing recertification units (CRUs) for each workshops. Those teachers wishing to earn graduate credit can do so through Indiana University Northwest and Chicago State University. Workshops are held at the DLC.[61]
The park has a sister park relationship with Poland's Kampinos National Park.[62]
The park can be accessed by car from U.S. Route 12. Access by rail is provided by the South Shore Line at Dune Park station.[63]
Indiana Dunes is working to provide access to beach areas. Access to the waters of Lake Michigan is a challenging problem. Presently, two beach access areas are considered accessible: West Beach, Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk,[64]
Accessible parking and restroom services are available throughout the park. A standard wheelchair is available for loan at the Paul H. Douglas Center.[64]
In 2012, the Dunes National Park Association (DNPA) was established as a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The DNPA is endorsed by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The primary purpose of the DNPA is to solicit funds for the direct benefit or support of the lakeshore and related activities, advocate on behalf of the park and educate the community on the abundant resources available in the national park.[72]
Geological forms (North to South)