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The Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center, with exhibits, an orientation program and a bookstore is located at the intersection of U.S. 12 and Kemil Road, 3 miles east of Indiana 49. It’s open all year from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, 8:00am-6:00pm and Labor Day to the Friday before Memorial Day, 8:00am-5:00pm. It is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. It displays exhibits about the different lakeshore features, touch screen computer children’s activities and an informative video on the park called “Child of the Northwest Wind”. There is a staffed information desk, book store, access to Ly-co-ki-we and Calumet Dune trails, 30 minute parking, and restroom facilities. The Bailly/Chellberg Visitor Center is open from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, 11:00am – 4:30pm daily; spring weekends starting in March, 11:00am – 4:30pm; and fall weekends till the end of October, 11:00am – 4:30pm. Chellberg Farm is open all year 8:00am till sunset. You can park at the Bailly/Chellberg Visitor Center located on Mineral Springs Road between highway 20 and Oakhill Road in Porter. Special programs offered are Maple Sugar Time Festival in March and Feeding Time at Chellberg Farm. Meet at the Chellberg Farm barn and help the farmer feed the typical 1900 farm animals. Every Saturday and Sunday from May thru September at 4:00pm, and October – April at 3:00pm.

The major sites in the park are accessible with assistance. The West Beach Bathhouse, the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education and the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center buildings are fully accessible by wheelchair. Accessible parking and restroom services are available throughout the park. Free use of a standard wheelchair is available at the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center, Bailly/Chellberg Visitor Center, and the Paul H. Douglas Center. Indiana Dunes has made significant achievements in providing access to beach areas. However, access to the waters of Lake Michigan pose challenging accessibility problems. Presently, three beach areas are considered accessible: West Beach, Lake View Picnic area and Porter Beach.

After a struggle of 67 years, the dunes were finally made a national lakeshore in 1966. An attempt in 1916 by Stephen T. Mather, director of the newly created National Park Service, to establish a Sand Dunes National Park failed, but partial success was realized in 1923 with the creation of Indiana Dunes State Park. In the 1960′s Illinois Sen. Paul H. Douglas, fearing that commerce would swallow the remaining lake front and dunes, joined the crusade to save the dunes begun a decade earlier by Dorothy Buell, a former school teacher and the founder and first president of the Save the Dunes Council of northwest Indiana. Through these efforts, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was authorized by Congress in 1966. In recognition of her contributions, Congress designated the principal visitor facility as the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center. The national lakeshore is dedicated to Sen. Douglas ingrateful recognition of his efforts to preserve the Indiana Dunes. The Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education is a fitting tribute to a man who worked tirelessly in a decade-long effort to establish a national park at the dunes. The park contains approximately 15,000 acres, 2,182 of which are located in Indiana Dunes State Park and managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

The Dunes also have more than 240 known archeological sites that archeologists from the National Park Service’s Midwest Archeological Center have used to unearth the buried treasures of past visitors to the Indiana Dunes. Native Americans traveled the dunes along major routes between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Miami and Potawatomi Indians hunted here and used local plants for food and medicine. U.S. Highway 12 follows the Calumet Beach Trail, which linked yesterday’s Forts Dearborn and Wayne-todays Chicago and Detroit-and points in between.

The Chellberg Farm represents a typical 1890 through 1910 Swedish and Northwestern Indiana farmstead. The brick farmhouse was built in 1885 as a replacement for an earlier wood-framed house that was destroyed by fire in December of 1884. The bricks for the new house came from a brickyard in nearby Porter. In the 1980′s the National Park Service restored the farmhouse to its turn of the 20th century appearance, except for the dining room, which had been modified by the Chellbergs in the 1920′s. When the house was constructed in 1885 this space was divided into three rooms, the kitchen, dining room, and pantry. The pantry area might also have served as a small bedroom. Because it was remodeled ca. 1926 – 29 the dining room’s current appearance does not date back to the time period which the park is interpreting: 1890’s through 1910’s. The fireplace, flanked by windows and bookshelves, is typical of the 1920’s and 30’s. Today, this room serves as the visitor orientation room. The Chellberg farmhouse is open to the public during festivals, demonstrations, and ranger-guided tours.

The Bailly Homestead, a National Historic Landmark, was the home of Honore Gratien Joseph Bailly de Messein (1774 – 1835). Bailly played a role in the development of the Calumet Region of northern Indiana. He was an independent trader in the extensive fur-trading network that spread from Montreal to Louisiana, and ultimately to Europe. Joseph Bailly was one of the earliest settlers in northern Indiana. In 1822 Bailly set up his fur trading post at the crossroads of several important trails, including the Tolleston Beach and northern branch of the Sauk Trail. He provided a meeting place for Native Americans and Euro-Americans. Except for White Pigeon, Michigan, Bailly’s trading post was the only stopping place for travelers and missionaries between Chicago and Detroit. The Bailly Homestead complex is the last remaining site of its nature in the Calumet Region, both in its capacity as a fur trading post and in its vernacular architectural features and construction types. The Bailly Homestead was authorized as a National Historic Landmark in 1962.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is a treasure of diverse natural resources located within an urban setting. The lakeshore features communities that have both scientific and historic significance to the field of ecology. In addition, four National Natural Landmarks and one National Historical Landmark are located within its boundaries. The park is comprised of over 15,000 acres of dunes, oak savannas, swamps, bogs, marshes, prairies, rivers, and forests. It contains 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline spanning the distance from Gary to Michigan City. Lake Michigan itself is one of the largest lakes in the world. The fine beaches of the national lakeshore, washed by the warmest waters of the lake, are the most significant recreational resource in the park. Immediately inland from the beaches, sand dunes rise to almost 200 feet in a series of ridges, blowouts, and valleys. Extensive wetlands fill the depressions between the dunes.

These dunes have preserved an important remnant of what was once a vast and unique lakeshore environment resulting from the retreat of the last great continental glacier some 14,000 years ago. The park landscape represents at least four major successive stages of historic Lake Michigan shoreline levels, making the lakeshore one of the best and most extensive geologic records of one of our world’s largest bodies of fresh water. Today, four major dune complexes can be easily seen. Beginning with the present shoreline and moving inland into progressively older dunes, they include the present dune formation, the Tolleston dunes, the Calumet dunes and the Glenwood dunes. A stable oak forest characterizes the two older dune complexes. The younger dune/shoreline area is still active and all stages of plant succession can be observed there. Open beaches, grass covered dune ridges, blowouts, dunes with woody shrub vegetation, pine-forested dunes, oak-forested dunes, oak savannas, and prairies all come together to form the tapestry that is Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Lake Michigan still lies at the edge of this tapestry. Her wind, waves, lake currents, ice, and storms continually reshape the beaches, dune faces, and shoreline throughout the year. In summertime, gentler winds and smaller waves produce a wider, slightly sloping beach. The strong winds and high energy waves of winter create a narrower and steeper beach. Lake Michigan’s lake levels continue their natural fluctuation, and the shape of today’s beach continues to change, reminding us that the geologic story is really never-ending. Lake Michigan also provides habitat for a wide variety of fish, birds, and aquatic organisms.

The sands of Indiana Dunes have a special quality that makes music for those who listen. As you walk along the shore you can listen for an unusual sound as you stride just above the water’s edge. The combination od quartz crystals, moisture, pressure and friction from your feet creates a musical tone-a clear ringing sound of singing sand. Only a few beaches worldwide are known to sing with this same tone.

The biological diversity within Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is amongst the highest per unit area of all our national parks because the park is located in several ecological transition zones. The moderating effect of Lake Michigan, along with the great variety of habitats within a small area, explains much of the plant and animal diversity found in the dunes. The national lakeshore provides habitat for 1,130 native vascular plants, including the federally threatened Pitcher’s thistle. The lakeshore is home to populations of 30% of the state of Indiana’s listed rare, threatened, endangered, and special concern plant species. Shaped by glacial events and changing climates, the dunes landscape contains disjunct flora representative of eastern deciduous forests, boreal forest remnants, and species with Atlantic coast affinities. In addition, the national lakeshore is part of the upper- and eastern-most limits of the tallgrass prairie peninsula and supports high quality remnants of this ever-diminishing vegetation type.

The presence of many unique dune and wetland plant community types has lead to a long history of botanical exploration and research. Lands within the national lakeshore have been called the birthplace of American ecology as a result of early work on plant succession performed by Dr. Henry Cowles over 100 years ago. Thanks to the Ice Age, environments collided and deposited their remnants at Indiana Dunes. The resulting strange combinations of neighboring plants attracted Cowles’s interest.

Arctic bearberry grows next to prickly pear cactus, and southern dogwoods grow on the other side of the dune from northern jack pines. Something else puzzled Cowles. Plant life differs dramatically from dune ridge to dune ridge. Plants growing near the lake front are not usually found farther inland, and inland trees cannot be found on dunes near the beach. Wondering why, he noticed that as plants grow on a site they change it. When pioneer plants have changed the site sufficiently, the way is prepared for other plant species. New plants can now be more successful, so they crowd out the pioneer plants. Cowles pieced together the puzzle and formulated basic ecological concepts. Investigations related to several areas of plant ecology continue today and are viewed as essential to preserving the dynamic ecosystems of the Indiana Dunes.

Hoosier Prairie, a state nature preserve managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, is located nearby. It is the largest tract of ancient prairie in Indiana. There are many wildflowers that occur here and in the bog and wetland areas of the lakeshore.

The Chellberg Farm represents a typical 1890 through 1910 Swedish and Northwestern Indiana farmstead. The brick farmhouse was built in 1885 as a replacement for an earlier wood-framed house that was destroyed by fire in December of 1884. The bricks for the new house came from a brickyard in nearby Porter. In the 1980′s the National Park Service restored the farmhouse to its turn of the 20th century appearance, except for the dining room, which had been modified by the Chellbergs in the 1920′s. When the house was constructed in 1885 this space was divided into three rooms, the kitchen, dining room, and pantry. The pantry area might also have served as a small bedroom. Because it was remodeled ca. 1926 – 29 the dining room’s current appearance does not date back to the time period which the park is interpreting: 1890’s through 1910’s. The fireplace, flanked by windows and bookshelves, is typical of the 1920’s and 30’s. Today, this room serves as the visitor orientation room. The Chellberg farmhouse is open to the public during festivals, demonstrations, and ranger-guided tours.

The Bailly Homestead, a National Historic Landmark, was the home of Honore Gratien Joseph Bailly de Messein (1774 – 1835). Bailly played a role in the development of the Calumet Region of northern Indiana. He was an independent trader in the extensive fur-trading network that spread from Montreal to Louisiana, and ultimately to Europe. Joseph Bailly was one of the earliest settlers in northern Indiana. In 1822 Bailly set up his fur trading post at the crossroads of several important trails, including the Tolleston Beach and northern branch of the Sauk Trail. He provided a meeting place for Native Americans and Euro-Americans. Except for White Pigeon, Michigan, Bailly’s trading post was the only stopping place for travelers and missionaries between Chicago and Detroit. The Bailly Homestead complex is the last remaining site of its nature in the Calumet Region, both in its capacity as a fur trading post and in its vernacular architectural features and construction types. The Bailly Homestead was authorized as a National Historic Landmark in 1962.

Over 70 years of wind, sand and surf have battered the five World’s Fair houses located along Lake Front Drive in Beverly Shores, but their uniqueness has weathered the elements. With the theme of a Century of Progress, the houses were built for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair to demonstrate modern architectural design, experimental materials, and new technologies such as central air conditioning and dishwashers. The houses were brought to the dunes by barge in 1935 by real estate developer Robert Bartlett. Bartlett hoped that the high profile houses would entice buyers to his new resort community of Beverly Shores. Today the houses are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One is still occupied under a special park reservation program, known as “Reservations of Use,” while the others have been leased to the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, a statewide nonprofit preservation organization. Through this organization, private individuals or families have leased the homes and are rehabilitating them. They are the Wieboldt-Rostone House, Florida Tropical House, Cypress Log Cabin, House of Tomorrow and Armco-Ferro House. The houses are currently being renovated and may not be open for exhibit.

There are several beaches for sunning yourself, swimming, or walking along the lakeshore and areas watching nature. West Beach is a summer beach facility with bathhouse, picnic facilities, vending machines, restrooms, access to West Beach and hiking trails. It is open year round, from May 1st To September 30th, 9 am to 9 pm, with a parking fee charged until 8:00pm and October 1st to April 30th, 8 am to sunset. It is located 12 miles west of Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center on U.S. 12 to County Line Rd. North on County Line Rd for one quarter mile. The trails are open all year. Bicycles and foot traffic are permitted Labor Day to Memorial Day from 6 am to 9 pm. Central Beach is 4 miles east of the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center on U.S. 12 to Central Ave; north on Central Ave for one mile. It is open from April 1 to September 30, 6am to 9pm and from October 1 to November 14, 8 am to sunset. Central Ave Beach parking lot and restrooms will be closed every winter from November 15th to April 1st. Kemil Beach is open all year, from May 1st To September 30th, 6:00 am to 9:00 pm and October 1st To April 30th, 8:00 am to sunset. It is located 1 mile north of Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center on State Park Rd to the Dune Ridge Trail Head. No pets are allowed from May 1 – September 30. Lake View is open all year from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm and is located 1 mile north of Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center on State Park Dr, then east half a mile on Lake Front Rd. It has parking, picnic facilities, restrooms, interpretive exhibits, and wheel chair accessibility to Kemil Beach. Porter Beach is open all year from May 1st To September 30th, 6 am to 9 pm and October 1st To April 30th, 8 am to sunset. It is located 4 miles west of Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center on U.S. 12 to Waverly Rd. 1 and one half miles north on Waverly Rd. The lot may remain closed during times of plowable snow.

Mt. Baldy is open all year from May 1st To September 30th, 6 am to 9 pm and October 1st To April 30th, 8 am to sunset. It is located 5.5 mile east of the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center along U.S. 12 and offers restrooms, vending machines, parking, trails, and informational exhibits. Cowles Bog is open all year from 6 am to sunset. It is located 5 miles west of Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center on U.S. 12 to Mineral Springs Rd, north on Mineral Springs Rd a quarter mile to one parking area and another half mile to a second parking area. It has trails, parking, pit toilet, and access to Bailly Beach. Inland Marsh is open all year from 8 am to sunset and is located 9 miles west of Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center on U.S. 12 to Inland Marsh trail head. Continue another mile west for Inland Marsh Overlook.

The Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center is open year round. The Center continues a legacy of education established more than a century ago. At Indiana Dunes, in the late 1800s, Henry Chandler Cowles made significant contributions to the emerging science of ecology. Cowles’ ideas regarding plant succession excited the world’s scientific community. Often heralded as the birthplace of ecology, Indiana Dunes continues at the forefront of environmental research and education. Participants are housed in modern group style cabins. There are 10 cabins with central heating and air conditioning, restroom and shower facilities. Each cabin has sleeping for eight. It can accommodate groups with 70 students and 10 chaperones. A spacious multi-purpose building houses a full service kitchen and dining area. Its interior design provides flexible indoor space for large group activities. Central heating and air conditioning allow year-around program opportunities. The multi-purpose building and residential cabins are designed for wheelchair accessibility.

Half a mile south of Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center on Kemil Rd to U.S. 20 and half a mile west on U.S. 20 is the Ly-co-ki-we Horse and Hiking Trail. It is open all year from 8:00 am to sunset. Pets are not allowed on this trail and you will have to bring your own horse. It is used for cross-country skiing during periods of adequate snow coverage. There is also winter hiking and snowshoeing.

There are several other hiking options in the Lakeshore. Calumet Dune offers woods and sand dunes. Cowles Bog has 4.6 miles of trails with dunes, ponds, marsh woods and beach to enjoy. The Heron Rookery provides a unique site of these magnificent birds nesting in the spring as well as woods, a river and floodplain. Miller Woods offers a short, 1 mile hike in an oak savanna habitat with ponds, open dunes and abundant wildlife. You may even see the endangered Karner blue butterfly. Pinhook Bog is a scheduled tour only hike through an unusual floating bog area and see classic bog plants. Also, the beaches offer sand hiking and dune climbing trails.

Fishing and boating are also fun sports available. You will need an Indiana fishing license and trout-salmon stamp. Boaters can launch from nearby communities and sail or motorboat on the large lake. Boaters must stay 500 feet from marked swimming areas, even when beaching. Personal watercraft are prohibited.

The national lakeshore is in the process of restoring portions of an extensive wetland complex called the Great Marsh south of the primary dunes in the eastern half of the park. By plugging ditches, restoring the area’s hydrology, removing invasive plants, and planting native species, the lakeshore is re-creating a diverse and beautiful ecosystem. Because wetlands naturally filter contaminated water, restoring the Great Marsh will also help to improve the area’s water quality.

In pre-settlement days, naturally occurring fires cleared the dead wood and maintained prairie and savanna habitats. During the years when fire suppression was the rule, a great many of these open habitats were lost or significantly altered. Not only did this reduce habitat diversity, but it reduced the plant and animal diversity as well. Today, the national lakeshore has a rigorous prescribed burn program which is restoring the area’s prairies and savannas and helping to maintain critical habitat for the endangered Karner blue butterfly. Invasive exotic plants brought here either intentionally or accidentally from other parts of the world, out-compete our native plants for life-giving resources. The lakeshore is working hard to reduce the population of these undesirable species with a goal of eventually eliminating them. Intensive programs to remove purple loosestrife, garlic mustard, and an invasive hybrid cattail are presently under way.

When Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was established in 1966, close to 1,000 commercial buildings and home sites were included in the park’s boundary. A number of historic structures have been preserved, and some other buildings were renovated to create office space, interpretive centers, and other park facilities. The majority of these buildings are being removed in order to restore the natural areas that once were there. Resource managers take great pains to collect seeds from a variety of native plants within the park to ensure that these areas are planted with native species of local genotype.

The national lakeshore’s weather is greatly affected by Lake Michigan and can change quickly. Summers are warm and humid with high temperatures generally in the mid-80s (30c) and low temperatures in the mid-60s (18c). There are about 15 days per year above 90 (32c).Warm periods are occasionally interrupted by frontal action descending from Canada. This generally brings days of pleasant, dry weather. Sunshine is abundant in summer. Highs in winter are usually in the low to mid 30s (0c) with low temperatures in the low 20s (-5c). There are about 15 days per year below 0 (-18c). Winters tend to be cloudy except for periods of extreme cold when skies are clear.

Current Park Weather

General camping gear, good hiking shoes or boots, swimwear, wind and sun protection, and insect repellent are needful items. Be sure you use the Leave-No-Trace principles.
Camping rules include: bathing or washing of any kind at water outlets is prohibited, livestock are prohibited, the speed limit in the campground is 15 MPH, the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages by persons under 21 years of age is prohibited, weapons, traps, and fireworks are prohibited, driving nails into trees or hanging hot lanterns on trees is prohibited, and leveling and/or digging on campsite is prohibited.

Use caution when swimming in the lake. The bottom is uneven with holes and deep drop-offs. Do not step into places where you can not see the bottom of the lake. To avoid dangerous currents, do not swim or play in waves or rough water. Stay out of the water when there are high breaking waves. If caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore. Do not go into the water when “High Bacteria Counts” signs are posted. Use inflatables only when the wind is blowing toward the shore.

When fishing watch for drop-offs in creeks and along beaches. The Little Calumet River has dangerous currents. All watercraft are prohibited from all designated swimming areas. Designated swimming areas are identified by buoys from May1 through September 30. Motorized watercraft are prohibited in all national lakeshore waters.

Pets are allowed on most trails, but they must be on a leash at all times. Pets are prohibited year-round on the Ly-co-ki-we Trail, Porter Beach, and West Beach. Pets are allowed year-round on the beaches from Kemil Beach east to Mount Baldy. They are not allowed in the swimming areas.

Plants, animals and natural and historical features are protected by law; do not disturb them. Some areas within the park boundaries are private property; do not trespass. Hunting and trapping are prohibited. Firearms must be cased, broken down, and packed away. Ground fires are prohibited. Use fire grates, grills or portable charcoal, gas or liquid fuel stoves.

Protect yourself from sun, poison ivy, ticks, mosquitoes, and other biting insects. Use sunscreen and insect repellent. Wear light colored long sleeve shirts and pants to prevent both tick and mosquito bites. Limit outside activity at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most prevalent. Because of yellow jackets and other stinging insects avoid bright, flowered prints. Do not wear sandals; avoid wearing perfume, lotion and hairspray. Never swat at a flying insect. Look for insects before you drink out of an open can or bottle. Insect repellents do not work against stinging insects. Seek medical attention if you are stung and have symptoms of a systemic allergic reaction, such as swelling of the eyes, lips, tongue, throat or sting area, intense general itching, difficulty breathing, irregular heartbeat, nausea or loss of consciousness.

To prevent heat exhaustion or heat stroke, take it easy on hot days, seek shade, drink lots of water, and dress in light layers. Symptoms of heat exhaustion are nausea, exhaustion, dizziness, a rapid pulse, and pale, clammy skin. If the body is not cooled, a potentially fatal heat stroke may occur. This is a medical emergency and must be treated immediately. The onset of a heat stroke is marked by the absence of sweat and skin that is flushed and hot.

The wildlife is also diverse. A wide variety of habitats within the park coupled with the moderating effects of Lake Michigan make the region an ideal home for hundreds of animal species. The park is renowned for its birdlife; more than 350 species have been observed here. Located on the southern tip of Lake Michigan, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is an especially important feeding and resting area for migrating land and water birds. One area within the national lakeshore has been set aside especially for its value as a great blue heron rookery.

Lake Michigan influences the migration patterns of bird species. During the fall migration southbound birds follow the north-south shoreline and are funneled into the Indiana Dunes. Also, the large expanse of open water and miles of shoreline can attract large numbers of wintering birds. The Indiana Dunes provides an excellent opportunity for bird watchers to see a variety of bird species. Birders can spend time sitting on the shoreline with a spotting scope watching the lake for birds, or standing on the fore dunes observing the hawks during migration, to looking for wetland birds in remnant sections of the great marsh. Whether you are a beginner or have advanced identification skills, the Indiana Dunes is a great place for bird watching.

Thirty-seven species of mammals have been documented at the national lakeshore. The largest herbivore in the park is the white-tailed deer, and the largest predator is the coyote. 352 species of birds have been identified with 113 considered regular nesters. The national lakeshore also provides habitat for a great blue heron rookery. There are 18 species of amphibians, 27 species of reptiles, about 100 different species of lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and 60 species of odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) to be found here. The national lakeshore provides critical habitat for the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly.

Disturbing, hunting or capturing wildlife is prohibited.

All camping sites are $15.00 per night. Fees are reduced 50% for holders of Golden Age and Golden Access cards.

There is a user fee for West Beach of $6.00 per car/day, $1.00 for bicycle/walk-ins per day, and $30.00 per bus/day during the summer swimming season only. The National Park Pass of $50.00/year can not be used for West Beach.

Dunewood Campground is open from April 1 To October 31 annually. There are 79 campsites total with 54 drive-in sites and 25 walk-in sites with 4 sites that are fully accessible. Restrooms and hot showers are available, but there are no electric hookups. All facilities are accessible to the mobility impaired and there is no limit on recreational vehicle length. Campsites available on a first come first serve basis as reservations are not accepted. The limit of stay is 14 days in a 30 day period. Wood gathering is prohibited, but may be purchased at local convenience stores. Lake Michigan is located 1.5 miles north of the campground. Several beaches are within easy driving distance. Pets must be under physical control, on leash (6′ maximum), or caged.

Each camping group must register and pay the fee each day at the registration station. Checkout time is 12 noon. The registration receipt must be displayed on your campsite post. Camping groups must register within one hour of occupying the selected campsite. Site registration renewal must be done by 10:00 a.m. Maximum occupancy per site: Walk-in site: 8 people/1 vehicle (2 tents). All other sites: 8 people/2 vehicles (1 RV or 2 tents). All tents must remain on the camping pad. Vehicles and trailers must remain on the pavement. Bicycles may be walked to the walk-in campsites. Pets must be under physical control, on leash (6′ maximum), or caged. Campfires are permitted in provided grates only. Wood gathering, removal or cutting of vegetation is prohibited. Quiet hours are enforced: 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Generators and audio devices may not disturb other campers. Unoccupied, but paid for, campsites should contain a tent, trailer, or other substantial item to make it obvious that the campsite is occupied.

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Indiana Dunes State Park, Woodland Park, Imagination Glen Park, Marquette Park, Washington Park, Krueger Memorial Park, Motts Park, Port of Indiana Fishing Area, Chubb Lake and Pratt Lake are all nearby.

The surrounding communities are serviced by the Gary Regional Airport, South Bend Airport, and Chicago’s Midway and O’Hare Airports.

The Dunes are easily reached by car west from Chicago on Interstate 90 to Highway 12, or Interstate 80/94 to Highway 12 and from the south, Interstate 65 to Highway 12.

A South Shore Railroad station, with passenger service to Chicago and South Bend, is located ¼ of a mile from the campgrounds.

Visitors can travel park roads in personal vehicles. Bicycles are permitted on the main roads but are prohibited on all hiking trails except: Calumet Bike Trail, Long Lake Trail, Marquette Trail, and the Lake Michigan shore line from Lake Front Drive to Central Avenue Beach. Bicycles are strictly prohibited off-trail or on sand dunes.

The Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center can be located: from the north, east, or west via the Indiana Toll Road, or Interstates 90 and 80/94. Locally it can be accessed from U.S. Highways 12 or 20. From the south the Learning Center can be reached from Indiana Highway 49 or Interstate 65, which connect with all east/west roadways.

Approximate Mileage from the following major cities to Indiana Dunes National Park:

By Car:

Chicago, IL – 38.20 miles

Merrillville, IN – 16.05 miles

Crown Point, IN – 22.65

Gary, IN – 7.44 miles

Michigan City, IN – 22.89 miles

By Plane:

Gary Chicago International Airport – 10.65 miles

South Bend Regional Airport – 59 miles

Midway International Airport – 42.99 miles

Chicago O’Hare International Airport – 54.66 miles

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

1100 N. Mineral Springs Road, Porter, IN 46304

219-926-7561, extension 225

Beach Closing Information Recorded Message 219-926-7561 x668

By Fax 219-926-7561

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