Indiana Dunes
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Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
managed by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
. 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. The park runs for about along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers . 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 Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., formerly Cliffs Natural Resources, is a Cleveland, Ohio-based company that specializes in the mining, beneficiation, and pelletizing of iron ore, as well as steelmaking, including stamping and tooling. It is the largest f ...
steel plant on the west. 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 Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the sou ...
. In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog, in LaPorte County to the east; the
Heron Rookery The Heron Rookery in Porter County, Indiana, was set aside to protect the nesting grounds of the great blue heron (''Ardea herodias''). In 1980, the Indiana State Department of Correction transferred to the National Park Service in exchange for ...
in
Porter County Porter County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 173,215, making it the 10th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso. The county is part of Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago m ...
, the center of the park; and the Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County, the western end of the park.


History

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 The Hopewell tradition, also called the Hopewell culture and Hopewellian exchange, describes a network of precontact Native American cultures that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from ...
. 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), 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. 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.Bailly Homestead, Historic Structures Report, Historical Data Section; Dr. Harry Pfanz, ca. 1972, pg 4, manuscript, Margaret Larson; ca. 1907
Joseph Bailly Joseph Bailly (7 April 1774 – 21 December 1835) was a fur trader and a member of an important French Canadian family that included his uncle, Charles-François Bailly de Messein. Bailly was one of several Canadian from prominent families ...
was the earliest recorded settler in the dunes. He moved here from trading villages around
Niles, Michigan Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the Indiana border city of South Bend. In 2010, the population was 11,600 according to the 2010 census. It is the larger, by population, of the two principal cit ...
. Settling along the
Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the ...
. Soon he was joined by a series of other settlers and the communities in the dunes began to develop. They included Chesterton,
Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...
, Tremont, and the Town of the Pines. These pioneer communities grew and expanded.
City West City West (formerly known as ''Neuer Westen'' ("New West") or ''Zooviertel'' ("Zoo Quarter")) is an area in the western part of central Berlin. It is one of Berlin's main commercial areas, and was the commercial centre of former West Berlin when ...
was one of several "ghost towns" situated in the dunes. Planned as a rival to Chicago, 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.


Preserving the dunes and National Lakeshore

Triggered by a publication on the unique flora of the dunes in the 1899 '' Botanical Gazette'' by University of Chicago botanist
Henry Chandler Cowles Henry Chandler Cowles (February 27, 1869 – September 12, 1939) was an American botanist and ecological pioneer (see History of ecology). A professor at the University of Chicago, he studied ecological succession in the Indiana Dunes of Nort ...
, a movement began to preserve the dunes habitat.Engel, J. Ronald; Sacred Sands, The Struggle for Community in the Indiana Dunes; Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Connecticut; 1983 In 1916, the visionary National Parks Director
Stephen Mather Stephen Tyng Mather (July 4, 1867 – January 22, 1930) was an American industrialist and conservationist who was the first director of the National Park Service. As president and owner of Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company he became a million ...
held hearings in Chicago on a "Sand Dunes National Park". 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. 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 Save the Dunes Conservation Fund, originally known as Save the Dunes Council, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Northwest Indiana whose mission is to preserve, protect and restore the Indiana dunes and all natural resources in Northwest India ...
Council, including its president
Dorothy Richardson Buell Dorothy Richardson Buell (1886–1976) was an American educator and nature preservationist who became the founder and first president of the Save the Dunes Council, a nonprofit group dedicated to preserving the Indiana dunelands along Lake Michigan ...
and activist Hazel Hannell, began a nationwide campaign to buy the land. Their first success was the purchase of in Porter County, the Cowles Tamarack Bog. The ''Kennedy Compromise'' entailed the creation of a national lakeshore and a port. 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 .


Redesignation as National Park

A bill to reclassify Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore as Indiana Dunes National Park was sponsored by Representative
Pete Visclosky Peter John Visclosky ( ; born August 13, 1949) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1985 until his retirement in 2021. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was the dean of the Indiana congressional d ...
and Senators
Todd Young Todd Christopher Young (born August 24, 1972) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Indiana, a seat he has held since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Young previously served as the U.S. re ...
and
Mike Braun Michael Kent Braun (; born March 24, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Indiana since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the 63rd district in the India ...
and previously by Senator
Joe Donnelly Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. Since 2022, he has served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy S ...
, who wanted to bring the site more recognition. 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 A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...
, which are typically much larger. 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.


Geography

The creeks and rivers of the national park include: *
Dunes Creek Dunes Creek is a northwards-flowing U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 stream which drains the Great Marsh of Indiana Dunes State Park and Indiana Dunes Nati ...
is a northwards-flowing stream which drains the flows northward, receiving first the Great Marsh tributary from the east and then the West Branch tributary which drains Cowles Bog. Dunes Creek passes through the coastal sand dunes to empty into Lake Michigan. *
East Arm Little Calumet River The East Arm Little Calumet River, also known as the Little Calumet River East Branch, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 19, 2011 portion of the Little Calumet ...
, also known as the "East Branch Little Calumet River", is a portion of the
Little Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the ...
that begins just east of Holmesville, Indiana, in New Durham Township in LaPorte County and flows west to
Porter County Porter County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 173,215, making it the 10th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso. The county is part of Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago m ...
where it is diverted to the Port of Indiana-Burns Waterway and Lake Michigan. * Salt Creek is a tributary of the
East Arm Little Calumet River The East Arm Little Calumet River, also known as the Little Calumet River East Branch, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 19, 2011 portion of the Little Calumet ...
that begins south of Valparaiso in
Porter County, Indiana Porter County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 173,215, making it the 10th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso. The county is part of Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago ...
, and flows north until it joins the East Arm Little Calumet River just before it exits to Lake Michigan via the Port of Indiana-Burns Waterway. * Trail Creek is a north- by northwest-flowing stream whose main stem begins at the confluence of the West Branch Trail Creek and the East Branch Trail Creek in LaPorte County, Indiana, and flows through the Michigan City harbor into Lake Michigan.


Climate

According to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Indiana Dunes National Park has a hot summer
Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(''Dfa''). According to the
United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
, 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). 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. * Winter: Winter months bring the risk of
shelf ice Shelf ice is ice that forms when a portion of a lake surface freezes. It is often then washed upon the shore. The phenomenon is common within the Great Lakes. Formation Shelf ice forms from float ice. Float ice is like drift ice, but seldo ...
. This is a condition where the winter winds push ice from Lake Michigan onto the beaches. As the cold depends, the ice can build up into long ridges creating an arctic dunescape. Much of this ice is floating. It may be dangerous to walk on the ice as there can be air pockets into which you can sink. Rescue is extremely difficult. * Summer: During the summer months,
rip current A rip current, often simply called a rip (or misleadingly a ''rip tide''), is a specific kind of water current that can occur near beaches with breaking waves. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water which moves directly away ...
s can occur in Lake Michigan. These occur suddenly and can sweep swimmers far out into the lake. Rip currents are most prevalent on days with a strong north wind.Valpo man risks life to save girl in rip current; confusion on the beach; Kevin Nevers; Chesterton Tribune, Vol. 127, No. 51, Page 1 & 12; Chesterton, Indiana; 6/11/2010 Rip currents are created when masses of water are pushed against the shoreline by a north wind. The mass of water becomes trapped between the beach and the first sandbar. As the wind continues, the volume of water increases until weight of incoming water and the mass of the sandbar are unable push back the growing volume of water behind the sandbar. Then, the trapped water creates a narrow channel through the sandbar. The water rushes back into the lake forming a river in the lake. Anything or anyone in the current is taken out into the lake.


Geology

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)The Indiana Dunes – Legacy of Sand; Special Report 8; State of Indiana Department of Natural Resources; forming the southern shore of the Lake Michigan Basin. The
Valparaiso Moraine The Valparaiso Moraine is a recessional moraine (a land form left by receding glaciers) that forms an immense U around the southern Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is the longest moraine. It is a band of hilly terrain composed of glac ...
is the dominant geologic form that created the various landscape forms of the Indiana Dunes about 40,000 YBP. Within the arc created by the Valparaiso Moraine are the two younger recessional moraines of the
Tinley Moraine The Tinley Moraine is a moraine around the Lake Michigan basin in North America. It was formed during the Wisconsin Glaciation and is younger than the higher and wider terminal moraine called the Valparaiso Moraine, which is located farther from t ...
and the Lake Border Moraine. Each moraine created an artificial 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. The
Calumet Shoreline The Calumet Shoreline is an ancient shoreline of Lake Michigan located in the Lake Michigan Basin. It can be clearly seen as a sand ridge along Ridge Road south of Chicago. Closer to the lake from the Calumet Shoreline, there are the Tolleston sho ...
is the oldest visible shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is a visible sand ridge along Ridge Road through
Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
and
Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...
Counties, Indiana. Two older shorelines, the Tolleston and the
Glenwood Shoreline The Glenwood Shoreline is an ancient shoreline of the precursor to Lake Michigan, Lake Chicago. It is named after the town of Glenwood, Illinois. The shoreline was formed when the lake was higher during the last ice age, while ice blocked the Stra ...
are much harder to identify and further south in those counties.Kenneth J. Schoon, Calumet Beginnings, 2003 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 Lake Chicago was a prehistoric proglacial lake that is the ancestor of what is now known as Lake Michigan, one of North America's five Great Lakes. Fed by retreating glaciers, it drained south through the Chicago Outlet River. Origin The c ...
(14,000 YBP), glacial
Lake Algonquin Lake Algonquin was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed in east-central North America at the time of the last ice age. Parts of the former lake are now Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Nipigon, and Lake Nipissing ...
(9,000 YBP), glacial
Lake Chippewa Lake Chippewa was a prehistoric proglacial lake. The basin is now Lake Michigan. It formed about 10,600 years before present (YBP). The lake occupied the depression left by the Michigan Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet.University of Wisconsin ...
(7,000 YBP), and the
Nipissing Great Lakes Nipissing Great Lakes was a prehistoric proglacial lake. Parts of the former lake are now Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and Lake Michigan. It formed about 7,500 years before present (YBP). The lake occupied the depression left by the L ...
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. 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. 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. Over time, the sand spits would merge with the far shoreline, forming interdunal ponds. 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 The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the ...
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 ''Wolf Lake'' is an American supernatural drama television series that originally aired on CBS from September 19 to October 24, 2001. Nine episodes were produced, but only five aired before the series was canceled by CBS. The full series, inclu ...
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. 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.


Flora and fauna

The park is in the
central forest-grasslands transition Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
. According to the
A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 1907–1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system in widespread use in the United States. Some of this database has bec ...
U.S.
Potential natural vegetation In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard event ...
Types, Indiana Dunes National Park has an
Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
/ Hickory (''100'') potential vegetation type and an Eastern Hardwood forest, aka
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These ...
(''26'') potential vegetation form.


Rare, threatened, and endangered species

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: * Mead's milkweed (''
Asclepias meadii ''Asclepias meadii'' is a rare species of milkweed known by the common name Mead's milkweed. It is native to the American Midwest, where it was probably once quite widespread in the tallgrass prairie. Today much of the Midwest has been fragmente ...
'') * Pitcher's thistle (''
Cirsium pitcheri ''Cirsium pitcheri'', sometimes called Pitcher's thistle or dune thistle, is a species of thistle native to sand dune shorelines along the upper Great Lakes. It is native to Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ontario. It is listed by t ...
'') Several others are on the list of state T&E species.Historic Structures Report and Cultural Landscape Report; ''Phase II: Environmental Assessment for Good Fellow Club Youth Camp''; USDI, National Park Service; Porter, Indiana; June 2009 Populations of each plant group are estimated to be around 100–120 individual plants. The species included are: * White baneberry (''
Actaea pachypoda ''Actaea pachypoda'', the white baneberry or doll's-eyes, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Actaea'', of the family Ranunculaceae. The plant is native to eastern North America, in eastern Canada, and the Midwestern and Eastern Uni ...
'') * Virginia snake root (''
Aristolochia serpentaria ''Aristolochia serpentaria'' is a species of perennial flowering plant in the Aristolochiaceae (birthwort) family. The species is commonly known as Virginia snakeroot and is native to eastern North America, from Connecticut to southern Michigan ...
'') * Shooting star (''
Dodecatheon meadia ''Primula meadia'' (syn. ''Dodecatheon meadia''), known by the common names shooting star, eastern shooting star, American cowslip, roosterheads, and prairie pointers is a species of flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae. It is nativ ...
'') * American columbo ('' Frasera caroliniensis'') * Pink corydalis (''
Corydalis sempervirens ''Capnoides sempervirens'', the harlequin corydalis, rock harlequin, pale corydalis or pink corydalis, is an annual or biennial plant native to rocky woodland and burned or disturbed places in northern North America. ''Capnoides sempervirens'' i ...
'') Among the federally threatened and endangered wildlife are: *
Indiana bat The Indiana bat (''Myotis sodalis'') is a medium-sized mouse-eared bat native to North America. It lives primarily in Southern and Midwestern U.S. states and is listed as an endangered species. The Indiana bat is grey, black, or chestnut in colo ...
(''Myotis sodalis'') * Eastern massasauga rattlesnake (''
Sistrurus catenatus The massasauga (''Sistrurus catenatus'') is a rattlesnake species found in midwestern North America from southern Ontario to northern Mexico and parts of the United States in between. Like all rattlesnakes, it is a pit viper and is venomous. Th ...
catenatus'') * Rufa
Red knot The red knot or just knot (''Calidris canutus'') is a medium-sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the '' Calidris'' sandpipers, second only to the ...
(''Calidris canutus rufa'') * Piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') In addition, the park has habitat suitable for the bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'').


Species count


Wildlife

Indiana Dunes National Park is host to wide variety of wildlife, including
white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
, red fox,
raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
s, opossums,
cottontail rabbit Cottontail rabbits are the leporid species in the genus ''Sylvilagus'', found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characteristic name. However, this ...
s, various rodents,
Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...
,
gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century ...
s, squirrels, hawks,
turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of Sout ...
s, mallards, great blue herons, songbirds, and
garter snake Garter snake is a common name for generally harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus ''Thamnophis'' in the family Colubridae. Native to North and Central America, species in the genus ''Thamnophis'' can be found from the ...
s. Recent records, documented photographically, indicate that
North American river otter The North American river otter (''Lontra canadensis''), also known as the northern river otter and river otter, is a semiaquatic mammal that only lives on the North American continent, along its waterways and coasts. An adult North American rive ...
(''Lontra canadensis'') and bobcat (''Lynx rufus'') began returning to the area in 2011 and 2018, respectively.


Flowering plants

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 ''Podophyllum'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native from Afghanistan to China, and from southeast Canada to the central and eastern United States. The genus was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. Taxonomy Th ...
,
buttercups ''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed in Europe, ...
(six varieties), and
violets Violet identifies various plant taxa, particularly species in the genus ''Viola'', within which the common violet is the best known member in Eurasia and the common blue violet and common purple violet are the best known members in North America ...
(14 varieties). Summer brings out the
orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
(five varieties) and much
goldenrod Goldenrod is a common name for many species of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, commonly in reference to the genus '' Solidago''. Several genera, such as '' Euthamia'', were formerly included in a broader concept of the gen ...
(11 varieties).


Invasive plants

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.


Unusual sightings

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.''The Auk'', A Quarterly Journal of Ornithology, Volume 38, The American Ornithologists' Union, Lancaster PA, 1921 In May 1919, a
clay-colored sparrow The clay-colored sparrow or clay-coloured sparrow (''Spizella pallida'') is a small New World sparrow of North America. Adults have light brown upperparts and pale underparts, with darker streaks on the back. They have a pale crown stripe on a ...
was found near Dune Park. It was a part of a larger flock of
Harris's sparrow Harris's sparrow (''Zonotrichia querula'') is a large sparrow. Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada (primarily the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, ranging slightly into northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan), making it C ...
migrating along the western shore of Lake Michigan.


Extirpated species

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:


Exotic and invasive species

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'' * Yarrow, (''
Achillea millefolium ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal. The ...
'') * Tree of heaven, (''
Ailanthus altissima ''Ailanthus altissima'' , commonly known as tree of heaven, ailanthus, varnish tree, or in Chinese as ''chouchun'' (), is a deciduous tree in the family Simaroubaceae. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other membe ...
'')* * Garlic mustard, (''
Alliaria petiolata ''Alliaria petiolata'', or garlic mustard, is a biennial flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). It is native to Europe, western and central Asia, north-western Africa, Morocco, Iberia and the British Isles, north to northern S ...
'')* * Japanese barberry, (''
Berberis thunbergii ''Berberis thunbergii'', the Japanese barberry, Thunberg's barberry, or red barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the barberry family Berberidaceae, native to Japan and eastern Asia, though widely naturalized in China and North America, w ...
'')* * Oriental bittersweet, ('' Celastrus orbiculatus'')* * Ox-eye daisy, (''
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum ''Leucanthemum vulgare'', commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite (french: Marguerite commune, "common marguerite") and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions ...
pinnatifidum'') * Field thistle, (''
Cirsium arvense ''Cirsium arvense'' is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere.Joint Nature Conservation Committee''Cirsium arvense'' The standa ...
'')* * Common day-flower, (''
Commelina communis ''Commelina communis'', commonly known as the Asiatic dayflower, is an herbaceous annual plant in the dayflower family. It gets its name because the blooms last for only one day. It is native throughout much of East Asia and northern parts o ...
'') * Queen Anne's lace, ('' Daucus carota'') * Autumn olive, (''
Elaeagnus umbellata ''Elaeagnus umbellata'' is known as Japanese silverberry, umbellata oleaster, autumn olive, autumn elaeagnus, or spreading oleaster. The species is indigenous to eastern Asia and ranges from the Himalayas eastwards to Japan. It is a hardy, aggre ...
'')* * Creeping Charlie, (''
Glechoma hederacea ''Glechoma hederacea'' is an aromatic, perennial, evergreen creeper of the mint family Lamiaceae. It is commonly known as ground-ivy, gill-over-the-ground, creeping charlie, alehoof, tunhoof, catsfoot, field balm, and run-away-robin. It is als ...
'')* * Yellow downy bush honeysuckle, ('' Lonicera × muendeniensis'') * Bush honeysuckle, ('' Lonicera tatarica'')* * English plantain, ('' Plantago lanceolata'') * Japanese knotweed, (''
Reynoutria japonica ''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...
'', syn. ''Polygonum cuspidatum'')* * Sulphur cinquefoil, ('' Potentilla recta'') * All-heal, ('' Prunella spp.'') * Apple, ('' Pyrus malus'') * Black locust, (''
Robinia pseudoacacia ''Robinia pseudoacacia'', commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is endemic to a few small areas of the United States, ...
'')* * Northern catalpa, (''
Catalpa speciosa ''Catalpa speciosa'', commonly known as the northern catalpa, hardy catalpa, western catalpa, cigar tree, catawba-tree, or ''bois chavanon'', is a species of ''Catalpa'' native to the midwestern United States. The Latin specific epithet ''speci ...
'')*


BioBlitz

On May 15 and 16, 2009, the park hosted an All Taxa Biological Diversity survey. In a 24-hour period, as part of the BioBlitx 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 The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...
, stated that 890 species had been inventoried. 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. The tally had risen to 1,200 unique species by June 1.


Natural areas


Calumet Prairie

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 The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the ...
on the south. The National Park owns the southern half of this plot.


Cowles Bog

Cowles Bog, a
National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...
, is a
wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
complex containing bog,
fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich Groundwater, ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as ...
,
marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
, swamp,
wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are Solubility, saturated for part or all of the growing season. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of wetland. Wet prairies and wet savannas are hyd ...
, and
pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...
habitats; named in honor of
biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
and
ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
Henry Chandler Cowles Henry Chandler Cowles (February 27, 1869 – September 12, 1939) was an American botanist and ecological pioneer (see History of ecology). A professor at the University of Chicago, he studied ecological succession in the Indiana Dunes of Nort ...
. Located south and west of
Dune Acres, Indiana Dune Acres is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 182 at the 2010 census. Dune Acres is located in the duneland of the south shore of Lake Michigan. Many residents of Dune Acres and surr ...
, Cowles Bog is the sole remaining 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 Dunes Creek is a northwards-flowing U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 stream which drains the Great Marsh of Indiana Dunes State Park and Indiana Dunes Nati ...
, which flows to Lake Michigan at the
Indiana Dunes State Park Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located in Porter County, Indiana, United States, east of Chicago. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest and is surrounded by as well as within the authorized boundaries of Ind ...
swimming beach. A National Park trail runs from Mineral Springs Road into Cowles Bog.


Great Marsh

The Great Marsh is an interdunal wetland just south of the dune ridge overlooking Lake Michigan. It stretches from steel plants in
Burns Harbor Burns Harbor is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States on the shores of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 1,156 at the 2010 census. Burns Harbor is ...
, 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.Great Marsh Restoration, At Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Pamphlet, Porter, Indiana, obtained 2010 In the late 19th century, the marsh was drained through a series of ditches, creating three watersheds and reducing the
water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. T ...
. 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. * Native plants & animals **
Coots Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...
**
Mallards The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...
**
Wood duck The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. Description The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A ty ...
s **
Kingfishers Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...
**
Tree swallow The tree swallow (''Tachycineta bicolor'') is a migratory bird of the family Hirundinidae. Found in the Americas, the tree swallow was first described in 1807 by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot as ''Hirundo bicolor''. It has since been mov ...
s ** Rusty blackbirds **
Green herons The green heron (''Butorides virescens'') is a small heron of North and Central America. ''Butorides'' is from Middle English ''butor'' "bittern" and Ancient Greek ''-oides'', "resembling", and ''virescens'' is Latin for "greenish". It was long c ...
** Beaver **
sedges The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...
* Invasive plants **
Common reed ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of plant. It is a broadly distributed wetland grass that can grow up to tall. Description ''Phragmites australis'' commonly forms extensive stands (known as reed beds), which may ...
** Hybrid cattail **
Reed canary grass ''Phalaris arundinacea'', or reed canary grass, is a tall, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, northern ...
**
Green ash ''Fraxinus pennsylvanica'', the green ash or red ash, is a species of ash native to eastern and central North America, from Nova Scotia west to southeastern Alberta and eastern Colorado, south to northern Florida, and southwest to Oklahoma and e ...
** Cottonwood **
Silver maple ''Acer saccharinum'', commonly known as silver maple, creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, large maple, water maple, swamp maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to the eastern and central United States and southeastern Canad ...
* ''Restoration'' Beginning in 1998, the national lakeshore began restoration of the marsh by closing Derby Ditch and restoring . The work consists of: ** Plugging culverts ** Filling ditches ** Creating levees with spillways ** Planting native plants, either as seed or small sprouts ** Removing non-native plants and trees


Heron Rookery

The heron rookery is located along the
East Arm Little Calumet River The East Arm Little Calumet River, also known as the Little Calumet River East Branch, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 19, 2011 portion of the Little Calumet ...
in the northeast corner of
Porter County Porter County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 173,215, making it the 10th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso. The county is part of Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago m ...
. 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.


Hobart Prairie Grove

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 An oak savanna is a type of savanna—or lightly forested grassland—where oaks (''Quercus ''spp.) are the dominant trees. The terms "oakery" or "woodlands" are also used commonly, though the former is more prevalent when referencing the Medite ...
. At about , the grove contains 343 native plants and a variety of birds and animals. The unique soil is at least 70 percent
silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...
and
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
with some
sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...
. The soil supports a diversity of life. The Hobart Woodland trail is a 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 Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...
. Of the trails 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.


Hoosier Prairie

Hoosier Prairie, a
National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...
, is a tallgrass
prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
adjacent to
Griffith, Indiana Griffith is a town in the Calumet and St. John townships in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 16,331 in 2021. History The Griffith State Bank, E.J. and E. Griffith Interloc ...
. It is a geographically isolated unit of the park, owned and maintained by the
Indiana Department of Natural Resources The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the U.S. state of Indiana. There are many divisions within the DNR and each has a specific role. The DNR is not only responsible for maintaining resource areas but also manages In ...
as a state nature preserve. Some 574 species of plants have been observed growing in this patch of prairie.


Miller Woods

Miller Woods is located in
Miller Beach Miller Beach (also commonly known as Miller) is a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana on the southernmost shore of Lake Michigan. First settled in 1851, Miller Beach was originally an independent town. However, the "Town of Miller" was eventually annexe ...
, 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.


Mnoké Prairie

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.


Mount Baldy

Mount Baldy is a sand dune located at the east end of the park. At 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 every year, and so is called a "living dune". Mount Baldy is accessible from
U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) an ...
(also known as
Dunes Highway A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
) 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.


Pinhook Bog

Pinhook Bog, a
National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...
, is a geographically isolated unit of the national park. The quaking
peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
is located near
U.S. Route 421 U.S. Route 421 (also U.S. Highway 421, US 421) is a diagonal northwest–southeast United States Numbered Highway in the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. The highway runs for from Fort Fisher, North Caro ...
approximately 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 plant Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher p ...
s and other wetland species. Access to the bog is restricted to ranger-led guided tours.


Historic areas


Bailly Homestead

This is the location of the pioneer trading post established in 1822 by fur trade pioneer
Joseph Bailly Joseph Bailly (7 April 1774 – 21 December 1835) was a fur trader and a member of an important French Canadian family that included his uncle, Charles-François Bailly de Messein. Bailly was one of several Canadian from prominent families ...
. Bailly settled here and his last home, adapted from his 1830s retirement house, survives. The Homestead was designated a U.S.
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1962.


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.


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. Today, the forest covers the dunes and the lake is not visible. Numerous changes have occurred since the first burial in 1827.BAILLY CEMETERY, at Baileytown, near Porter, Westchester Township, Porter County Indiana; Cemetery of the Pioneer family of Honore Gratien Joseph Bailly de Messein; and Marie LeFevre; Burials 1827 to 1918; Olga May Schiemann, 1952; pg 1
Joseph Bailly Joseph Bailly (7 April 1774 – 21 December 1835) was a fur trader and a member of an important French Canadian family that included his uncle, Charles-François Bailly de Messein. Bailly was one of several Canadian from prominent families ...
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. 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 California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. She was returned to Indiana in 1917 and was the last burial in the family cemetery.


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.


Good Fellow Club Youth Camp

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. 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.


Lustron Homes

The national park acquired three
Lustron house Lustron houses are prefabricated enameled steel houses developed in the post-World War II era United States in response to the shortage of homes for returning G.I.s by Chicago industrialist and inventor Carl Strandlund. Considered low-maintena ...
s 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 Indiana Landmarks is America's largest private statewide historic preservation organization. Founded in 1960 as Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana by a volunteer group of civic and business leaders led by Indianapolis pharmaceutical execu ...
for preservation and was moved to Stephens Street in
Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...
. The Powell house remains inaccessible within the park on Lakefront Drive.


Swedish Farmsteads Historic District (pending)

The Swedish Farmsteads of
Porter County, Indiana Porter County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 173,215, making it the 10th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso. The county is part of Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago ...
, 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.National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form; Selected Swedish Farmsteads of Porter County, Indiana; NPS Form 10-900- B; Kenneth R. Dodson, July 10, 1994


Recreation

The park contains of beaches, as well as sand dunes, bogs,
marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
es, swamps,
fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich Groundwater, ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as ...
s,
prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
s, rivers,
oak savanna An oak savanna is a type of savanna—or lightly forested grassland—where oaks (''Quercus ''spp.) are the dominant trees. The terms "oakery" or "woodlands" are also used commonly, though the former is more prevalent when referencing the Medite ...
s, and woodland forests. The park is also noted for its
singing sand Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
s. 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 Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They ...
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 Bearberries ( indigenous kinnickinnick) are three species of dwarf shrubs in the genus ''Arctostaphylos''. Unlike the other species of ''Arctostaphylos'' (see manzanita), they are adapted to Arctic and Subarctic climates, and have a circumpolar ...
) alongside desert plants (such as the
prickly pear cactus ''Opuntia'', commonly called prickly pear or pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''nopal'' (paddle, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word f ...
). First-time visitors to the park often go to the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center at
U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...
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. Camping is available at the Dunewood Campground on
U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) an ...
. 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 Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
,
camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...
, of
hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
,
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
,
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
,
horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
, and cross-country skiing. Cycling is available on the
Calumet Trail The Calumet Trail is an east-west bicycle and multiuse recreational trail in the Calumet region of northwestern Indiana, United States. It runs roughly parallel to U.S. Route 12 and the right-of-way of the South Shore line, along the NIPSCO easem ...
, a crushed limestone multiuse trail which runs through the eastern section of the park, providing access to
Indiana Dunes State Park Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located in Porter County, Indiana, United States, east of Chicago. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest and is surrounded by as well as within the authorized boundaries of Ind ...
, as well as to the communities of
Beverly Shores Beverly Shores is a town in Pine Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States, about east of downtown Chicago. The population was 613 at the 2010 census. History Beverly Shores began life as a planned resort community. The Chicago, Lake Shor ...
; 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.Education Programs At Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore brochure; National Park Service Events in 2013, showed that on large dunes unexpected
sink holes A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...
may develop. Scientists concluded these are caused by buried trees that eventually decay causing cavities.


Trails

Indiana Dunes has numerous short hike trails and a few longer distance trails: * Paul H. Douglas Trail, formerly the Miller Woods Trail, is located off Lake Street in Gary's
Miller Beach Miller Beach (also commonly known as Miller) is a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana on the southernmost shore of Lake Michigan. First settled in 1851, Miller Beach was originally an independent town. However, the "Town of Miller" was eventually annexe ...
community. The trail is fully accessible from a parking lot just north of the Douglas Center for Environmental Education. * Tolleston Dune overlook is a short accessible walk through the treetops to a dune ridge overlook of the vast inland marsh. For a more in depth experiences, the Tolleston Dune trail consists of two loops forming a walk around the through the marsh and oak savannas.Indiana Dunes, the Casual Coast; Porter County Convention and Rec Commission, 2008 Both trails start along U.S. 12, just east of the Porter-Lake County Line Road and the West Beach unit of the park in the Town of Ogden Dunes. * Succession Trail is located at West Beach. The trail climbs into the high dunes, and while mostly on boardwalk and stairways, the climb is steep. This trail is about long.Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore brochure; National Park Service; 2001 * Bailly-Chellberg Trails is a series of interconnected trails. Primarily, it consists of two loops through the historic area around the Bailly Homestead and the
Chellberg Farm Chellberg Farm (sometimes Anders Kjellberg Farm) is a historic farmstead which in 1972 became part of Indiana Dunes National Park. Chellberg Farm is significant as it represents the ethnic heritage of a nearly forgotten Swedish-American settlement. ...
. This trail takes visitors to a second growth forest, where the trees had once been removed for farming or timber harvest. Included along the north spur is a trip the Bailly Cemetery. * The Little Calumet River Trail offers an opportunity to visit a restored prairie and the flood plain of the East Arm Little Calumet River. Both represent the land before settlers arrived. This trail can be reached from the Bailly-Chellburg Trails by walking west from the Homestead to Howe Road, then following it across the East Arm Little Calumet River and up through the wetland overlook and parking lot for Mnoke Prairie. This trail ends near the north end of the two loops of the Bailly Chellberg Trails, or visitors can walk from the parking area at Howe Road * Cowles Bog Trail is reached off of North Mineral Springs Road. Parking is to the east of the guard shack for Dune Acres. This loop is one of the most rugged trails in the park. Visitors begin with a long level walk skirting the wetlands of the Cowles Bog complex and the dune ridges to the north. Following the first fork to the north, they must climb through the dunes until they reach Lake Michigan. This is one of the least crowded areas of the park. Upon return, visitors can take the west part of the loop. Again through the dunes, covered with northern white cedars, black oaks and a variety of trees, visitors will again see inter-dunal wetlands, the open beach, and the long, flat Cowles Bog wetland complex. To complete the full , visitors need to continue west around the wetlands to the parking area at Mineral Sproad crossing, with parking available at Mineral Springs Road, Dune Park station, Calumet Dunes Trail Park, and at U.S. 12, where it crosses the South Shore Tracks, just west of Michigan City. * The Calumet Dune Trail is fully accessible from the Calumet Dunes Interpretive Center (Kemil Road at U.S. 12). The trail is long and fully paved. Here, visitors may observe a mature wetland forest. * The far western end of the Calumet Dune Trail links to the Glenwood Dune Horse and Hiking Trail. The Horse trail is long and is accessible by horses and hikers from its own parking lot at U.S. 20 just west of Kemil Road. Visitors must bring their own horses.


Burnham Plan trails

The Marquette Plan, a Lakeshore Investment Strategy for Indiana, is composed of two key elements. A 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.


Water Trail

The Lake Michigan Water Trail, was designated a National Recreation Trail in 2011 and currently extends from Chicago's Northerly Island to Michigan City's Millennium Plaza.


Long Distance Hike/Bike Trail

There will be links to major parks and a wide variety of cultural and natural sites. The Calumet Trail will eventually connect the eastern and western segments of Indiana Dunes National Park. The Porter Brickyard Trail opened in 2012 as part of the Burnham Plan Centennia''l''. 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.


Lake Michigan

West Beach, located adjacent to
U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) an ...
and County Line Road, lies on the border of Gary and
Portage, Indiana Portage ( ) is a city in Portage Township, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, on the border with Lake County. The population was 37,926 as of the 2020 census. It is the largest city in Porter County, and third largest in Northwest ...
. 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 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 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) an ...
, is a small, public sand beach within Indiana Dunes National Park. The surrounding area is residential and is governed by the town of
Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...
. * Kemil Beach * Lake View * Central Avenue Beach * Mt. Baldy


Education


Public programs

*''Maple Sugar Time:'' For two weeks every spring, an opportunity to make maple sugar is offered. Visitors learn how Native Americans gathered sap and learn about maple trees and pioneer sugaring. In the sugar shack, the sap is boiled down into maple sugar and syrup. *''Kids' Fun at the Visitor Center:'' Every Sunday afternoon, a ranger meets with children to explore the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center and for an afternoon of activities. *''Paul H. Douglas Center Open House:'' During the spring and the fall, families and a park ranger can explore Miller Woods. Each month, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at the Paul H. Douglas Center, a different program is featured. *''Threatened Lake Michigan:'' Several times a year, visitors and a ranger at the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center can explore some of the greatest threats facing Lake Michigan. From 1:00 to 2:00 pm, visitors learn about the spiny water flea,
round goby The round goby (''Neogobius melanostomus'') is a fish. Defined as a euryhaline bottom-dwelling goby of the family Gobiidae, it is native to Central Eurasia, including the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Round gobies have established large non-na ...
and
zebra mussel The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in ma ...
, their impacts on Lake Michigan and how to thwart invasive species. *''Spring Blooms Hike:'' A ranger is met at the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center and carpooled to the week's best trail, where the forest is explored for wildflowers and other signs of spring. Several times each spring, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, a group will study the park's wildflowers.


Rail programs

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 The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend International Airport ...
. On select Saturdays, interpretive guides with the
APRHF Rail Rangers Midwest Rail Rangers is a non-profit organization specializing with on-board educational programs to railroad passengers in the Midwestern United States with information regarding history, ecology, and geology. Guides with Midwest Rail Rangers p ...
ride roundtrip between
Millennium Station Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Terminal; sometimes called Randolph Street station or Randolph/South Water Street station) is a major commuter rail terminal in the Loop (downtown), Chicago. It is the northern terminus of the Metra E ...
and
South Bend Airport station South Bend Airport is a commuter train station on, and the eastern terminus of, the South Shore Line. Servicing South Bend International Airport, the station is northwest of Downtown South Bend, Indiana. In November 1992, the Airport station r ...
to provide narration about the park and the other sites passengers see outside their window.


Professional development

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.


Sister park

The park has a sister park relationship with Poland's
Kampinos National Park Kampinos National Park ( pl, Kampinoski Park Narodowy) is a National Park in east-central Poland, in Masovian Voivodeship, on the north-west outskirts of Warsaw. It has a sister park agreement with Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana, United Sta ...
.


Accessibility

The park can be accessed by car from
U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) an ...
. Access by rail is provided by the
South Shore Line The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend International Airport ...
at Dune Park station. 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, Accessible parking and restroom services are available throughout the park. A standard wheelchair is available for loan at the Paul H. Douglas Center. * West Beach Bathhouse * Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education * Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center. Hearing Assist devices are available in the theater.


Facilities

* Dunewood Campground is located in the east section of the park, south of
U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) an ...
at Broadway. The facility has 78 campsites (53 drive-in some drive through and 25 walk-in). Both the Douglass and Mather loops have restrooms with showers and a wheelchair accessible site. The campground is open from April 1 through October 31. There is a fee. * Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center is located at 1215 N. State Road 49, just off State Route 49 south of the intersection with
U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...
. The visitor center includes exhibits on the national park and a display of artwork created in the lakeshore. The center is jointly operated by the National Park Service and the Porter County Visitor and Recreation Commission (PCCRVC). The visitor center is open daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. * Bailly/Chellberg Contact Station is located in Porter, on Mineral Springs Road, just north of U.S. 20. It is closed most of the year, except during events. The parking area provides access to the Bailly Homestead and the Chellberg Farm. * Dunes Learning Center or Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center is located on Howe Road, West of the Bailly/Chellberg Contact Station, on the grounds of the former Good Fellow Club Youth Camp. Founded in 1998, Dunes Learning Center is a 501(c)3 non profit environmental education organization working in partnership with Indiana Dunes National Park to deliver environmental education experiences. * Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk is the newest facility at the national park. It is located along the Burns Waterway, tucked next to U.S. Steel's, Midwest Plant. It can be reached off of
Indiana State Road 249 State Road 249 (SR 249) is a part of the Indiana State Road that runs between Portage and Burns Harbor in the US state of Indiana. The of SR 249 that lie within Indiana serve as an access to the Port of Indiana. None of the highwa ...
by following the signs past the steel mill. The area offers a fishing pier, a riverwalk, and a hike bike trail through the restored dunescape. There is beach access and a pavilion. * West Beach Bathhouse is located in Portage north of U.S. Route 12 on County Line Road. West Beach has ample parking, picnic shelters, and a bathhouse with showers. The bathhouse includes changing rooms, restrooms, and a lifeguarded beach. The Dune Succession Trails, West Beach Trail and the Long Lake Trail are all located in the West Beach area. * Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education is located in the far west end of the park, in the
Miller Beach Miller Beach (also commonly known as Miller) is a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana on the southernmost shore of Lake Michigan. First settled in 1851, Miller Beach was originally an independent town. However, the "Town of Miller" was eventually annexe ...
community of the City of Gary. It is just north of U.S. 20 and U.S. 12. The Education Center provides classrooms for programs on environmental topics. Participation is usually during a schedule program for schools and local organizations.


Gallery

File:DBMVC P5130039.png, Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center File:Portage Lakefront DSC 0158.png, Pavilion at Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk. File:2010-11-26 3060x2040 portage indiana dunes.jpg, Skyline of Chicago from West Beach


Dunes National Park Association

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.


See also

*
Geography of Indiana The geography of Indiana comprises the physical features of the land and relative location of U.S. State of Indiana. Indiana is in the north-central United States and borders on Lake Michigan. Surrounding states are Michigan to the north and no ...
Geological forms (North to South) * Modern Shoreline,
Waves and shallow water When waves travel into areas of shallow water, they begin to be affected by the ocean bottom. The free orbital motion of the water is disrupted, and water particles in orbital motion no longer return to their original position. As the water be ...
*
Tolleston Shoreline The Toleston Shoreline is the third ancient shoreline of the precursor to Lake Michigan, Lake Chicago. It takes its name from the village of Tolleston, now a portion of Gary, Indiana. The shoreline formed when Lake Chicago was high enough to drain t ...
*
Calumet Shoreline The Calumet Shoreline is an ancient shoreline of Lake Michigan located in the Lake Michigan Basin. It can be clearly seen as a sand ridge along Ridge Road south of Chicago. Closer to the lake from the Calumet Shoreline, there are the Tolleston sho ...
* Lake Border Moraine *
Glenwood Shoreline The Glenwood Shoreline is an ancient shoreline of the precursor to Lake Michigan, Lake Chicago. It is named after the town of Glenwood, Illinois. The shoreline was formed when the lake was higher during the last ice age, while ice blocked the Stra ...
*
Tinley Moraine The Tinley Moraine is a moraine around the Lake Michigan basin in North America. It was formed during the Wisconsin Glaciation and is younger than the higher and wider terminal moraine called the Valparaiso Moraine, which is located farther from t ...
*
Valparaiso Moraine The Valparaiso Moraine is a recessional moraine (a land form left by receding glaciers) that forms an immense U around the southern Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is the longest moraine. It is a band of hilly terrain composed of glac ...
* Kankakee Outwash Plain


People associated with the Dunes

* Arts **
Frank V. Dudley Frank V. Dudley (November 14, 1868 – March 5, 1957) was an American landscape painter, known especially for his paintings of scenes in the Indiana Dunes. Dudley was born in Delavan, Wisconsin, but he spent most of his life in the Chicago ar ...
(November 14, 1868 – 1957), artist **
Jens Jensen Jens Jensen may refer to: * Jens Jensen (footballer) (1890–1957), Danish football (soccer) player who played one game for the Denmark national football team * Jens Jensen (landscape architect) (1860–1951), Danish-born landscape architect in Chi ...
, landscape architect (1860–1951) **
May Theilgaard Watts May Petrea Theilgaard Watts (1 May 1893 – 20 August 1975) was an American naturalist, writer, poet, illustrator, and educator. She was a naturalist at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, and author of ''Reading the Landscape of America''. ...
, Chicago area writer and teacher. * Geologist **
George Cressey George Babcock Cressey (December 15, 1896 – October 21, 1963) was an American geographer, author, and academic. Born in Tiffin, Ohio, he attended Denison University and then the University of Chicago, where he received a PhD in geology. After ...
, wrote his doctoral dissertation on the "A Study of Indiana Sand Dunes". * Historic **
Diana of the Dunes Diana of the Dunes was the nickname given to Alice Mabel Gray (1881–1925), an American intellectual and counterculture figure, whose life inspired a local legend in Chesterton, Indiana. Gray lived in primitive conditions among the sand dunes of no ...
, Alice Gray (1881–1925) * Naturalist **
Edwin Way Teale Edwin Way Teale (June 2, 1899 – October 18, 1980) was an American naturalist, photographer and writer. Teale's works serve as primary source material documenting environmental conditions across North America from 1930–1980. He is perhaps be ...
, naturalist (1899–1980)Dune Boy: The Early Years of a Naturalist, Edwin W Teale; 1943 * Preservation **
Lee Botts Leila (Lee) Botts (1928 – October 5, 2019) was an American environmentalist known primarily for her work related to conservation and restoration of the Great Lakes. She founded two non-profit organizations, directed a subagency of the U.S. Depart ...


References


Further reading

* Hill, C.L., et al. ''Our Changing Landscape: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore'' .S. Geological Survey Circular 1085 U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C., 1991. * Daniel, Glenda, ''Dune Country, A Hiker's Guide to the Indiana Dunes'' Swallow Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1984. * Engel, J. Ronald; ''Sacred Sands, The Struggle for Community in the Indiana Dunes''; Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Connecticut; 1983 * Franklin, Kay & Norma Schaeffer, ''Duel for the Dunes, Land Use Conflict on the Shores of Lake Michigan''; University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois, 1983 * McPherson, Alan, ''Nature Walks in Northern Indiana'', Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club, 1996 * Moore, Powell A., ''The Calumet Region, Indiana's Last Frontier'', Indiana Historical Bureau, 1959 * Pitcher, Emma Bickham, ''Up and Down the Dunes'', Shirley Heinze Environmental Fund, 1987 * Schaeffer, Norma & Kay Franklin, '''Round and About the Dunes'', Dunes Enterprise, Beverly Shores, Indiana 1983.


External links

*
Indiana Dunes State Park



Dunes National Park Association
* {{authority control Protected areas of Lake County, Indiana Protected areas of LaPorte County, Indiana Protected areas of Porter County, Indiana Protected areas established in 1966 National Park Service areas in Indiana 1966 establishments in Indiana Dunes of the United States Landforms of Lake County, Indiana Landforms of LaPorte County, Indiana Landforms of Indiana Landforms of Porter County, Indiana