Discovering Indiana Dunes: From Shifting Sands to Ancient Forests

Less than an hour from Chicago, Indiana Dunes parks offer an extraordinary journey through dunes, wetlands, prairies and forests shaped by thousands of years of geological change.

Entering the Dune Ridge Trail at Indiana Dunes National Park in summer, a visitor walks through unstable sand where marram grass and little bluestem grow sporadically, holding on tight as wind disturbs their roots. A few minutes later, the visitor enters a savanna where dappled sunlight shines through tall black oak and white oak trees, with staghorn sumac and other shrubs and grasses scattered beneath. As the visitor hikes to the top of the dune, an expansive wetland where frogs, dragonflies and egrets cavort comes into view.

This diversity is what makes Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana Dunes State Park, less than an hour’s drive from Chicago, so special. Here, visitors get the chance to see and celebrate a wide variety of plants and animals in one place.

Though the national and state parks are fun to explore year-round, “summer and early fall is a perfect time to experience the range of ecosystems here,” says Michelle Senderhauf, digital marketing director for Indiana Dunes Tourism (IndianaDunes.com).

INDIANA DUNES: PRODUCT OF THE ICE AGE

Today, visitors can explore prairie, bog, marsh, dune, sandy beaches and various woodlands all within the state and national parks where more than 1,100 plants, mostly native, grow. More than 350 bird species (IndianaDunesBirding.wordpress.com) have been seen within the ecosystem at various times of the year, along with a variety of mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

This rich area was explored more than 100 years ago by University of Chicago professor Henry C. Cowles. “He is considered the father of ecology, and on his many trips to the dunes, he observed the transition of habitats that take place throughout,” says Indiana Dunes State Park Interpretive Naturalist Rebecca Hughes.

Cowles noted that the habitats formed naturally and changed as he moved southward away from Lake Michigan and the beach. “As the soil conditions changed, so did plant and animal life, with some like white-tailed deer present in many of them and others like eastern prickly pear cactus only found in certain areas,” explains Hughes.

“The growth of pioneer plants such as sand cherry, cottonwood trees and especially marram grass holds the sand down long enough for the beginnings of small dunes, called foredunes, where six-lined racerunners [a type of lizard] run up to 18 miles per hour,” she continues.

Farther away from the lake, the dunes are older and larger, and more stable. “Then they become covered with vegetation, and we end up with oak savannas and black oak forests and eventually maple/beech climax forest,” Hughes notes.

“These areas are dynamic and fragile and need to be protected for their natural value,” Hughes emphasizes. Staff and volunteers spend many hours caring for the lands at both the state and national parks, which have been restored over time through controlled burns and the removal of invasive plants and replacement with native ones.

STATE PARK AND NATIONAL PARK

Indiana Dunes State Park, funded mostly by user fees, celebrated its centennial in 2025. It contains 2,182 acres and 3 miles of dune-lined shores and was established long before Indiana Dunes National Park, which surrounds it. Containing approximately 16,000 acres and spanning 15 miles along the Lake Michigan shoreline, the national park was first established as Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 1966 and redesignated Indiana Dunes National Park in 2019.

Both the state and national parks have specific entrance fees, programs and trails to explore. Combined, they offer 70 miles of trails, some of which are accessible to visitors with disabilities. The parks are surrounded by industry, creating ongoing challenges for conservation efforts. Over the years, activists and politicians worked to limit industrial expansion and protect fragile habitats within both parks.

First-time visitors are encouraged to visit the Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center and the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center in the national park (nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit/idnlvc.htm). There, they can obtain park maps and explore hands-on exhibits, including some featuring live animals. Maps indicate which trails are easy and which are more challenging.

TRAILS TO EXPLORE

Then it’s off to the trails. 

Hughes says trails 2, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10 within the state park take visitors through the Dunes Nature Preserve (in.gov/dnr/state-parks/files/dunes_trail.pdf). 

“On Trail 2, you’ll walk through woods and across a boardwalk over the Great Marsh,” she says. The Great Marsh is the largest wetland complex in the Lake Michigan watershed, where kingfishers, swallows, green herons and great egrets can be spotted in spring and summer. 

Trail 3 takes visitors through the Dunes Prairie Nature Preserve, where they can observe red-headed woodpeckers and myriad butterfly species, such as the pipevine swallowtail and monarch, flitting among coreopsis, goldenrod and milkweed.

The entire Indiana Dunes State Park is considered a stop on the national park’s Discovery Trail (IndianaDunes.com/outdoor-adventures/discovery-trail). Other sites within the national park on the Discovery Trail include Pinhook Bog and Cowles Bog. Relics of the last Ice Age, bogs formed more than 10,000 years ago when a fragment of ice broke off, melted into a lake and became isolated so that no springs, rivers or streams flow into it. As organic matter filled the lake, soils became highly acidic. Rare plants such as pitcher plant and sundew, both carnivorous, have adapted to these conditions. 

Visitors can take a 2-mile Upland Trail near Pinhook Bog that winds through beech and maple trees and affords a view of the bog. The Bog Trail is a 1-mile hike, including a floating boardwalk over sphagnum moss and can only be visited by registering for special ranger-led programs. (For more information, call 219-385-1882.)

“Adventurous hikers might consider the Dune Succession Trail, which is a great introduction to what makes Indiana Dunes National Park so special,” says Indiana Dunes National Park Deputy Superintendent Leo Lestino.

“In one hike, visitors can see the transition from beach and dunes to savanna and forest,” he says. The strenuous trail includes a climb up 270 stairs to see Lake Michigan and Chicago below.

Miller Woods (IndianaDunes.com/outdoor-adventures/discovery-trail/discover-miller-woods) contains a globally rare black oak savanna. A 3-mile round-trip trail starting at the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education takes visitors through the savanna, then a linear series of swales filled with ponds and wetlands, past elevated ridges called swells and down to the beach.

IMPORTANT CAUTIONS WHILE VISITING

When visiting the Indiana Dunes, “be prepared for anything,” Lestino says. Visitors may encounter wet and dry places along some of the trails, as well as unstable sand and extreme heat in summer, he adds. 

“Wearing sturdy footwear, bringing water, sun protection and insect repellent, and staying on designated trails all help visitors have a safe experience while protecting the fragile habitats,” Lestino advises. 

One step off the trail could harm a habitat that is home to rare species the parks are trying to protect, says Lestino, adding the trails within both parks are marked well to keep visitors from entering closed areas. Dogs are allowed, but they must be on a leash at all times to avoid disturbing rare habitats.

Visitors can also help the dunes by volunteering at the state or national parks. For more information, visit in.gov/dnr/about-us/volunteer-and-internship-opportunities or IndianaDunes.com explore-the-dunes/visit-with-care/volunteer.

Sheryl DeVore has written six books on science, health and nature, as well as nature, health and environment stories for national and regional publications. She is co-author of an upcoming book, Birds of the Midwest, to be published by Timber Press. Learn more at
SherylDeVore.WordPress.com.