Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location	Porter / Lake / LaPorte counties, Indiana, USA
Nearest city	Gary, IndianaNearest city: Gary, Indiana
Coordinates	41°38′53″N 87°06′29″W / 41.64806°N 87.10806°W / 41.64806; -87.10806Coordinates: 41°38′53″N 87°06′29″W / 41.64806°N 87.10806°W / 41.64806; -87.10806
Area	15,067 acres (60.97 km2)
Established	November 5, 1966 Established: November 5, 1966
Visitors	2,127,336 (in 2005)
Governing body	National Park Service

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore located in northwest Indiana and managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966. The national lakeshore runs for nearly 25 miles (40 km) along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, from Gary, Indiana, on the west to Michigan City, Indiana on the east. The park contains approximately 15,000 acres (6,100 ha).

The National Lakeshore has development rights over the area within its boundaries, but has not purchased the full extent of the property. Its holdings are non-contiguous and do not include the Indiana Dunes State Park (1916), a separate, 2,182-acre (883 ha) parcel of protected dune land on the lakefront near Porter, Indiana.

Contents 1 Activities along the Lakeshore 2 Flora and Fauna 2.1 Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species 2.2 Species Count 2.3 Extirpated Species 2.4 Exotic and Invasive Species 3 Geology of the Lakeshore 4 Human History 5 Natural Areas 6 Historic Areas 6.1 Bailly-Chellberg Farms 6.2 Bailly Cemetery 6.3 Century of Progress Architectural District 6.4 Good Fellow Club Youth Camp 6.5 Swedish Farmsteads Historic District (pending) 7 Recreational Opportunities 7.1 Trails 7.2 Burnham Plan trails 7.3 Lake Michigan 8 Educational opportunities 9 Festivals 10 Facilities 11 Weather Conditions & Warnings 12 Water Safety 13 Volunteers 14 See also 14.1 People Associated with the Dunes 14.2 National park units in Indiana 15 References 16 Further reading 17 External links

[edit] Activities along the Lakeshore

The park contains 15 miles (24 km) of beaches, as well as sand dunes, bogs, marshes, swamps, fens, prairies, rivers, oak savannas, and woodland forests. The park is also noted for its singing sands. More than 350 species of birds have been observed in the park. It has one of the most diverse plant communities of any unit in the U.S. National Park System with 1418 vascular plant species including 90 threatened or endangered ones. The Indiana Dunes area is unique in that it contains both Arctic and boreal plants (such as the bearberry) alongside desert plants (such as the prickly pear cactus).

First-time visitors to the Lakeshore often go to the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center at U.S. Route 20 and Indiana Route 49, near Porter, Indiana. This brand-new center (2007) 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 and Broadway, in Beverly Shores. The campground includes an RV dump station and two loops of trailer accessible sites (some with pull-through drives). All sites have grills, a picnic table, and access to restrooms with running water and showers. There are a limited number of walk-in sites in the Douglas Loop.

The park provides opportunities for bird watching, camping, 45 miles (72 km) of hiking, fishing, swimming, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing. Cycling is available on the Calumet Trail, a crushed limestone multiuse trail which runs through the eastern section of the park, providing access to the Indiana Dunes State Park, as well as to the communities of Beverly Shores; the Town of Pines; and Mount Baldy on the edge of Michigan City, Indiana. The park had more than 2.1 million visits in 2007. Rules state not to feed any of the wildlife, including seagulls, deer, or raccoons.

Ranger-Led Programs: Rangers provide free walks and talks through out the park on a daily basis. The Singing Sands, the official newspaper of the national lakeshore is published quarterly with a listing of Ranger lead activities.^[1]

The Chellbergs Had a Farm Talk with the Animals Autumn Harvest Mount Baldy West Beach Walk

Maple Sugar Time Fall Fanfaare Winter Exploration Potawatomis & Fur Traders A Grain of Truth Lake Michigan Alive

Water World Habitat Hike Reflections on Snow Pinhook Bog Secrets of Succession Dune SCOPES

[edit] Flora and Fauna

BioBlitz 2009: Indiana Dunes will be the third of ten National Park Units to participate in a National Geographic Society and National Park Service BioBlitz. For twenty-four hours beginning at noon May 15, citizen scientist (volunteers) and scientists will explore the national lakeshore, attempting to document all the life forms along the shoreline. This joint project began in 2007 at Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in Washington, D.C. In 2008, it moved to the west coast and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area spent twenty-four hours documenting thousands of species. The program is a joint effort by the National Park Service and the National Geographic Society in collaboration with local environmental groups: Dunes Learning Center, Chicago Wilderness, Great Lakes Research and Education Center, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Sea Grant of Illinois-Indiana, and the United States Geological Survey.^[2]

[edit] Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species

The park includes habitats for several rare plants and animals. None of the plants are on the Federal list of Threatened and Endangered Species (T&E Species), but several are on the list of State T&E Species.^[3] Populations of each plant group are estimated to be around 100-120 individual plants. The species included are:^[3]

• White baneberry, (Actaea pachypoda)
• Virginia snake root (Aristolochia serpentaria)
• Shooting Star (Dodecatheon media)
• American columbo (Frasera caroliniensis)
• Pink corydalis (Corydalis sempervirens)

Among the rare and endangered wildlife are:^[3]

• Indiana bat, (Myotis sodalis)
• eastern massauga rattlesnake, (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus)

In addition, the park has habitat suitable for:^[3]

• bald eagle, (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

[edit] Species Count

The numbers below are taken from the Main Articles or See also articles attached to this page. They will be updated as additional list/articles are created.

Group	Number of Species	Extirpated Species		See Also
Chordates or Animals with Backbones
Mammals or Mammalia	41	11[4]		Mammals of the Indiana Dunes
Birds or Aves	352[5]	2		Birds of the Indiana Dunes
Reptiles or Reptilia	23[5]			List of reptiles of the Indiana Dunes
Amphibians or Amphibia	18			List of Amphibians of the Indiana Dunes
Fish	71[5]			List of fish of the Indiana Dunes
Invertebrate or Animals without Backbones
Arthropoda (Crustacea)-Crustacean	15			List of crustaceans of the Indiana Dunes
Arthropoda (Chelicerata)-Arachnida	12			List of Arachnids of the Indiana Dunes
Arthropoda (Chelicerata)-Insects	296			Insects of the Indiana Dunes
Arthropoda (Myriapoda)- other Invertebrates	2			Invertebrates of Indiana Dunes
Annelida-segmented worms
Mollusca	66			List of non-marine mollusks of the Indiana Dunes
Plants or Plantae
Vascular plant	1,130[6]			Flowering Plants of the Indiana Dunes
non-vascular Plants	41
Fungi	64
Invasive Plants	54			List of invasive plant species in the Indiana Dunes
Plankton and other microscopic life forms
Plankton	33 [7]
Total to date	2,218	13

Wildlife - Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is full of wildlife, including white-tailed deer, Red Fox, raccoons, opossums, cottontail rabbits, Canada geese, seagulls, squirrels, hawks, Turkey Vultures, mallards, Great Blue Herons, garter snakes, songbirds, and rodents.

Flowering Plants - The Indiana Dunes has over 369 species of flowering plants. Of these, thirteen are considered Threatened or Endanger of extinction. Additionally, there four invasive flowering plants on the list. Some of the most common spring flowers include the May Apple, buttercups (6 varieties), and violets (14 varieties). Summer brings out the orchids (5 varieties) and lots of goldenrod (11 varieties).^[8]

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.^[9]

[edit] 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:

Species	Latin Name	Last Seen[4]
Eastern Cougar[10]	F.c. Cougaur[4]	1830
American Bison	Bos Bison[4]	1731
Elk	Wapati (Cervus elephus)[4]	1830
Lynx	Lynx lynx[4]	1880
Bobcat	Lynx rufus[4]	1880
Gray Wolf	Canius Lupus[4]	1908
Red Wolf	Canus Rufus[4]	1832
Black Bear	Ursus Americanus[4]	1850
Fisher	Martes Pennanti[4]	1855
River Otter	Lutra canadenais[4]	1900
Porcupine	Erethizon dorsatum[4]	1918
Passenger Pigeon
Piping Plover

[edit] 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 tradiational 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) Tree of heaven, (Ailanthus altissima)* Garlic mustard, (Alliaria officinalis)* Japanese barberry, (Berberis thunbergii)* Oriental bittersweet, (Celastrus orbiculatus)* Ox-eye daisy, (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum pinnatifidum) Field thistle, (Cirsium arvense)* Common day-flower, (Commelina communis) Queen Anne's lace, (Daucus carota) Autumn olive, (Eleaegnus umbellate)* Creeping Charlie, (Glechoma hederacea)* Yellow downy bush honeysuckle, (Lonicera x muendeniensis) Bush honeysuckle, (Lonicera tartarica)*

English plantain, (Plantago lanceolata) Japanese knotweed, (polygonum cuspidatum)* Sulphur cinquefoil, (Potentilla recta) All-heal, (Prunella spp.) Apple, (Pyrus malus) Black locust, (Robinia pseudoacacia)*

[edit] Geology of the Lakeshore

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).^[11] As it pulled northward, it left a series of recessional moraines along the southern shore of the Lake Michigan Basin.

The Valparaiso Moraine is the dominant geologic form that created the various landscape forms of the Indiana Dunes, about 40,000 YBP^[11]. Within the arc created by the Valparaiso Moraine are two younger recessional moraines of the Tinley Moraine 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.^[11]

The Calumet Shoreline is the oldest visible shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is a visible a sand ridge along Ridge Road through Lake and Porter Counties, Indiana. Two older shorelines, the Tolleston and the Glenwood Shoreline are much harder to identify and further south in the counties.^[12]

During the periods of glacial retreat, there were periods of stability. During these times, glacial lakes formed along the southern borders of the glaciers, bound into the Lake Michigan Basin by the recessional moraines. Four major glacial lake periods created the Indiana Dunes. They are the glacial Lake Chicago (14,000 YBP), Glacial Lake Algonquin (9,000 YBP), glacial Lake Chippewa (7,000 YBP), and Lake Nipising stage (4,000 YBP). Once the glaciers had fully retreated from the Lake Michigan basin, post Lake Nipising stage, the same factors that created the dunes south of the current shoreline, expanded the existing shoreline.^[11] 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.^[12] If the currents are strong enough as they were when the Glenwood Shoreline was created, shallow inland bays would be formed with a wide sand spit between it and the open lake.^[12] Over time, the sand spits would merge with the far shoreline forming interdunal ponds.^[12] Each sand spit would be come 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 the Little Calumet River does today, just south the state and national parks. As the shoreline moved northward, new ridges formed, additional streams, now slower and less powerful formed and the process duplicated itself. To the west of the Indiana Dunes, Wolf Lake in Hammond, Indiana forms a western border to the dunes. Here the same process is at work, only the littoral drift is again south, but along the western shore, pushing the sand and sand spits eastward.^[12] Today, it is the remants of the marsh lands and inter-dunal or inter-sand spit lakes that have formed this region over 40,000 years.^[12]

[edit] Human History

Human presences in the Indiana Dunes has existed since the retreat of the glaciers some 14,000 years ago. The southern lakes areas was a rich hunting ground and there is little evidence of permanent communities forming during the earlier years. Archeological evidence is consistent with seasonal hunting camps. The earliest evidence for permanent camps is consistent with the Hopwellian occupation of the Ohio valley. Five groups of mounds have been documented in the dunes area. These mounds would be consistent with the period of 200 BCD (Goodall Focus) to 800 BCE (early Mississippian).^[13] Even that was a short lived permanency. The advent of 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 1800’s that native villages once again were scattered through the area, but this was soon followed by European settlement. Joseph Bailly was the earliest recorded settler in the dunes. He moved here from trading villages around Niles, Michigan. Settling along the Calumet River.^[14] Soon he was joined by a series of other settlers and the communities in the dunes began to develop. They included Chesterton, Porter, Tremont, and the Town of the Pines. These pioneer communities grew and expanded. Today, the entire coast line has been settled for use as homes, factories, businesses and some reserved for public parks.

[edit] Natural Areas

Calumet Prairie

Calumet Prairie is a joint management 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 Calumet River on the south. The national lakeshore owns the southern half of this plot.

Cowles Bog

Cowles Bog, a National Natural Landmark, is a fen wetland named in honor of biologist and ecologist Henry Chandler Cowles. Located south and west of Dune Acres, Indiana, Cowles Bog is the sole remaining remnant of the Central Dunes where Cowles performed his pioneering field studies of Ecological succession and species diversity. A National Lakeshore trail runs from Mineral Springs Road into Cowles Bog.^[15]

Heron Rookery

The Heron Rookery is located along the Little Calumet River in the northeast corner of Porter County. The Rookery is physically separated from the main part of the park. It is accessible from County Road 600 East, south of County Road 1400 North. The rookery is a hardwood forest. In the spring, the Great Blue Herons can be seen nesting in the dead snags north of the river. Spring also brings out a variety of wildflowers.^[16]

Hoosier Prairie

Hoosier Prairie, a National Natural Landmark, is a 430-acre (1.7 km²) tallgrass prairie adjacent to Griffith, Indiana. It is a geographically isolated unit of the Lakeshore, owned and maintained by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as a state nature preserve. Some 574 species of plants have been observed growing in this patch of prairie.

Miller Woods^[17]

Miller Woods is located in the Miller section of Gary. It is accessed through the Douglas Center for Environmental Education on Lake Street. The area is dominated by swell and swale topography. the ridges or swells are beach and due 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 either ponds or marshes.

Mnoke Prairie

Mnoke Prairie is an active prairie restoration along Beam Street in the Town of Porter.

Mount Baldy

Mount Baldy is a sand dune located west of Michigan City, Indiana. At 123 feet 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 4 feet every year, and so is called a "living dune." Mount Baldy is accessible from U.S. Route 12 (also known as Dunes Highway) between the Town of Pines and the western border of Michigan City. Visitors can hike 0.7 miles (1.1 km) up the dune and from the top, on a clear day, can view Chicago's skyline and the south shore. North of Mount Baldy is a swimming beach. As of early 2007 the dune hike to the summit is closed due to erosion of the dune, however a new trail through the forest will still take hikers to the summit.

Pinhook Bog

Pinhook Bog, a National Natural Landmark, is a geographically isolated unit of the National Lakeshore. The quaking peat bog is located near U.S. Route 421 approximately 9 miles (14 km) south of Michigan City. The bog formed from a postglacial kettle moraine left behind about 14,000 years before the present by the melting of the ice sheet during the end of the Last glacial period. The acidic bog is noted for pitcher plants and other wetland species. Access to the bog is restricted to ranger-led guided tours.^[18]

[edit] Historic Areas

[edit] Bailly-Chellberg Farms

The Bailly-Chellberg farmstead is located close to the geographic center of the National Lakeshore, at U.S. Route 20 and Mineral Springs Road.

Bailly Homestead

This is the location of the pioneer trading post established in 1822 by fur trade pioneer Joseph Bailly. Bailly settled here and his last home, adapted from his 1830s retirement house, survives.^[19] The Homestead was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1962.

Chellburg Farm

The real estate became the home of the Chellberg family, who built a farm on its sandy soil. As of 2008^[update], the Lakeshore maintains a heritage farm on the Chellberg land, with the Bailly family cemetery on the northern edge of the property.^[20]

[edit] 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.^[21] Today, the forest covers the dunes and the lake is no visible. Numerous changes have occurred since the first burial in 1827.^[22]

Joseph Bailly buried his only son by Marie in the fall of 1827 on a sandy knoll. He erected an oak cross on the site and a three-sided shelter. After 1866, the Bailly area was no longer the quiet place that it had been. Other families now lived in the area and some had been using the cemetery for their families. Late in 1866, Rose Howe (granddaughter of Joseph Bailly) had the family plots fenced and requested that other remove their family to other cemeteries. In 1879, she had the entire cemetery walled in and an iron gate installed to the north.^[22]

Finally in 1914, Rose Howe took one further step to protect the cemetery of her family. She had the area inside the wall filled with sand. Stone steps replaced the gate to a contemplative walk atop the cemetery. An oaken cross was raised atop this new ground, continuing the tradition started by her grandfather. Rose Howe died in 1916, while in California. She was returned to Indiana in 1917 and was the last burial in the family cemetery.^[23]

[edit] Century of Progress Architectural District

The Century of Progress Architectural District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located in Beverly Shores, Indiana. 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.^[24]

[edit] Good Fellow Club Youth Camp

Created by the Good Fellow Club of U.S. Steel in 1941, the camp served the children of Gary, Indiana until 1977. It provided outdoor recreation and a chance to leave the city behind for a week or more.^[25]

[edit] Swedish Farmsteads Historic District (pending)

The Swedish Farmsteads of Porter County, Indiana are representative of the numerous rural communities settled by a significant ethnic population. They influenced the religious community and social community. Swedish immigration was at its highest from 1840 until 1920. At its height, 1910, it was estimated that 1 out of every 5 Swedes was living in the United States.^[26]

[edit] Recreational Opportunities

[edit] Trails

The Indiana Dunes has numerous short hike trails and a few longer distance trails:

• Miller Woods Trail is located off Lake Street in Gary's Miller Community. The trail is fully accessible from a parking lot just north of the Douglas Center for Environmental Education. A short 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, it passes through a black oak savanna and around numerous wetlands.^[27]
• Inland Marsh overlook is a short accessible walk through the treetops to a dune ridge overlook of the vast inland marsh. For a more indepth experiences, the Inland Marsh trail consists of two loops forming a 3 miles (4.8 km) walk around the through the marsh and oak savannas.^[27] Both trails start along U.S. 12, just east of the Porter-Lake County Line Road and the West Beach unit of the National Lakeshore.
• Succession Trail is located at West Beach. The trail climbs into the high dunes. While mostly on boardwalk and stairways, this can be a difficult climb. You'll experience the changes that lead from an open sandy beach to a heavily wooded dune crest. This trail is about 1 mile (1.6 km) long.^[28]
• Bailly-Chellberg Trails is a series of interconnected trails. Primarily, it consists of 2-loops through the historic area around the Bailly Homestead and the Chellberg Farm. Along this 2.5 miles (4.0 km) trail, you'll be in 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.^[27]
• The Little Calumet River Trail offers an opportunity to visit a restored prairie and the flood plain of the Little Calumet River. Both represent the land before settlers arrived. This 2.2 miles (3.5 km) trail can be reached from the Bailly-Chellburg Trails by walking west from the Homestead to Howe Road, then following it across the Little Calumet River and up through the wetland overlook and parking lot for Mnoke Priarie. This trail brings you back near the north end of the 2-loops of the Bailly Chellberg Trails. Otherwise, you can drive around to Howe Road and park in the mentioned parking area and walk from there.^[27]

• Cowles Bog Trail is reached off of North Mineral Springs Road. Parking is to the right (east), when you reach the guard shack for Dune Acres. This 5 miles (8.0 km) loop is one of the most rugged trails in the park. You 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, you being climbing through the dunes until you reach Lake Michigan. Remember, you have to climb back up this dune if you go down to the lake. This is one of the least crowded areas of the park. The return is like the walk out, but you can take the west part of the loop. Again through the dunes, covered with northern white cedars, black oaks and a variety of trees. You'll see inter-dunal wetlands, the open beach and again, you'll reach the long flat Cowles Bog wetland complex. To complete the full 5 miles, you need to continue west around the wetlands to the parking area at Mineral Springs and the South Shore Tracks.^[27]
• Calumet Hike/Bike Trail runs along the South Shore right-of-way. While not managed by the national lakeshore, it provides a link from Mineral Springs Road in the west to Mt. Baldy (almost) in the east. This trail is accessible from each road crossing, with parking available at Mineral Springs Road, Dune Park Station (S.R. 49 and U.S. 12), Calumet Dunes Trail park (Kemil Road at U.S. 12) and at U.S. 12, where it crosses the South Shore Tracks, just west of Michigan City.^[28]
• The Calumet Dune Trail is fully accessible from the Calumet Dunes Interpretive Center (Kemil Road at U.S. 12). The trail is 0.8 miles (1.3 km) long and fully paved. Here, you'll see a mature wetland forest.^[27]
• The far western end of the Calumet Dune Trail links to the Ly-co-ki-we Horse and Hiking Trail. The Horse trail is 6.4 miles (10.3 km) long and is accessible by horses and hikers from its own parking lot at U.S. 20 just west of Kemil Road. You must bring your own horse.^[27]

[edit] Burnham Plan trails

The Marquette Plan is called a "Lakeshore Investment Strategy" for Indiana. It is composed of two key elements. A 50-mile trail is planned to cross Indiana to link Illinois, Indiana and Michigan communities along the Lake Michigan shore. There are planed both land trails for bicycles and hikers and a 'blue water' trail' for kayakers.^[29]

Water Trail Indiana Paddling Association's in conjunction with the NIRPC and the public lands along Indiana's Lake Michigan shore have developed a 45 mile water trail from Chicago's Northerly Island to Michigan City's Millennium Plaza.^[30]

Long Distance Hike/Bike Trail There will be links to major parks and a wide variety of cultural and natural sites. The 9 miles (14 km) Marquette Trail will eventually connect the eastern and western segments of Indiana National Lakeshore. The 3 miles (4.8 km) Porter Brickyard Trail will open in the summer of 2009 as part of the Burnham Plan Centennial. It will link several community hike/bike trails to the Calumet Hike/Bike trail creating a link between the Lake County communities and Michigan City. Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) is guiding the work with assistance from local governments, the National Park Service, private landowners and the American Planning Association.^[29]

[edit] Lake Michigan

West Beach, located adjacent to U.S. Route 12 and County Line Road lies on the border of Gary and Portage, Indiana. It is a geographically separated section of the Lakeshore 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 Lakeshore displays most of the successive stages of Indiana Dunes biotic progression, from open beach sands to mature Eastern Black Oak forest. A new (2007) West Beach Succession Trail (0.7 miles/1.1 kilometres in length) features different stages of plant succession in the beach and inland dunes.

• Portage Lakeview and Riverwalk
• Porter Beach
• Kemil Road Beach
• Lakeview
• Central Avenue Beach
• Mt Baldy^[28]

[edit] Educational opportunities

• Explore on your own. Teachers are welcomed to the park and provided plans and reference materials on-line.^[1][31]
• Dunes Learning Center Residential Programs. A residential environmental learning center operates at the site of old Good Fellow Club Youth Camp. It offers overnight and multiple day programs for youth of all ages.^[1][32]
• Teacher Workshops. Workshops are presented on a regular basis throughout the year on various themes.^[1][33]
• Classroom Resources. The Great Lakes Research and Education Center, a unit of the national lakeshore has materials available at no charge to teachers and groups about research in the parks of the Great Lakes.^[1][34]

[edit] Festivals

Duneland Harvest Festival

The Duneland Harvest Festival occurs each fall on the 3rd weekend of September. It Is a time to celebrate the harvest and to learn about life at the beginning of the 20th Century. The main festival grounds are around the Chellberg Home within the National Lakeshore. Craft demonstrations show how apples were turned into cider and how sorghum is crushed into a sweet syrup. Other crafts include wood carving and making utensils. The different herbs, candle making, and sheep shearing. Vendors provide food from the early 1900s, including caramel apples, sweet corn, dripping in butter and a variety of ciders and cookies. Music is not forgotten. Musicians playing traditional songs and instruments entertain throughout the day. Most years, visitors will have an opportunity to see and learn traditional dances.

Maple Sugar Time Festival

The Maple Sugar Time Festival occurs each spring in late March. This festival's success is highly dependent on the weather. The nights have to be cold and the day's warm. This creates the up and down cycle of sap in the maple trees. The festival shows how maple sap was collected by the Potawatomi Indians, the early settlers and the modern maple syrup industry.

BioBlitz 2009 May 15 and 16, the park hosted an All Taxa Biological Diversity survey. In a 24 hour period, 2000 students and 1000s of additional volunteers surveyed the park for every available living species. "We have inventoried 890 species," said John Francis, vice president of research, conservation and exploration for National Geographic in Washington, D.C.^[35] 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.^[36] The talley had risen to 1200 unique species by June 1.^[37]

[edit] Facilities

• Dunewood Campground is located in Beverly Shores, south of U.S. Route 12 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.^[38]
• Calumet Dune Interpretive Center is an interpretive program center for scheduled programs and campground programs that have to be moved due to the rain. It is located south of U.S. 12 in Beverly Shores.^[39]
• Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center is located at 1420 Munson Road, just off State Route 49 south of the intersection with U.S. Route 20. The visitor center includes exhibits on the national lakeshore 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.^[40]
• 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 festivals. The parking area provides access to the Bailly Homestead and the Chellberg Farm.^[39]
• Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center or the Dune Learning Center is located on Howe Road in Porter. It is west of the Bailly/Chellberg Contact Station and is reached from U.S. 20 by passing the Bailly/Chellberg facility and going around the block to Howe Road. The Dunes Learning Center is an over night environmental experience for school classes. It is run by a partner of the lakeshore.^[41]
• Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk is the newest facility at the national lakeshore. 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 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 3500 sq foot pavilion.^[42][43]
• 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.^[44]
• Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education is located in the far west end of the park, in the Miller 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.^[39]

Gallery

Dunewood Campground Entrance	Calumet Dunes Interpretive Center	Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center	Bailly-Chellberg Contact Station
Pavilion at Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk.	West Beach Bathhouse	Douglas Center for Environmental Education

[edit] Weather Conditions & Warnings

The primary feature of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore 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. 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 currents can occur in Lake Michigan. This occurs suddenly and can sweep a swimmer out far out into the lake. Rip currents are most prevalent on days with a strong north wind. These are also the days with the largest waves.

Weather data for Chesterton, Indiana
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °F	30.5	34.8	46.9	60.1	71.4	80.5	83.4	81.2	75.1	63.7	49.4	35.4	59.4
Average low °F	14.3	17.8	28.7	38.4	48.3	57.6	62.2	60.2	53.7	43	33.1	21.2	39.9
Rainfall inches	1.96	1.7	3.0	4	3.9	4.2	4	3.8	3.2	3.2	3.4	3	37.2
Snowfall inches	12	11.3	11.3	1.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	3.4	9.1	55.4
Average high °C	-1	2	8	16	22	27	29	27	24	18	10	2	15
Average low °C	-10	-8	-2	4	9	14	17	16	12	6	1	-6	4
Rainfall mm	49.8	43.2	76.2	101.6	99.1	106.7	101.6	96.5	81.3	81.3	86.4	76.2	944.9
Snowfall mm	304.8	287	287	38.1	0	0	0	0	0	5.1	86.4	231.1	1,407.2
Source: [45] 2008-08-28

[edit] Water Safety

In addition to the rip currents and shelf ice mentioned above, safety conerns at the dunes include:

• Water Quality - The water is safe for swimming. But often during heavy rains, the local community sewer systems become stressed and there is a Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO). Basically, the local sewer systems dump their incoming flow into the nearby creeks, which then flow to the lake. It is also true that the volume of water entering the open areas, will flush the swamps of the accumulated droppings of the wildlife. The bacteria that can enter the lake, may cause vomiting, diarrhea, rashes, or respiratory infections. The park recommends that swimmers:

1. Avoid any dark plumes of water coming from river channels.
2. Don't visit the beaches along the lake the day after heavy rains.^[46]

• Sandbars - While these are an enjoyable part of swimming in the open lake, they can also create risks. Notably, are the deep troughs between sandbars. For small children, the first sandbar may require that they pass through a trough that is deeper than they are tall. Once on the sandbar, they may be able to stand with most of their body out of the water. The risks include:

1. A strong current or wave can knock kids or adults off into deeper water.
2. The sandbar is not uniform and there can be sudden drop-offs into very deep water.^[46]
3. Breaks in sandbars create rip currents.

• Inflatable devices - Unlike a swimming pool, the open lake has no confines. It is several hundred miles long with no natural enclosures for a swimmer to count on to keep them close to shore. When the wind is out of the south, a raft or inner tube can be pushed far out into the lake. The park recommends not using inflatable devices when there is a south wind.^[46]

[edit] Volunteers

The National Lakeshore provides a variety of programs through individuals who volunteer their time and energy to the park and its visitors. Over the years, the annual report of Volunteer In Parks has shown significant contributions. Volunteer opportunities are list in a nationwide website called America’s Natural and Cultural Resources Volunteer Portal.

2002
Angel Gochee received the 2002 National Association for Interpretation’s Outstanding Interpretive Volunteer Award. Angel has been a volunteer since 1984 and does a wide variety of tasks throughout the park. She is also personally responsible for coordinating the Historic Halloween Fun program which regularly brings in over 1,400 visitors. More than 100 volunteers assisted with the Maple Sugar Time and Duneland Harvest festivals which brought in over 8,797 visitors. Hundreds of students from three area high schools came to the national lakeshore to work hands-on in the field with resource management specialists. These students worked a total of 1,266 hours restoring and monitoring sensitive park sites while completing high school curriculum requirements.^[47]

2003
In FY2003 two volunteers participated in the Artist-In-Residence program and contributed sculptures to be viewed by the public and photos which will be used for press releases, slide shows, and various publications. This year’s Junior Ranger program and Advanced Junior ranger program participants worked a total of 2,726.5 hours. Their work included exotic species removal, native seed collection, habitat restoration, and various clean-up projects. VIPs at the front desk of the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center worked a total of 1,636.5 hours and helped many rangers complete projects that otherwise might not have been completed.^[48]

2005
This year docents led more than 100 environmental education programs for more than 2,500 students. The Junior Ranger and Advanced Junior Ranger participants worked over 2,300 hours, conducting exotic species removal, native seed collection, habitat restoration, and various cultural resource projects. A great crew of volunteers hosted a well-received public program titled “Gathering at the Calumet.” Volunteers also worked approximately 2,000 hours during the Maple Sugar Time and Duneland Harvest festivals. Throughout the summer, volunteers enabled the park to keep several historic buildings open to the public during the Summer Open-House programs.^[49]

[edit] See also

• Singing sand
• Geography of Indiana

Geological forms--North to South--

• Modern Shoreline, Waves and shallow water
• Tolleston Shoreline
• Calumet Shoreline
• Lake Borders Moraine
• Glenwood Shoreline
• Tinley Moraine
• Valparaiso Moraine
• Kankakee Outwash Plain

[edit] People Associated with the Dunes

• Arts
  • Arthur E. Anderson, artist;^[50]
  • Frank V. Dudley, artist (November 14, 1868 – 1957)^[51]** Hazel^[52] and Vin (- 1964) Hannell; artists and founding members of a Chicago artist community, the Association fo Artists and Craftsmen of Porter County. The association still host the annual Chesterton Art Fair.^[53]
  • Charlton Heston, during the filming of Julius Caesar (1950 film)
  • Jens Jensen, landscape architect (1860-1951)
  • Tom Mix, actor (1880-1940), starred in Lost in the Soudan which was made in the dunes.^[54]
  • Earl H. Reed, Chicago area etcher, who used the dunes as his inspiration.
  • Otis Turner, director (1862-1918), directed Lost in the Soudan (1910) which was made in the dunes.
  • May Theilgaard Watts, Chicago area writer and teacher.

• Geologist
  • George Cressey, wrote his doctoral dissertation on the "A Study of Indiana Sand Dunes."

• Historic
  • Joseph Bailly, Fur Trader (1774-1835)^[55]
  • Diana of the Dunes, Alice Gray (1881-1925)

• Naturalist
  • Henry Chandler Cowles, (1869-1939), American botanist and ecological pioneer.
  • Austin and Rheua Rand; both were ornithologist who moved into the dunes in 1947. It was the same year that Austin became Curator of Ornithology for the Field Museum. We wrote a wwekly "Country Diary" in the local paper and several books and articles in the Midwestern Almanac.^[56]** William (?-1936)and Flora Richardson (? - after 1936); William was a professional chemist, but became an avid ornithologist and photographer. Flora was an early resident of Dune Acres and founded the Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary (36 East Rd, Chesterton, IN).^[57]
  • Edwin Way Teale, Naturalist (1899–1980)^[58]

• Politicians
  • Adam Benjamin, Jr., local state senator.
  • Paul Douglas, Senator from Illinois, instrumental in the creation of the National Lakeshore.

• Preservation
  • Lee Botts,
  • Dorothy Buell, preservationist (1886-1977)
  • Senator Paul Douglas, (1892-1976)

[edit] National park units in Indiana

• National Park Service
  • George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, in Vincennes, Indiana
  • Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Dale, Indiana, northeast of Evansville.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Hill, C.L., et al. Our Changing Landscape: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore [U.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.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

• Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore official site
• Indiana Dunes State Park
• Dunes Nature Preserve
• Save the Dunes Council
• Friends of the Indiana Dunes
• The Prairie Club
• Mount Baldy
• Indiana Dunes Area Tourism

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