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Indiana Dunes Park is famous for its beaches that line the Lake Michigan shoreline. At Indiana Dunes National Park, visitors can explore 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares) of natural terrain, including hiking through forests.
Just over 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Chicago, Indiana Dunes State Park features nearly one thousand acres of beautiful scenery including a fifteen-mile stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline. The park’s biggest attraction is the beaches delimited by rolling sand dunes exceeding sixty meters in height. The park also offers opportunities for fishing, bird watching, cycling, hiking, and camping. The most popular times to visit are spring and summer. However, the park boasts lovely fall colors and offers opportunities for cross-country skiing in the winter.
Indiana Dunes was named the new national park of the US, joining sixty-one other natural areas of federal conservation in the country. The park, formerly known as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, features rare species of birds along Lake Michigan, where visitors can swim, paddle, or fish.
Indiana Dunes National park covers sand dunes, wetlands, and woodlands. It is located on the southern shore of Lake Michigan in northwestern Indiana.
The Indiana area also has trails over stunning dunes, swamps, forests, and meadows for hiking, biking, or overnight camping, all of which can be done between April and October.
Cowles Bog Trail is a heavily trafficked loop trail near Dune Acres, Indiana. It features a lake and is rated as moderate in difficulty. The trail is used for hiking and snowshoeing and is accessible throughout the year.
The Cowles Bog Trail accentuates several distinct habitats along its trail, featuring swamps, ponds, beaches, and black oak savannas. The steep sand dunes near Lake Michigan make this trail more challenging and strenuous. Make sure to bring enough water, sun protection, and extra clothing layers with you, as the weather is different at the lake.
This hike is a lollipop-shaped trail and a classic Indiana dunes trail. Begin from the north parking lot, walk back to Mineral Springs Road on the gravel entrance road, and take the road across the street. The trail leads along the edge of a wetland with abundant flora and fauna. You will reach the loop trail junction at approximately the one-mile mark.
The preferred direction to take around the loop is clockwise. Take the path to the right. The trail will now run through the black oak savannah and the water-filled intermediate ponds.
I stayed to the right at the intersection with the cut-off trail. Thereafter, I had to climb up and down the steep final dune as I approached Lake Michigan. The reward was the sweeping view of Lake Michigan and the beach. I had lunch and stayed for a while. To get back, travel 0.2 miles west on the beach and look for the trail; you will see the signs to go back over the dunes. Stay right at the intersection of the trail, left at the Greenbelt Trail south of the parking lot connector, and right at the loop trail junction. The trail will then take you back to the north parking lot.
This trail is not wheelchair accessible, and the surface of the trail is a mixture of packed dirt and loose sand. You can carry your pets, but they must be on a leash.
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