Indiana Dunes National Park
The Indiana Dunes National Park hugs 15 miles (24 km) of the southern shore of Lake Michigan. While this place is a new National Park, it’s been a treasured state park for decades.
The park features 14 distinct trail systems covering more than 50 miles of trails. If you are looking to squeeze as much as possible into one hike, the Dune Ridge Trail is just the place. This one-mile hike offers great views of the extensive wetlands and forests south of this tall, forested dune. Perhaps no other area in the park will take you through as many diverse habitats on such a short trail.
Places to Stay When Visiting
The Indiana Dunes National and State Parks are in an urban setting, so there are a lot of options for lodging available. Chicago is about 35 miles west of the park. Other nearby towns include:
- Ogden Dunes, IN (1 mile away)
- Chesterton, IN (3 miles)
- Portage, IN (5 miles)
- Gary, IN (5 miles)
VISIT Indiana Dunes National Park:
Park Details
Indiana Dunes National Park was established in .
| Address | |
|---|---|
| Phone | 219 395-1882 |
| Hours | 8:00am - 6:00pm |
| Entrance Fee | Free to enter National Park, $7-12 for State Park |
When to Visit: Weather vs. Peak Visitation
We crunched 30 years of historical weather and/or park service data to find the best months to visit Indiana Dunes National Park. We looked for the optimal temperatures, the least amount of snow and rain, and stayed away from peak visitation months if we could help it. All this data then helped us paint a picture as to what the absolute best time to visit Indiana Dunes National Park is.
Our data shows the best months to visit Indiana Dunes National Park are June, July, August & September.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Visits | 86,065 | 93,430 | 171,050 | 234,442 | 396,362 | 319,611 | 594,273 | 437,313 | 343,696 | 253,640 | 144,881 | 102,448 |
| Precipitation | 53 | 60 | 70 | 100 | 102 | 83 | 63 | 64 | 67 | 67 | 75 | 57 |
| Avg Temp | 33 | 37 | 48 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 50 | 37 |
| Max Temp | 52 | 56 | 70 | 80 | 87 | 93 | 96 | 95 | 91 | 83 | 69 | 54 |
| Avg Temp | 21 | 24 | 32 | 41 | 50 | 59 | 63 | 61 | 54 | 44 | 35 | 26 |
| Min Temp | 0 | 5 | 15 | 27 | 34 | 43 | 50 | 47 | 37 | 29 | 21 | 7 |
Indiana Dunes National Park Road Trips
Many family vacations consist of stringing one or more national parks together during a week-long trip. Creating these types of trips is our specialty! Here are the road trips we've created where Indiana Dunes National Park is visited.
| Trip Name | Trip Miles | Trip Days |
|---|---|---|
| The Great Lakes Circle Tour: Isle Royale, Pictured Rocks, Sleeping Bear & Indiana Dunes | 990 | 8 |
| Indiana Dunes, Cuyahoga Valley to Niagara Falls | 609 | 8 |
| Route 66 National Park Road Trip | 2,300 | 13 |
Other Nearby National Park Sites
From national monuments, to historic sites to seashores and more, here are the other parks closest to Indiana Dunes National Park.