The Dunes Region Itineraries
While every Beyond the Beach Discovery Trail site is worth visiting, if you’re short on time, you’ll only be able to visit a few. Below are recommendations for great sites to visit in a day…or two.
Spend a Day
Start at the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center (Site 1) for maps and birding, fishing, or biking companion guides. Be sure to pick up the Indiana Dunes Activities Guide. This guide will provide detailed information about restaurants and accommodations in the Dunes, Moraine, and Kankakee regions as you explore the Trail.
Climb the highest sand dune in Indiana! Mt. Tom at Indiana Dunes State Park (Site 17) is located along State Park Trails 4 and 8 and towers 192 feet above Lake Michigan. Sledding and the cross-country ski trails at this park are great in the winter. In warmer months, you may be inclined to camp here and spend days exploring the entire park.
Café and restaurant options are plentiful in the Duneland Communities of Chesterton, Porter, and Burns Harbor, as well as Beverly Shores. Check the Activities Guide for details.
For an afternoon of history and culture, head toward Lake Front Drive in Beverly Shores: View the Century of Progress Homes (Site 24) from the street. After your driving tour of the Homes, stop in at the Depot of Beverly Shores Museum and Art Gallery (Site 25).
The Lake View Picnic Area (Site 23) is a great place to watch the sunset (as well as spring and fall waterfowl for birding enthusiasts).
Or
For more solitude, wander the miles of trail through marshes, oak savanna, and dunes at Cowles Bog (Site 15). You can birdwatch and see unique plant communities, or in the winter after a heavy lake effect snow, hit the trails for an invigorating cross-country ski!
Add a day and make it a weekend!
Hang out for the evening and enjoy indoor or outdoor dining in one of the Duneland Communities or Beverly Shores. Check the Activities Guide for details.
Stay overnight at a bed and breakfast or a nearby hotel located in the Duneland Communities. Check the Activities Guide for details.
Tired after your first day or not up for hiking? You can watch the sunrise (or sunset) right from your car in the west lot at the Indiana Dunes State Park (Site 17).
On your second day, head to West Beach (Site 5) and explore the nearly one-mile succession trail that will lead you from the beach, through blowouts with intermittent ponds, over dunes, and through the woods. Jack Pines grow along the trail much further south of their range. A favorite of beach goers, West Beach has more to offer those who have the time to wander inland.
Have lunch (or dinner) just a short drive away in Portage at nearby AmeriPlex. Check the Activities Guide for details.
After lunch, check out Portage’s newest park — Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk (Site 7). Managed jointly by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the City of Portage, this area features an enclosed pavilion with restrooms, an accessible loop trail, and a fishing pier. The pavilion is not only beautiful, but is Gold LEED certified, built with exemplary, energy-efficient environmental design and materials. A new concrete cap and handrails on the breakwater provide easy access for fishing, birdwatching, and sightseeing.
Or
Immerse yourself in local history at the Bailly-Chellberg Homesteads (Site 13). Explore on your own or arrange a guided tour, view spring wildflowers and the Mnoke prairie, hike, or birdwatch. You might also time your visit to coincide with two festivals held here—the Maple Sugar Time Festival (March) and Duneland Heritage Days (September).