4.0Indiana Dunes National Park(460 reviews) - Wonderful if you love nature Spent More than 3 hours National Parks
We enjoyed very much our visit and want to come back. We visited in early October, started to get chilly, particularly on Lake Michigan beaches, but we had a good time, with the fall leaves color changes just a little before peak. Several commenters here have said it was boring, you could see dunes and be done in 1 hour. Not so. What helped was a half-hour introductory movie at the visitor center, showing the many ecosystems there to orient us. When you walk on the trails, you encounter many kinds of environments. Take the time to appreciate that. The trails are somewhat strenuous, simply because they are composed of really soft, shifting sand. Not your regular trail walking, you are practically doing a moonwalk when you hike. Puts some strain on your thighs, but feels good. Our little dogs loved the feel. Hiking boots would be best, but my tennis shoes were just fine. Beautiful sunsets at Lake Michigan can be had, and you can see Chicago across the water. A bit of a setback is that one trail I tried led you to driving through a somewhat rundown part of Gary Indiana to get there. What was supposed to be a short trail loop ended up taking me about 90 minutes because the signage was not good, and I ended up at the beach, not planned. Fortunately my cell phone was able to help me to find my way back to my car. When the wind whips up at the beaches, the flying sand grains can be punishing, almost like a blizzard. But overall we loved it and plan to returnSee more..
We visited Hemlock Cliffs Scenic Area while passing through the area to take the dog for a short hike. Part of Hoosier National Forest, there is a 1 mile trail through a beautiful little slot canyon. There's a small waterfall in here, but it was just a trickle when we visited. Really cool caves and cliffs in here, so can take longer than expected for a hike just over a mile. It's kind of off the beaten path, but definitely worth a stop if in the area.See more..
5.0Pinhook Bog(1 review) - Part of Indiana Dunes NP Spent 2-3 hours National Parks This is a part of Indiana Dunes National Park & located out in the country by La Porte, Indiana. A small area that recently added a new trail (Upland Trail) & a larger parking area. The bog itself is only available to the public for a ranger lead tour, but I just found out that during the summer months it will be open for self guided tours from 12 - 3pm on Saturdays. It's been many years since I've been to Pinhook Bog. Since you need a ranger to hike the trail, life would get in the way of trying to go. Yesterday my husband & I finally were able to see the bog again! This is a .9 trail that leads to a bog designated a National Natural Landmark. A wooden gate that is shut when the trail is not in use begins your hike. The wooded trail is dirt packed & muddy in places, but not especially difficult. Maybe .5 miles. When you get to the bog, there's another gate, chain linked that means business! This is locked when not in use. The bog part of the trail has the plastic boardwalk that floats. Unfortunately, the water table is high this year, so parts are under water & very muddy. Wear appropriate foot wear. The bog part is maybe .25 miles. The bog has many interesting plants - Bladderwort, Sundew, Pitcher plants. There's also in the Spring, Pink Ladyslippers which are hard to find. There are quite a few in the bog. There's a couple of rangers there to answer your questions & educate you on the bog. Take the trail in reverse to get back to the trailhead. The other trail is called the Upland Trail & is 2.1 miles long. I've only taken it once, but it wasn't especially difficult.See more..
