Indiana Dunes State Park and National Lakeshore

Address:1100 N. Mineral Springs Road
Porter, Indiana
Tel: (219) 926-7561

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is a diverse park rich with beaches, dunes, rivers, woodland forests, marshes, and over 1,400 different species of vascular plants, 90 of which are endangered or threatened. Hundreds of different birds can be observed throughout the park as well as dozens of other animal species. Fishing and swimming are popular in the summer and several scenic trails can be enjoyed throughout the year.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, authorized by Congress in 1966, is located approximately 50 miles southeast of Chicago, Illinois in the counties of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte in Northwest Indiana. The national lakeshore runs for nearly 25 miles along southern Lake Michigan, bordered by Michigan City, Indiana on the east, and Gary on the west. The park contains approximately 15,000 acres, 2,182 of which are located in Indiana Dunes State Park and managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Miles of beaches, sand dunes, bog, wetlands, woodland forests, an 1830's French Canadian homestead, and a working 1900 era farm combine to make the national lakeshore a unique setting for studying humans and their impact on the environment. Indiana Dunes is ranked 7th among national parks in native plant diversity. Research conducted over the last two decades has revealed 1,418 vascular plant species within park boundaries, of which over 90 are on the state of Indiana's threatened or endangered list.