When you want to take a walk in the woods, it may seem most logical to head north or west out of Chicago, where subdivisions and malls gradually give way to farms and open fields.
In contrast, traveling south and east out of the city thrusts you headlong into the area where heavy industry is at its heaviest: Pale-gray plumes billow out of smokestacks, flames blaze at oil refineries and strange smells cling to the air. The area has its own drama and interest, but not when you’re looking for a peaceful respite in nature.
But, remarkably, an hour’s perseverance in this direction will bring you to a national park that is, in its own way, as spectacular as any other in the United States.
The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a unit of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service, is a landscape of astonishing natural variety. Nature blessed the Indiana Dunes with a great diversity of ecosystems and, consequently, there are a lot of different things to see there.
The beaches are one of only a very few stretches of Lake Michigan shoreline in the southern part of the lake that have been left in natural condition. In the summer, the sandy shores teem with swimmers, sun lovers and picnicking families.
Behind the raucous beach action, the shores are blanketed with thick native grasses. Sand dunes rise and fall across the landscape in even ridges parallel to the shore. Between the hummocks of dunes are quiet ponds and marshes with rare amphibians and wetland birds. Farther inland are vast oak groves, with wildflowers now in prolific bloom.
The variety of ecosystems gives the dunes the third greatest diversity of plants of all units in the Park Service. The 1,400 acres have more species of plants crammed into their nooks and crannies than the entire 2.2 million acres of Yellowstone.
“Everyone thinks of the beach when they think of the dunes, but I think the beaches are the least interesting part,” says Glenda Daniel, author of “Dune Country” and a director for Openlands Project, a conservation group. “There’s a lot of closeup interesting stuff to see.”
But be forewarned: You do have to be prepared for the park’s next-door neighbors. While Yellowstone provides one scenic vista after the next, the most prominent visual landmarks at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore are the cooling towers of the NIPSCO coal-fired power plants.
“It’s a crazy national park,” admits Lee Botts, a longtime activist for the dunes and Lake Michigan generally. “The original legislation signed in 1966 that made this a park also authorized industrialization.”
Daniel thinks this juxtaposition is part of what is amazing about the park. “Even today, scientists are finding subspecies of frogs new to science right next to steel mills,” she says. “After all the degradation, there’s still so much there in terms of plants and animals.”
Beaches
At the Indiana Dunes, if you stand at the edge of Lake Michigan on a clear day, you will see the skyscrapers of downtown Chicago. From this vantage point, the dramatic buildings appear to rise straight out of the water.
In the summer, there are swimming beaches with lifeguards, restrooms and concessions. But this time of year, the shore is relatively empty. It’s a great time to take long walks along the water’s edge without having to worry about kicking over people’s coolers and umbrellas. About 35 miles of shoreline fall within the federally designated boundaries of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and while this is broken up by industrial development, there are long, uninterrupted stretches as well. The 12 miles of beach from the Cowles Bog Trail on the west to Mt. Baldy on the east are a good choice for a quiet walk.
Hiking
Walking up the trails on the steep slopes of the dunes can be a challenge. The hills rise at sharp angles, and it’s hard to gain traction on the loose sand. While the rigorous climbing is not for everyone, if you are reasonably fit you’ll find hiking the dunes to be good exercise and a lot more pleasurable than a StairMaster. There are fascinating flowers and moss to observe up close, and splendid views of Lake Michigan. This time of year, trout lilies, hepatica and other spring wildflowers are messengers of the summer season to come. There are plenty of choices of length and terrain.
Here is a guide to one of the many possible hikes, the five-mile Cowles Bog Trail. Designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1965, Cowles Bog is interesting both for the diversity of plants and scenery and for its historic and scientific importance. The bog was named for Dr. Henry Cowles, a biologist from the University of Chicago who discovered in the early part of this century the principles of succession in nature. This idea, which underlies much of the science of ecology, says plants and animals in a particular place are gradually replaced by other species. At the dunes, the system of succession is striking. There are drastic differences in vegetation short distances from one another, with one natural community butting up against another.
In the short span of the walk at Cowles Bog, you will pass through varied natural communities. The trail starts in older dunes, a half-mile back from the water’s edge. During the retreat of the glaciers, Lake Michigan would have lapped onto the shore here; the steep hills you climb are old dunes that once were directly on the water’s edge.
To the right side of the trail are woods filled with black oaks and wildflowers. On the left are marshes, where ferns are beginning to unfurl. You will pass the actual bog at a respectful but scenic distance; the mat of sphagnum moss and acid-loving plants is delicate and sensitive to disturbance, so access into the heart of the bog is reserved for scientific purposes.
In addition to the beauty of the woods, you will find the Cowles Bog walk to be exemplary of a trip to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in another way as well; as the trail curves toward the lake, it gives you a fine view of the Bethlehem Steel plant. This mill is operating at full capacity these days, transforming iron ore into steel and crafting the alloy into usable products.
As you approach the lake, the character of the woods changes over each ridge. You are moving forward in geologic time as you walk: The closer you get to the lake, the younger the dunes. The black oaks give way to juniper, bearberry and jackpines; all of these species are much farther south than the main part of their range. Once you get to the dunes with windswept cottonwoods and wispy little bluestem, you are almost to the lake. These plants can handle the tough conditions of dry, shifting soil and strong winds. As you descend the last dune, you will walk through a beautiful sea of marram grass, a brilliant green plant that thrives in the dry, mobile currents of fine-grained sand.
Once at the lake, you can wind back around on the trail or take an easy stroll down the beach and turn right at a path that leads to the road; from there you can walk back to the parking area.
Maps for the Cowles Bog Trail and other areas are available at the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center. (See directions at end of article.) To reach Cowles Bog, turn north off U.S. Highway 12 on Mineral Springs Road, which leads into Dune Acres. Drive about a mile and a half. Parking for the trail is on the right side of the road; the trail begins on the left side.
Half-day trip by train
While driving allows you greater freedom once you arrive, the dunes are nevertheless easily (and pleasantly) reached by train. The South Shore Line can whisk you past the industrial zone while you’re absorbed in a book or conversation, and an hour later you can emerge from the train within a mile of the park lands.
Say you wanted to go somewhere for an excellent lunch and a hike in the woods on a Saturday afternoon. After putting on decent clothes (don’t be too grubby; you’re going somewhere nice for lunch) and sturdy walking shoes, you could get on a train that leaves the Randolph Street station around noon. (11:59 to be precise, but check with the RTA at 312-836-7000 to ensure up-to-date travel times.) You will arrive in Miller, Ind., at 1:02 p.m. (Cost of a one-way ticket to Miller is $4.45.) From the train station, walk north on Lake Street. In about five minutes (three-tenths of a mile), you’ll be in the center of downtown, a small but thriving retail district (the area is actually a part of Gary). There are shops, a couple of art galleries and a few restaurants. For a good meal, stop in at Miller Bakery Cafe. With its art and its exposed brick walls, this comfortable restaurant feels as though it could be in a trendy Chicago neighborhood. It features goat-cheese crepes, linguine with wood-grilled vegetables, herbed polenta and other up-to-the minute cuisine at prices that might be high for Miller but will strike most Chicagoans as reasonable for the quality of the food.
With your belly full, proceed onward to the park. In another five minutes (again, three-tenths of a mile), you will come to the entrance. In a half-mile, you’ll reach the Paul Douglas Center for Environmental Education, the spot in the park where most of the activities for children are centered. The center has an information desk, restrooms and drinking water. Behind it is a gentle half-mile looped trail that will take you through the oak savanna and past a quiet pond nestled between dunes.
Back out on the road, you can proceed north to the lake, which is another half-mile. A park owned and operated by the city
provides access to the beach. After an afternoon filled with food, exercise and nature, you can return to Chicago on a train that departs Miller at 5:56 p.m. or 7:56 p.m.
Guided programs
The Park Service rangers have regularly scheduled walks and programs. What follows is a sampling of upcoming programs; for a more detailed schedule or to ask questions or get directions, call 219-926-7561, ext. 225.
Saturday (Earth Day): photo seminar at Little Calumet River Trail, 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. Meet at the Buell Visitor Center. Wildflower Walk at the Heron Rookery, 9 a.m., sponsored by the Save the Dunes Council. Call 219-879-3937 for directions. See spring wildflowers blooming, great blue herons nesting and steelhead salmon migrating through the Little Calumet River. At noon, after the hike, the council is having a potluck lunch. Wear good hiking shoes and bring food. Earth Day on the Farm, 1 to 3 p.m. Park at the Bailly-Chellberg Visitor Center. From U.S. 12, turn south onto Mineral Springs Road (between Indiana Highways 149 and 49.)
Painter Cynthia Frederick delivers a message for Earth Week, 2 to 3 p.m. at Buell Visitor Center. (See directions at end of article.)
Sunday: Petal Profusion Hike, 1:30 to 3 p.m. See and learn to identify wildflowers. Meet at Heron Rookery parking lot. Call for directions. Celebrate Earth, 2 to 3 p.m., for children and families. Meet at Paul H. Douglas Center.
April 28: Walk and study seasonal changes at a wetland, 1 to 2:30 p.m. Meet at Buell Visitor Center.
April 30: Petal Profusion Hike, 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Directions
To reach the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore: From Chicago, take the Dan Ryan Expressway (Interstate Highway 94) south to the Chicago Skyway (Interstate Highway 90). It rejoins I-94 in Indiana; you can exit it at several places, depending on which part of the park you wish to see. To get to the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center, the main starting point for exploring the park, exit I-94 at Indiana Hwy. 49. Go north three-fourths of a mile to U.S. Hwy. 12; turn right (east) on 12. Go three miles to Kemil Road; the visitor center is clearly marked; it is at the corner of this intersection. The center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week, every day of the year. In the summer it is open until 6 p.m. The main phone number for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is 219-926-7561.
