It was a perfect day for a long hike in northern Indiana's best state park: Indiana Dunes State Park, a little patch of wilderness bordering Lake Michigan. Temperatures were in the upper 70s with a basically clear sky and little wind. This park is where I have many good childhood memories. This is also where I honed my love for long hikes in nature, a love I've enjoyed all my life. I always enjoy coming back here.
The entrance now for out-of-state cars, however, is $10, a rather steep increase from the $6 I remember last time. This fee is only charged in the summer months. For those hearty (or frugal) hikers a free hike would be to start a hike from Kemil Beach, a public access beach on the park's eastern side, and hike along the beach west. One would need a state park map to know where to get back on the trails further inland and arrive early, as this is a small lot that fills up quickly during the summer months with beach-goers.
"I think they are going to raise the fees a dollar a year for a while" said the rather disinterested young guard shack attendant as I drove in.
The entrance now for out-of-state cars, however, is $10, a rather steep increase from the $6 I remember last time. This fee is only charged in the summer months. For those hearty (or frugal) hikers a free hike would be to start a hike from Kemil Beach, a public access beach on the park's eastern side, and hike along the beach west. One would need a state park map to know where to get back on the trails further inland and arrive early, as this is a small lot that fills up quickly during the summer months with beach-goers.
"I think they are going to raise the fees a dollar a year for a while" said the rather disinterested young guard shack attendant as I drove in.
The entrance fee helps the state park maintain trails, roads and buildings. The trails are generally wide and even. The higher weekend fees were in effect as well.
I started out where I always start my long hike here, at the Winston shelter in the south-central part of the park, away from the beach. This way I see all diverse ecosystems in this little gem of a park, refresh at the beach and then end back in the shady groves of tall oaks and pines.
The first trail for me is Trail #2 behind the restrooms, which here is unmarked and behind a cordoned-off maintenance road. The trail follows the swampy nature preserve of the park on the southern flank. The South Shore train, a commuter train from South Bend, IN to Chicago, rumbles quite audibly from here.
The first trail for me is Trail #2 behind the restrooms, which here is unmarked and behind a cordoned-off maintenance road. The trail follows the swampy nature preserve of the park on the southern flank. The South Shore train, a commuter train from South Bend, IN to Chicago, rumbles quite audibly from here.
By now, I have to admit, most of the scenery had looked familiar as it was all the same sort of terrain like the other lake shore hikes I've done here: hardwood wetland trees with iris, stink cabbage, sassafras, maples, hemlocks, oaks.
It took us 20 minutes for the first two miles of this trail. This is a quiet trail that takes hikers across a .25 boardwalk across the marshy area with bullfrogs and marsh birds. We rested at the intersection of Trails 10 and 2 and continued east on Trail#10, the longer trail that sweeps around the park and along the beach. At this intersection with trails 10 and 2 one can see the edge of the ancient dunes with old growth trees and the start of the back dunes wetlands. All the hills were now to my north.
A black lab ran around the woods behind us, crackling dead brush and frightening me, causing Sadie to bark menacing at the dog and later the owner. All the dogs I saw today were off-leash in the back area of this park. Sadie stayed on her leash.
I passed landmarks such as The Pinery, Paradise Valley (oak grove) and finally the beach where I slowed the pace down and walked slowly along the water line looking for holey rocks. The first impression I got was the brown smog over the horizon, that dark haze of sulphur and nitrogen dioxide that makes up the summer pollution. It was not a good day for beach photography. Lack of wind today kept the haze over the water. Faint oil lines meandered along the high waterline. The water and sky's colors faded into one blur along the horizon.
There weren't many people on the lake shore. Isolated joggers and fast dog runners passed me up from time to time, but I kept a slow pace, at times sitting in the sand gazing northward with Sadie by my side. When I took her into the water she hesitated, despite her panting, and I threw water on her to cool off. She did not appreciate that and pulled hard to get out of the water. Although she learned to trust the sinking sand, she walked only along the edge of the lake where the sand was especially soft. This part of the lake is known for its riptide currents.
There were few gulls along the water. Several flocks floated further in the lake, a few more dived into the water for fish. These gulls lack the grace of the belted kingfisher that dives deeply from a hovering position for fish.
I can see why few people swim here, as the lake's depth increases fast a few feet into the water. The swim beach was a few miles west and we were off the beach by then and pushing ourselves up Trail#8, the most scenic trail here with views of the lake on high dunes towering 184 high from Mount Holden.
Another mound, Mount Jackson at 173 feet was south of Holden. From here it was no more than a mile back to the parking lot. Most people seemed to access the beach from this trail which ended with a dash toward the lake downhill in the loose sand.
Sadie by now was tired of the long hike and I was glad the walk was finally over. My one park that I wanted to hike had been completed. O crossed the marsh and was back at the van. We had started this hike at 10:48 and returned at 3:43pm. We walked across all the varieties of terrain along this hike, from marshes and swamps to hardwood and predunal terrain to finally the beach at last.
The nearby Nature Center is a worthwhile stop to read up on various animal and plant species. Stuffed roadkill hang from the ceiling: red-tailed hawks, mallards, great horned owls greet the visitors.
Things weren't quite so clean at the old Beach house on the main beach where dogs are not allowed. This old house is near a 1780 battle between American forces commanded by Lt Thomas Brady and Jean Baptiste Hamelin against the British forces of Dahreau de Quindre and the famous "Devil's slide" dune. (A small historical marker gives more details of this little-known skirmish).
Swallows nest and swoop low over unsuspecting visitors as they climb the building's concrete stairs to the upper floor where food is served. The paint inside this building is in dire need of being replaced. The bird feces is also a serious heath risk that needs to be removed. This is where the park maintenance personnel need to spend some time. The public beach is clean and garbage is removed several times a day by crew driving dune buggies along the beach, but the actual building
in which food is served also needs to be addressed.
The beach behind the old beach house, however, was busy with beachgoers. Here is where the seagulls were, harassing picnickers for their left-overs. No wonder the rest of the lakeshore was pretty much void of these flying pests as they were all conglomerated right here where the easy pickings were. The sand looked unnaturally white and clean, too, unlike the rest of the lakeshore. People spend money to come here and they expect clean facilities.
The beach behind the old beach house, however, was busy with beachgoers. Here is where the seagulls were, harassing picnickers for their left-overs. No wonder the rest of the lakeshore was pretty much void of these flying pests as they were all conglomerated right here where the easy pickings were. The sand looked unnaturally white and clean, too, unlike the rest of the lakeshore. People spend money to come here and they expect clean facilities.
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