• Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

    Indiana Dunes

    National Lakeshore Indiana

  • Temporary Closure at Kemil parking lot

    Kemil parking lot is temporarily closed due to construction on East State Park Road and is expected to open on May 28, 2012.

Directions

Getting to the Park:

By Car
Visitors can access the national lakeshore via I-94, the Indiana Toll Road, I-80/90, U.S. Highway 20, Indiana State Highway 12, and various state roads. The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Visitor Center is located off of Indiana Highway 49 between U.S. Highway 20 and Interstate 94, Chesterton, Indiana. For a driving map to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Visitor Center or other locations in the lakeshore check out our maps page 

By Public/Commercial Transportation:
The Chicago and South Shore Train has stops within the park.  Gary Regional Airport, South Bend Regional Airport, and Chicago's Midway International Airport and O'Hare International Airport are the nearby airports. There are several small taxi companies in the surrounding communities. Please use our Public Transportation page for more details.

 

Finding Your Way Around the National Lakeshore
The majority of the national lakeshore facilities can be accessed off of U.S. Highway 12. As you travel on nearby highways, watch for the large brown signs that will direct you to different areas in the national lakeshore. To further assist you, the names, street addresses, associated trails, and G.P.S. coordinates of the national lakeshore's facilities are listed on our Maps page.

 

Did You Know?

a sea of tall grasses and catails in a marsh setting and trees in the background

Cowles Bog is not a true bog but rather a fen because it has an underground water source. This water source has contact with limestone bedrock, making the fen’s water slightly alkaline. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is restoring a portion of this fen.