Indiana Dunes National Park is immediately next to Indiana Dunes State Park. Both are located on Lake Michigan in northern Indiana. We chose to camp in the state park because it had electric hookups. While we enjoy dry camping, we wanted electric hookups for the first night of our trip.
Indiana Dunes State Park
We visited both parks but camped in the state park. We arrived after dark, so we didn’t have time to do much exploring the evening we arrived. The next morning, we woke up early and did the 3 Dune Challenge.
3 Dune Challenge
The 3 Dune Challenge is a 1.5 mile hike that climbs up the three tallest dunes in the state park: Mt. Jackson, Mt. Holden, and Mt. Tom. The trail creates a loop, which passes by the campground. This was convenient for us because we could walk right on to the trail from our campsite. What makes the trail a challenge is hiking at a fairly steep angle on sand. To read more about the 3 Dune Challenge, here is a link to the Indiana Dunes website: The 3 Dune Challenge | Indiana Dunes.
Indiana Dunes National Park
We popped into the national park for a short hike. The weather was a little iffy during our visit with cooler temperatures and passing rain showers, so we didn’t want to venture too far on the trail. We decided to hike the Dune Succession Trail, which is a 0.9-mile loop. Although the trail is short, it is classified as strenuous because of the number the stairs. There are 270 total stairs to climb, but there are some great views of Lake Michigan along this trail. You can see the Chicago skyline on a clear day. You can read more about this trail on the Indiana Dunes National Park website: West Beach Trails – Indiana Dunes National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).
