Indiana Dunes National Park is known for its huge sand dunes and over 50 miles of trails. However, Indiana Dunes National Park is more than just sand. It is home to over 1,100 plant species, and more than 250 species of birds have been observed in this park. We decided to do a spare-of-the-moment trip so we loaded up the car and headed to Indiana, a 7-hour drive at 2 PM. So let’s head to Indiana Dunes National Park! Our first stop, however, is Indiana Dunes State Park, where we can camp overnight. Or is it?

Camping at Indiana Dunes

After driving 7 hours mostly in the dark and confirming over the phone that the Indiana Dunes State Park had over 50 campsites available, we finally pulled in at the camp check-in booth, so ready to be out of the car. We were greeted by a very nice ranger who politely told us that the campground was full, I explained that I had reserved a site and even confirmed over the phone 4 hours ago that I could still check in due to arriving so late. That was when she advised that there were never any sites available. She explained that their website has been having a glitch every season where it will open up the sites on the closed campground and let people book them then when they arrive they are told there never was a site which was our case. So here we were after 9 pm and had no place to stay, the closest campground with available spots was 45 minutes away and used the same website so they might not have any either.

She recommended that we boondock at Indiana Dunes National Park as they allow boondocking in their parking lot, which in a way was perfect because that is where we were going anyways so it would save me $35 due to not having to pay $12 to enter the park and $23 to camp. So we turned around and headed 2 miles down the road to Indiana Dunes National Park. I do want to express again that the ranger was very nice and I felt bad for her always having to tell people that there were no sites.

We pulled into the parking lot at Indiana Dunes National Park visitor center and picked a spot to park. Others were boondocking as well, probably for the same reason. Within 10 minutes we had the car set up for camping, I highly recommend a tri-fold mattress if you car camp! We were beyond ready to call it a night!

The next morning we woke up to the sound of birds chirping and when we peered out the window there were 3 bluejays searching for breakfast in the mulch, we sat and watched them while waiting for the center to open. This was a real treat at bluejays always seem to take off so fast that you barely see them. a few other birds came in as well including a small woodpecker. Now let’s start exploring!

The Visitor Center

It was slightly rainy and a bit chilly as it is wintertime. As you walk around the visitor center there are different murals painted that are great for photo ops and also a cool buffalo statue. The visitor center features a small store and a decent-sized museum that offers interactive activities such as touching a real deer antler and muskrat pelt. If you collect National Park stamps make sure you get your book stamped outside the shop or pick up a book in the shop. They currently do not have a Jr. Ranger stamp, however, you can still do the Jr. Ranger program. They have a few Ranger programs, Jax did the Jr. Ranger, the Beachcomber Ranger, and the Jr Firefighter Ranger. He got a book for all except the Beachcomber which he did the PDF on my phone, they weren’t as familiar with that one. Ranger Jacob and his mother made this an especially memorable day, as they showed a lot of interest in Jax and everyone in the building clapped and congratulated him. He said his favorite thing at Indiana Dunes National Park was his new friends Ranger Jacob and his Mom. So if you see Ranger Jacob be sure to say hi! He has been our favorite ranger so far!

Porter Beach

Our first stop was Porter Beach, though it was cloudy it was still beautiful! We had never been to Lake Michigan so it was refreshing to see the waves coming in. Jax was overly excited to find several large milkweed bugs along the coast. There are lots of shells along the coast, however, they say not to remove any of the shells. We could slightly see Chicago in the distance and we got to see one gull land at the beach. It is the off-season and so cold that most birds have gone south for the winter. Jax did discover a Spotted Cucumber beetle which Ranger Jacob said he had never seen before. As we walked back up the beach I noticed that the water had changed to a turquoise color, making it look tropical.

Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm

We found a trail that led us to Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm where we saw chickens. The house was built in 1835 and restored in 1917. There is a path that leads to the Bailly Cemetery, however we skipped it. The farm was neat and we talked about how people lived in the 1800s. you could look into the barn and see the equipment they used in that era. We saw a lady leaving that was dressed in clothes from the 1800s, I’m not sure what she was doing before we came, it looked like she might have been feeding the animals.

The Great Marsh Trail

We stopped at the Great Marsh Trail, it’s a 1.3 mile trail through the marsh. I couldn’t help but think of Kya the marsh girl from “Where the Crawdads Sing”, which the book and the movie are great! Since it was off peak season we didn’t see any animals except a beautiful pair of swans in the pond off the observation desk. Most of the trail was muddy from the rain. We did take a small break and finished Jax’s Jr. Firefighter book while watching the Swans.

Lake View Beach

Lake View Beach was our second beach of the day, we had to climb down a rock pile to get to the beach however, it was worth it. The water was very tropical looking, the sun had came out and it was warming up. The clouds was still dark providing a majestic view. I could have stayed there all day!

West Beach

Our last stop in Indiana Dunes National Park was West Beach, this by far was my favorite stop! The view of the Chicago skyline was outstanding, we could see the Willis Tower (AKA Sears Tower. The wind was picking up which caused the sand to get thrown all over,it felt like we were being peppered by sand. We had to miss the Diana Dunes Dare as Jax was exhausted from the day and it was time to head out. Next year, we plan to visit Indiana Dunes National Park again and make West Beach our first stop so we can take on the Diana Dunes Dare which has over 800 steps that you climb according to a hiker we talked too. If you take the challenge and finish it you can get a badge of honor sticker from the visitor center.

The Ending

Well, its been an awesome day and we have stopped at Culver’s for dinner then its back on the road headed home. Will you visit Indiana Dunes National Park? To learn more about the park click here. It’s definitely worth spending at least a few days exploring as we didn’t even cover half of it. So thank you for traveling with us! Where shall we go next? I don’t know but it will be free or cheap! So ready? Set? Let’s go!