Loop follows nat'l park's meandering river

Little Calumet River near historic Bailly Homestead at Indiana Dunes. NPS photo.

Little Calumet River Trail map. NPS.

Day hikers can explore a meandering river on the Little River Calumet Trail at Indiana Dunes National Park.

The 3.1-miles round trip trail forms a loop that crosses the Little Calumet River twice. For portions of the walk, the trail also briefly heads alongside the river and a wetlands bordering the waterway. It is part of the Bailly/Chellberg Trails System.

To reach the trailhead, from Chicago go east on U.S. Hwy. 12 or from Michigan City, Ind., head west on the same road. In the Porter, Ind., area, turn east onto Oak Hill Road/County Road 1350 N then right/south onto Howell Road. After crossing and running alongside the Little Calumet River for about a fifth of the mile, the road forks; go right/southwest and park in the lot when the road runs out. From the lot, go left/west on the trail.

On the trail’s left/south side is the recently restored Mnoké Prairie, which gives a glimpse of what the grasslands covering this part of the continent looked like when Euro-American settlers arrived in the 1800s. Farmed for decades, the park service has restored the 120-acre site to its prairie state, even performing prescribed burns to mimic the natural fires necessary to the cycle of plant life in that ecosystem.

At 0.9 miles from the trailhead, the route curls north with a bridge crossing the Little Calumet River. Also known as the East Arm Little Calumet River or the Little Calumet River East Branch, this stretch is one of the few undisturbed portions of the 22.1-mile long waterway.

Before 1926, the stream used to connect to the Little Calumet River in Illinois, but that year construction of the Burns Waterway diverted the route so it drained into Lake Michigan at Burns Harbor in Indiana.

The river meanders here thanks to the easily erodible soil – once the sandy bottom of Glacial Lake Chicago, which covered this section of Indiana and the bottom third of modern Lake Michigan about 14,000 years ago. As a bend forms in a river, the river erodes sediment from the outer curve of it and deposits it on an inner curve further downstream. The result is that the meanders grow larger and larger over time so that the river shifts from somewhat straight to coiled in appearance.

North of the bridge, the trail enters a marsh on the river’s north side and becomes a boardwalk. Along much of the waterway, farm fields ran right up to its edge. Without the riparian vegetation, field run-off carried sediment and fertilizer straight into the river. The result was reduced water quality and clarity.

As the trail leaves the marsh, it curls east and enters a mature hardwood forest of maple, beech, basswood and oak. During September, this is a perfect stretch to see autumn leaves, as yellows, orange and both deep and bright reds light up the tree canopy and trail.

Wildlife, historic homestead
At 1.9 miles, the trail reaches Howell Road; carefully cross it. The trail continues through the forest.

A variety of wildlife call the forest and river marshes home. Look for tracks of white-tailed deer and coyote in the trail dirt. You’re certain to see and hear at least a few of the 352 species of birds while walking. If visiting during late May to mid-June or mid-July to mid-August, you may spot the federally endangered Karner Blue Butterfly hovering near lupine.

At 2.1 miles, you’ll reach the first of several junctions in the woods that can be confusing and send you off in the wrong direction. First, go right/south. Then 0.1 miles later, go right/southwest at the next junction. The 2.5 miles mark passes a trail that leads to a parking lot; ignore that turn and continue left/south. Lastly, at 2.8 miles, turn right/southwest.

You’ll soon pass the historic Bailly Homestead. In 1822, Honore Gratien Joseph Bailly de Messein established a fur trading post where several Native American trails converged at the Little Calumet River. He was one of the earliest Euro-American settlers in northern Indiana. The buildings here are all that remain of his homestead.

Kayakers
Continuing from the homestead, the trail reaches Howell Road again. Initially the trail parallels the road and then crosses the Little Calumet River.

You’ll walk alongside the river for about 0.15 miles. You may spot kayakers plying the waters in this stretch. The river from here east past Chesterton, Ind., recently reopened to paddlers thanks to a gargantuan effort to remove log jams in the water. Kayakers had not be able to enjoy the waterway for three decades.

The hiking trail next turns away from the river and in 0.1 miles, reaches your parking lot.

This hike absolutely requires insect repellent, especially in summer. After rain, the trail can be muddy, so be sure to wear hiking boots with good traction.

Day trail explores fen at Indiana Dunes

Cowles Bog Tail in spring. NPS photo.

Cowles Bog Trail map. NPS illustration.

Day hikers can explore one of Indian Dunes National Park’s many mysterious marshes on the Cowles Bog Trail.

The 2.85-miles round trip hike is a segment of two stacked loops created by the Cowles Bog and the Greenbelt trails. This segment consists of a stem trail and the entire first loop; this keeps the walk focused on Cowles Bog and leaves out a steep sand dune and a Lake Michigan beach.

Cowles Bog actually is a fen, long known in literature as a dismal place; in the ancient Anglo-Saxon tale of Beowulf, the frightening, fog-laden fen was the lair of the monster Grendel. At Cowles, the mineral-rich groundwater feeds the wetlands, where partially decomposed plants settle into a mire and form peat. Unlike the nearby Pinhook Bog, Cowles’ water isn’t acidic but quite alkaline.

To reach the trailhead, from Chicago head east on U.S. Hwy. 12 or from Michigan City, Ind., go west on the road. Near Porter, Ind., turn north onto N. Mineral Springs Road. Just before passing the Town of Dune Acres guardhouse, turn right/east into the Cowles Bog Trail parking area. Walk alongside the parking lot entry road back to the guardhouse and cross N. Mineral Springs Road. The trail heads west from there.

Cowles Bog
The first segment – a stem trail – cuts between an uplands on the right/north and the Cowles Bog on the left/south.

Red maple and yellow birch dominate the uplands, but paper birch, tamarack and white pine also can be found. The fen along the first part of the stem trail often is a referred to as a tamarack swamp.

Along the bog’s edge are a number of shrubs, especially poison sumac and spicebush. Blackberry, grape, red osier and witch hazel also can be spotted.

At 0.6 miles, the trail reaches the beginning of the first loop. Go right/northeast, staying on the loop’s north side.

Though about 8000 years old, Cowles Bog during the past century has undergone major changes thanks to agriculture and industrialization. Prior to the 1960s, the bog was noticeably open but since has become increasingly wooded. Hybrid cattails also have replaced a diverse sedge meadow. Beginning in 2009, the National Park Service began to restore the bog. Orchids notably have begun to return to it.

The trail reaches the second loop at 1.1 miles from the trailhead. Rather than head into the dunes, go left/southwest.

Black oak savanna
This segment of the first loops runs through a black oak savanna. The savanna is a mix of the Great Plains’ prairies and the East’s hardwood forests. As the black oak trees are spaced apart, sunlight bathes the open spaces, allowing for a number of meadow grasses and wildflowers to also flourish.

Interdunal ponds sit northwest of the savanna. You also may notice small hills rising on the horizon; these are forested dunes with Mount Bentley directly north and Mount Tuthill to the northwest. On the other side of the dunes is a Lake Michigan beach.

At 1.4 miles, the loop reaches a junction. Go left/southeast to stay on the first loop. You’re now officially on the Greenbelt Trail.

The path heads back into Cowles Bog. Little Lake soon appears on the trail’s left/north side. At about 1.7 miles, the trail curves away from the lake and heads along a strip of high ground between the Eastern Wetlands on the right/south and a pond on the left/north side.

A number of birds and insects make the bog their home. But white-tailed deer also find food and protection from predators there. In the past, beavers have moved into the surrounding wetlands.

Father of plant ecology
At 1.95 miles, the path junctions with the first loop’s east side. Turn left/northeast onto it. This puts you back on the the Cowles Bog Trail.

Cowles Bog stretches across the horizon on the trail’s right/east side. The bog was named for Henry Cowles, a University of Chicago botanist whose study of Lake Michigan sand dunes during the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries established him as North America’s “father of plant ecology.” The bog is the only remaining ecosystem of the “Central Dunes” that Cowles studied.

At 2.25 miles, the loop comes full circle. Go right/east onto the stem trail and retrace your steps back to the parking lot.

Insect repellent is an absolute must on this trail. As much of it is unshaded, be sure to don sunscreen, sunglasses and sunhat. Also, given this is a wetlands, hiking boots with good traction are necessary.

Day trail heads to historic Indiana farmstead

Chellberg Farmhouse at Indiana Dunes National Park, NPS photo.

Chellberg Farm Trail map. NPS.

Day hikers can visit a historic Midwest homestead from the 1800s on the Chellberg Farm Trail at Indiana Dunes National Park.

The 1.7-miles round trip described here is the northern segment of the rustic Bailly Homestead/Chellberg Farm Trail. A variety of other historical places – including the Bailly homestead and the Bailly cemetery – are nearby.

To reach the trailhead, from Chicago go east on U.S. Hwy. 12 or from Michigan City, Ind., head west on the same road. In the Porter, Ind., area, turn east onto Oak Hill Road/County Road 1350 N then right/south onto Howell Road. Park in the Mnoké Prairie lot across the road from the entry to the Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center.

Swedish immigrants
The trail heads east from the lot. In 0.2 miles, you’ll reach one of the many loops in the Baily/Chellberg Trails System. Go left/north onto the loop, which passes through a peaceful forest of maple, beech, basswood and oak trees.

During the mid-1800s until the Great Depression, this area of Indiana – known as Baillytown –attracted a number of Swedish immigrants, who formed a close-knit community. Among them was the Kjellberg family, who emigrated to the United States in 1863.

At 0.5 miles from the trailhead, the trail reaches a junction that connects to the Bailly Cemetery and the Little Calumet River Trail. Continue to the Chellberg Farm by going straight-right/east.

Just six years after arriving in America, the Kjellbergs bought the 80-acre property now known as the Chellberg Farm. They paid a mere $12 an acre.

The trail soon curves south then east again. In 0.8 miles from the trailhead, it reaches the historic Chellberg Farm.

Historic farm buildings
Several historic buildings can be explored on the homestead.

Among the most popular of them is the farmhouse. Built in 1885, its folk Victorian style was common across the United States at the time. The red brick facade is made of porter brick, which was created from nearby clay.

The barn is slightly older than the farmhouse. Constructed sometime during the 1870s, it is nearly 51 feet long by 25 feet wide and 25 feet tall. A three-bay structure with gabled roof, several improvements were made to it over the years, including the addition of a silo in 1917 and a concrete floor in 1938.

Two other common farm buildings of the era that still exist on the site are the corncrib and the granary. The Kjellbergs (or Chellbergs, as they became known) over the generations used several types of corncribs; the one now standing was built in 1941. The granary is the two-story, wooden building west of the farmhouse.

Also on the property is a maple sugar camp set up in the 1930s that is still used today. Every year in early March, the national park hosts a Maple Sugar Time festival in which visitors can tap their own syrup. Indiana Dunes is the only national park that makes maple syrup.

After taking in the historic sights, retrace your steps to the parking lot.