Day Hiking Trails: Maps for Indiana Dunes National Park trails

Beach at the end of Indiana Dunes National Park's Dune Succession Trail.
Nathaniel Moreno, NPS Collection

Imagine a place where you can stroll magnificent Lake Michigan beaches and scramble over towering sand dunes, where you can explore mysterious marshes filled with carnivorous plants and amble about peaceful oak savannas, where you can roam among migrating birds on their stopover and traipse about historic turn-of-the-century homesteads. The place is real: It’s called Indiana Dunes National Park.

Located in northwest Indiana on Lake Michigan’s shores, Indiana Dunes became America’s newest and 61st national park in Feb. 15, 2019. An easy drive from Chicago, Indiana Dunes attracts about 3.6 million visitors per year, making it among the 10 most visited national parks. Formerly Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, the 15,000-acre park sits in a built-up area and is physically divided into 15 largely disconnected pieces. Still, Indiana Dunes boasts 14 distinct trail systems with more than 50 miles of trails.

With the park stretching more than two-dozen miles from end to end and the large crowds, though, how can you ensure that you see its main sights when vacationing or driving through? Here are maps for 11 great trails at the national park and its neighboring Indiana Dunes State Park.

Beaches: Portage Lakefront & Riverwalk