| Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is a U.S. national | | | | the nearby Gary steel mills led by groups such as the |
| lakeshore located in northwest Indiana. The national | | | | Prairie Club of Chicago, the area continued to be |
| lakeshore runs for nearly 25 miles (40 km) along the | | | | exploited. The tallest dune in Indiana, the 200 foot |
| southern shore of Lake Michigan, from Michigan City, | | | | (60 m) high Hoosier Slide, was hauled away and |
| Indiana on the east to Gary, Indiana on the west. | | | | turned into glass by Pittsburgh Plate Glass and |
| The park contains approximately 15,000 acres (61 | | | | canning jars by Ball Brothers. |
| km²). A part of this area, 2,182 acres (9 | | | | In 1926, part of the area became the Indiana Dunes |
| km²) is located in Indiana Dunes State Park and | | | | State Park. Lobbying continued to expand the area |
| managed by the Indiana Department of Natural | | | | and in 1963, the Kennedy Compromise linked the |
| Resources. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was | | | | construction of the Port of Indiana to the |
| authorized by Congress in 1966. | | | | development of a National Lakeshore. The Lakeshore |
| Lakeshore activities | | | | was created in 1966 and expanded in 1976, 1980, |
| The park contains 15 miles (24 km) of beaches, as | | | | 1986 and 1992. |
| well as sand dunes, bogs, marshes, swamps, fens, | | | | Lakeshore landmarks |
| prairies, rivers, oak savannas, and woodland forests. | | | | Cowles Bog |
| The park is also noted for its singing sands. More | | | | Cowles Bog, a National Natural Landmark, is a fen |
| than 350 species of birds have been observed in the | | | | wetland named in honor of biologist and ecologist |
| park. It has one of the most diverse plant | | | | Henry Cowles. Located south and west of Dune |
| communities of any unit in the U.S. National Park | | | | Acres, Indiana, Cowles Bog is the sole remaining |
| System with 1418 vascular plant species including 90 | | | | remnant of the Central Dunes where Cowles |
| threatened or endangered ones. The Indiana Dunes | | | | performed his pioneering field studies of plant |
| area is unique in that it contains both arctic and boreal | | | | succession and species diversity. A National |
| plants (such as the bearberry) alongside desert plants | | | | Lakeshore trail runs from Mineral Springs Road into |
| (such as the prickly pear cactus). | | | | Cowles Bog. |
| First-time visitors to the Lakeshore often go to the | | | | Hoosier Prairie |
| Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center at U.S. Highway | | | | Hoosier Prairie, a National Natural Landmark, is a |
| 20 and Indiana Route 49, near Porter, Indiana. This | | | | 430-acre (1.7 km²) tallgrass prairie adjacent to |
| brand-new center (2007) offers standard | | | | Griffith, Indiana. It is a geographically isolated unit of |
| visitor-center amenities, including a video, brochures, | | | | the Lakeshore, owned and maintained by the Indiana |
| hands-on exhibits, and a gift shop. It is free to the | | | | Department of Natural Resources as a state nature |
| general public. | | | | preserve. 574 separate species of plants have been |
| Camping is available at the Dunewood Campground | | | | observed growing in this patch of prairie, or more |
| on U.S. Highway 12 and Broadway, in Beverly Shores, | | | | than 1 species per acre. |
| Indiana. The campground includes a dump-station, | | | | Mount Baldy |
| two loops of trailer accessible sites (some with | | | | Mount Baldy is a sand dune located west of Michigan |
| pull-through drives). All sites have tent pads, grills, | | | | City, Indiana. At 123 feet tall, it is the tallest sand |
| picnic table and access to restrooms with running | | | | dune on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. It is a |
| water and showers. There are a limited number of | | | | wandering dune that moves or shifts every year, and |
| walk-in sites in the Mather Loop. | | | | so is called a "living dune." Mount Baldy is accessible |
| The park provides opportunities for bird watching, | | | | from U.S. Route 12 (also known as Dunes Highway) |
| camping, 45 miles (72 km) of hiking, fishing, | | | | between the town of Pines and the western border |
| swimming, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing. | | | | of Michigan City. Visitors can hike up the dune and |
| Cycling is available on the Calumet Trail, a crushed | | | | from the top, on a clear day, can view Chicago's |
| limestone multiuse trail which runs through the | | | | skyline and the south shore. North of Mount Baldy is |
| eastern section of the park, providing access to the | | | | a swimming beach (no lifeguards). |
| Indiana Dunes State Park, as well as to the | | | | Pinhook Bog |
| communities of Beverly Shores, Indiana; the Town of | | | | Pinhook Bog, a National Natural Landmark, is a |
| Pines, Indiana; and Mount Baldy (Sand Dune) on the | | | | geographically isolated unit of the National Lakeshore. |
| edge of Michigan City, Indiana. The park had more | | | | The quaking bog is located near U.S. Highway 421 |
| than 2 million visits in 2005. | | | | approxiamtely 9 miles (14 km) south of Michigan City. |
| Rules state not to feed any of the wildlife, including | | | | The bog formed from a postglacial kettle moraine |
| seagulls, deer, or raccoons. | | | | left behind about 14,000 years before the present by |
| Lakeshore history | | | | the melting of the ice sheet during the end of the |
| The Indiana Dunes area first came to prominence in | | | | Wisconsin glaciation. The acidic bog is noted for |
| 1899 when Henry Cowles did some of the pioneering | | | | pitcher plants and other wetland species. Access to |
| work in American plant ecology there. Despite | | | | the bog is restricted to ranger-led guided tours. |
| attempts to protect the area from threats such as | | | | |