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63-661: Indiana Dunes National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service . It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation's 61st national park on February 15, 2019. The park runs for about 20 miles (32 km) along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers 15,349 acres (6,212 ha). Along

126-400: A chance to leave the city behind for a week or more. The camp used tent cabins with a central restroom and shower house. Atop a rise was the main lodge where meals were provided and a trading post with a bowling alley were maintained. The national park acquired three Lustron houses during its land acquisition process. The Jacob Klien House was located in an endangered habitat. It was moved to

189-475: A destination, and hunting and extractive activities are prohibited. National monuments , on the other hand, are also frequently protected for their historical or archaeological significance. Eight national parks (including six in Alaska ) are paired with a national preserve , areas with different levels of protection that are administered together but considered separate units and whose areas are not included in

252-479: A key hunting ground for villages over a wide area. It wasn't until the 19th century that native villages once again were scattered through the area, but this was soon followed by European settlement. Joseph Bailly was the earliest recorded settler in the dunes. He moved here from trading villages around Niles, Michigan . Settling along the Calumet River . Soon he was joined by a series of other settlers and

315-506: A postglacial kettle moraine left behind about 14,000 years before the present by the melting of the ice sheet during the end of the last glacial period . The acidic bog is noted for pitcher plants and other wetland species. Access to the bog is restricted to ranger-led guided tours. This is the location of the pioneer trading post established in 1822 by fur trade pioneer Joseph Bailly . Bailly settled here and his last home, adapted from his 1830s retirement house, survives. The Homestead

378-619: A vote in the Senate during the 115th Congress. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019 included the bill as a provision and was signed by President Donald Trump on February 15, creating the country's 61st National Park and the first in Indiana. The creeks and rivers of the national park include: According to the Köppen climate classification system, Indiana Dunes National Park has a hot summer Humid continental climate ( Dfa ). According to

441-540: Is Gateway Arch National Park , Missouri , at 192.83 acres (0.7804 km ). The total area protected by national parks is approximately 52.4 million acres (212,000 km ), for an average of 833 thousand acres (3,370 km ) but a median of only 220 thousand acres (890 km ). The national parks set a visitation record in 2021, with more than 92 million visitors. Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee has been

504-427: Is a hardwood forest. The great blue heron nests for which the site is named are no longer a feature of the area. Spring brings out a variety of wildflowers. Hobart Prairie Grove is an area of forested ravines along the west shore of Lake George . The Hobart Prairie Grove preserves several habitats including wetlands, prairie remnants, white oak flatlands, and a rare bur oak savanna . At about 300 acres (120 ha),

567-610: Is a visible sand ridge along Ridge Road through Lake and Porter Counties, Indiana. Two older shorelines, the Tolleston and the Glenwood Shoreline are much harder to identify and further south in those counties. During the periods of glacial retreat, there were periods of stability. During these times, glacial lakes formed along the southern borders of the glaciers, bound into the Lake Michigan Basin by

630-508: Is called a "living dune". Mount Baldy is accessible from U.S. Route 12 (also known as Dunes Highway ) between the Town of Pines and the western border of Michigan City. Visitors were formerly allowed to hike 0.7 miles (1.1 km) up the dune. As of July 2018, much of the dune itself, including the summit, was closed to allow beach grasses and other native plants to regenerate, and prevent injuries to visitors. An alternative trail leading to

693-429: Is host to wide variety of wildlife, including white-tailed deer , red fox , raccoons , opossums , cottontail rabbits , various rodents, Canada geese , gulls , squirrels , hawks , turkey vultures , mallards , great blue herons , songbirds, and garter snakes . Recent records, documented photographically, indicate that North American river otter ( Lontra canadensis ) and bobcat ( Lynx rufus ) began returning to

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756-501: Is like the word "cat" without the "t".) The Little Calumet River Trail provides access through the prairie. It is accessible from the Mnoké Prairie parking lot on Beam Street. Mount Baldy is a sand dune located at the east end of the park. At 123 feet (37 m) tall, it is one of the tallest sand dunes on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. It is a wandering dune that moves an average of 4 feet (1.2 m) every year, and so

819-660: Is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located in the east portion of the park. The district consists of a total of five buildings, all from the Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition during the 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair which took place in Chicago. Created by the Good Fellow Club of U.S. Steel in 1941, the camp served the children of Gary , until 1977. It provided outdoor recreation and

882-875: Is roughly the shoreline south to U.S. 12 between the Burns Ditch west to Broadway in downtown Gary, Indiana . In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog , in LaPorte County to the east; the Heron Rookery in Porter County , the center of the park; and the Hoosier Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County , the western end of

945-648: Is the remnants of the marsh lands and inter-dunal or inter-sand spit lakes that have formed this region over 40,000 years. The park is in the central forest-grasslands transition ecoregion . According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. Potential natural vegetation Types, Indiana Dunes National Park has an Oak / Hickory ( 100 ) potential vegetation type and an Eastern Hardwood forest, aka Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ( 26 ) potential vegetation form. The park includes habitats for several rare plants and animals. The park has more than 1,400 species of vascular plants, ranking it 8th in total plant species among all units of

1008-671: Is the sole remnant of the "Central Dunes" where Cowles performed his pioneering field studies of ecological succession and species diversity. The complex is drained by Dunes Creek , which flows to Lake Michigan at the Indiana Dunes State Park swimming beach. A National Park trail runs from Mineral Springs Road into Cowles Bog. The Great Marsh is an interdunal wetland just south of the dune ridge overlooking Lake Michigan. It stretches from steel plants in Burns Harbor , 12 miles (19 km) east to County Line Road on

1071-477: The May apple , buttercups (six varieties), and violets (14 varieties). Summer brings out the orchids (five varieties) and much goldenrod (11 varieties). Invasive plants are those introduced species that dominate a landscape pushing out traditionally native species and others species by their ability to multiply rapidly. There are 54 such species in the dunes. In October 1920, a rare Arctic three-toed woodpecker

1134-689: The National Geographic Society , stated that 890 species had been inventoried. The tally at the close of the 24 hours was 890 species, including 26 amphibians and reptiles, 101 birds, 18 fish, 27 fungi, 11 mammals, 410 plants, and 178 insects. The tally had risen to 1,200 unique species by June 1. Calumet Prairie is a joint venture between the National Park Service and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve in

1197-628: The National Park Service , an agency of the Department of the Interior . National parks are designated for their natural beauty, unique geological features, diverse ecosystems, and recreational opportunities, typically "because of some outstanding scenic feature or natural phenomena." While legislatively all units of the National Park System are considered equal with the same mission, national parks are generally larger and more of

1260-505: The United States Department of Agriculture , the plant hardiness zone at Indiana Dunes National Park at 614 ft (187 m) is 6a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of −9.4 °F (−23.0 °C). The primary feature of Indiana Dunes National Park is Lake Michigan . The lake brings with it several weather-related conditions that can create threats to the enjoyment of the area. The Lake Michigan Basin

1323-602: The territories of American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands . The state with the most national parks is California with nine, followed by Alaska with eight, Utah with five, and Colorado with four. The largest national park is Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska: at over 8 million acres (32,375 km ), it is larger than each of the nine smallest states . The next three largest parks are also in Alaska. The smallest park

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1386-602: The Ball Brothers and Hemingray Glass Co. plants in Muncie, producing the well-known 'Ball Blue' canning jars and 'Hemingray Blue' insulators. The Hoosier Slide was completely consumed by 1920, and a power plant sits on the site today. In 1926, the Indiana Dunes State Park opened. In the 1950s, a desire to maximize economic development through a "Port of Indiana" spurred interest in preservation. The Save

1449-666: The Dunes Council, including its president Dorothy Richardson Buell and activist Hazel Hannell , began a nationwide campaign to buy the land. Their first success was the purchase of 56 acres (23 ha) in Porter County, the Cowles Tamarack Bog . The Kennedy Compromise entailed the creation of a national lakeshore and a port. Illinois Senator Paul H. Douglas led the Congressional effort to save

1512-578: The Glenwood Shoreline was created, shallow inland bays would be formed with a wide sand spit between each bay and the open lake. Over time, the sand spits would merge with the far shoreline, forming interdunal ponds. Each sand spit would become a dune ridge. As the ponds filled in and wind built the outer sand ridges higher, the ponds would dry up and only a stream would remain, as with the Little Calumet River today, just south of

1575-535: The National Park Service "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Many current national parks had been previously protected as national monuments by the president under the Antiquities Act or as other designations created by Congress before being redesignated by Congress;

1638-528: The National Park System. At least two plant species are on the Federal list of Threatened and Endangered Species: Several others are on the list of state T&E species. Populations of each plant group are estimated to be around 100–120 individual plants. The species included are: Among the federally threatened and endangered wildlife are: In addition, the park has habitat suitable for the bald eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ). Indiana Dunes National Park

1701-400: The area and some had been using the cemetery for their families as well. However, late in 1866, Rose Howe (granddaughter of Joseph Bailly) had the family plots fenced and requested that those other families remove their deceased to other cemeteries. In 1879, she had the entire cemetery walled in and an iron gate installed to the north. Finally in 1914, Rose Howe took one further step to protect

1764-532: The area in 2011 and 2018, respectively. As of 2023, the Indiana Audubon have observed nearly 370 bird species living in or migrating through the Indiana Dunes. Indiana Dunes has over 369 species of flowering plants. Of these, thirteen are considered threatened or in danger of extinction. Additionally, there four invasive flowering plants on the list. Some of the most common spring flowers include

1827-441: The beach takes visitors directly past the dune, cresting just slightly lower than the summit itself. On a clear day, there are views of Lake Michigan, Chicago's skyline, and south shore, from this point. Pinhook Bog, a National Natural Landmark , is a geographically isolated unit of the national park. The quaking peat bog is located near U.S. Route 421 approximately 9 miles (14 km) south of Michigan City. The bog formed from

1890-706: The beauty of Lake Michigan as seen from Hoosier Slide. United States President William McKinley visited Hoosier Slide on October 17, 1899, where he was honored with a 21-gun salute in celebration of the end of the Spanish–American War . Sand miners began mining Hoosier Slide in 1890. Glass companies like the Pittsburgh Plate Glass and Ball Corporation had recently established factories in Muncie, Indiana to make use of local sand dunes and natural gas from Findlay, Ohio . Wind-blown sand from

1953-490: The cemetery of her family. She had the area inside the wall filled with sand. Stone steps replaced the gate to a contemplative walk atop the cemetery. An oaken cross was raised atop this new ground, continuing the tradition started by her grandfather. Rose Howe died in 1916, while in California . She was returned to Indiana in 1917 and was the last burial in the family cemetery. The Century of Progress Architectural District

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2016-499: The communities in the dunes began to develop. They included Chesterton , Porter , Tremont , and the Town of the Pines . These pioneer communities grew and expanded. City West was one of several "ghost towns" situated in the dunes. Planned as a rival to Chicago, it was partly built in 1837 but failed that summer, during a national economic panic . The remains of the town, partly carted off to be used as lumber, were located near where

2079-411: The current shoreline, expanded the existing shoreline. The littoral currents or Longshore drift transport sand southward along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. As they encounter streams bringing water from inland, sandbars are created, pointing down current, either southward if the shore is north to south or westward along the southern shore itself. If the currents were strong enough, as they were when

2142-433: The dune was sampled for glassmaking, and due to its iron-rich composition, was found to produce a light aqua-blue glass. Ball produced distinctive "Ball Blue" jars from the sand, which were sold widely. The blue glass was also thought to be beneficial in reducing the deterioration of canned fruit. The Hemingray Glass Company used the sand from Hoosier Slide to produce glass electrical insulators. As early as 1894, concern

2205-461: The dunes habitat. In 1916, the visionary National Parks Director Stephen Mather held hearings in Chicago on a "Sand Dunes National Park". Another factor leading to the desire to preserve the dunes was the disappearance of the Hoosier Slide , a particularly large dune along this shore. The sand from this dune was found to be ideal for glass manufacture, and much of this sand was transported to

2268-461: The dunes to Lake Michigan . Today, the forest covers the dunes and the lake is not visible. Numerous changes have occurred since the first burial in 1827. Joseph Bailly buried his only son by Marie in the fall of 1827 on a sandy knoll. He erected an oak cross on the site and a three-sided shelter. After 1866, the Bailly area was no longer the quiet place that it had been. Other families now lived in

2331-408: The dunes. Few can be clearly identified. Among those species thought to be gone are listed below: Alien or exotic species are plants and animals which are not native to the area. These plants can be classified as Invasive if they rapidly replace other plants and animals in the ecosystem, creating a monoculture and threatening the extinction of the traditional plants and animals. Among plants found in

2394-578: The dunes. In late 1966, the bill passed and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore became a reality. Four subsequent expansion bills for the park (1976, 1980, 1986, and 1992) have increased the size of the park to more than 15,000 acres (61 km). A bill to reclassify Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore as Indiana Dunes National Park was sponsored by Representative Pete Visclosky and Senators Todd Young and Mike Braun and previously by Senator Joe Donnelly , who wanted to bring

2457-796: The east side of Drake Avenue in Beverly Shores and placed atop a dune overlooking the lake. The Schulof house located on Lakefront Drive was transferred to the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana for preservation and was moved to Stephens Street in Porter . The Powell house remains inaccessible within the park on Lakefront Drive. List of national parks of the United States The United States has 63 national parks , which are congressionally designated protected areas operated by

2520-408: The edge of Michigan City . A century ago, it was the nesting and migratory layover for many birds which depended on its variety of plants. In the late 19th century, the marsh was drained through a series of ditches, creating three watersheds and reducing the water table . As the water levels changed, new plants and trees moved in, creating a new habitat and displacing the wildlife that was dependent on

2583-552: The figures below. The 431 units of the National Park System can be broadly referred to as national parks, but most have other formal designations. A bill creating the first national park, Yellowstone , was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, followed by Mackinac National Park in 1875 (decommissioned in 1895), and then Rock Creek Park (later merged into National Capital Parks ), Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890. The Organic Act of 1916 created

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2646-478: The grove contains 343 native plants and a variety of birds and animals. The unique soil is at least 70 percent silt and clay with some sand . The soil supports a diversity of life. The Hobart Woodland trail is a .05-mile (0.080 km) walk to an overlook on Lake George from the Oak Savannah rail trail . The Oak Savannah rail trail runs from North Hobart Road, Hobart to South Colfax Street, Griffith . Of

2709-511: The lakefront, the eastern area is roughly the lake shore south to U.S. 12 or U.S. 20 between Michigan City, Indiana , on the east and the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant on the west. This area's conservation scheme is enhanced by the older Indiana Dunes State Park . To the west of the steel plant lies West Beach and a small extension south of the steel mill continues west along Salt Creek to Indiana 249 . The western area

2772-631: The most-visited park since 1944, and had almost 13 million visitors in 2022. In contrast, only about 9,500 people visited the remote Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska in 2022. Download coordinates as: The following table includes the 30 states and two territories that have national parks. Exclusive parks refer to parks entirely within one state or territory. Shared parks refer to parks in multiple states. Territories are set in italics . Hoosier Slide The sand dune stood 200 feet (61 m) tall on

2835-472: The newest national park is New River Gorge , previously a National River, and the most recent entirely new park is National Park of American Samoa . A few former national parks are no longer designated as such , or have been disbanded. Fourteen national parks are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS), and 21 national parks are named UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BR), with eight national parks in both programs. Thirty states have national parks, as do

2898-446: The northern portion of the land between Interstate 90 to the north and the Little Calumet River on the south. The National Park owns the southern half of this plot. Cowles Bog, a National Natural Landmark , is a wetland complex containing bog , fen , marsh , swamp , wet meadow , and pond habitats; named in honor of biologist and ecologist Henry Chandler Cowles . Located south and west of Dune Acres, Indiana , Cowles Bog

2961-630: The park, owned and maintained by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as a state nature preserve. Some 574 species of plants have been observed growing in this patch of prairie. Miller Woods is located in Miller Beach , Indiana. It is accessed through the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education on Lake Street. The area is dominated by ridge and swale topography. the ridges or swells are beach and dune sand. They date from

3024-480: The park, the following are considered to be exotic . Those marked with an '*' are listed as invasive. On May 15 and 16, 2009, the park hosted an All Taxa Biological Diversity survey. In a 24-hour period, as part of the BioBlitz 2,000 students and thousands of additional volunteers surveyed the park for every available living species. John Francis, vice president of research, conservation and exploration for

3087-584: The park. There is little evidence of permanent Native American communities forming during the earlier years; rather, the evidence suggests that seasonal hunting camps were the norm. The earliest evidence for permanent camps was the occupation of the Ohio valley by the Hopewell culture . Five groups of mounds have been documented in the dunes area. These mounds are consistent with the period of 200 BCE ( Goodall Focus ) to 800 CE (early Mississippian ), though even that

3150-423: The pavilion in the state park now stands, until a forest fire in the 1850s destroyed whatever was left. Today, most of the coastline has been settled for use as homes, factories, and businesses, with some areas reserved for public parks. Triggered by a publication on the unique flora of the dunes in the 1899 Botanical Gazette by University of Chicago botanist Henry Chandler Cowles , a movement began to preserve

3213-408: The post Glacial Lake Nipissing period some 3000 years before present. The swales are the depressions between the ridges. They are generally either ponds or marshes. Mnoké Prairie is an active prairie restoration along Beam Street in the central portion of the park. The prairie's name was suggested by Potawatomi elders; "mno" means good, "ké" means earth. It is pronounced "mno-ca" (the second syllable

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3276-552: The pre-existing wetlands. Beginning in 1998, the national lakeshore began restoration of the marsh by closing Derby Ditch and restoring 500 acres (200 ha). The work consists of: The heron rookery is located along the East Arm Little Calumet River in the northeast corner of Porter County . The rookery is physically separated from the main part of the park. It is accessible from County Road 600 East, south of County Road 1400 North. The rookery

3339-608: The recessional moraines. Four major glacial lake periods created the Indiana Dunes. They are the glacial Lake Chicago (14,000 YBP), glacial Lake Algonquin (9,000 YBP), glacial Lake Chippewa (7,000 YBP), and the Nipissing Great Lakes stage (4,000 YBP). Once the glaciers had fully retreated from the Lake Michigan basin, after the Lake Nipissing stage, the same factors that created the dunes south of

3402-517: The shore of Lake Michigan , just northwest of Michigan City . Originally covered by stubby trees, the hill was revealed as a sand dune when the land was cleared. News accounts estimated that about 180,000 people visited the site each year from the Chicago area until 1920. It gained its name from the popular activity of sliding down the face of the dune. The dune became a popular destination for weddings and recreation, and had famous visitors such as Daniel Webster and Harriet Martineau , who wrote about

3465-668: The site more recognition. Deputy Director of the National Park Service Paul Daniel Smith testified that the Service opposed the redesignation because it would be inconsistent with the Service's naming conventions and the Indiana Dunes have more in common with other national lakeshores and seashores than national parks , which are typically much larger. H.R. 1488 originally passed in the House of Representatives on November 1, 2017, but it did not receive

3528-492: The state and national parks. As the shoreline moved northward, new ridges formed along with additional streams, now slower and less powerful, and the process duplicated itself. To the west of the Indiana Dunes, Wolf Lake in Hammond, Indiana , forms a western border to the dunes. Here the same process is at work, only the littoral drift is again south, but along the western shore, pushing the sand and sand spits eastward. Today, it

3591-490: The trails 9-mile (14 km) length, 2 miles (3.2 km) are through the Hobart Prairie Grove. The trail follows the old Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad route and connects with the Prairie Duneland rail trail , continuing east to Chesterton . Hoosier Prairie, a National Natural Landmark , is a 430-acre (170 ha) tallgrass prairie adjacent to Griffith, Indiana . It is a geographically isolated unit of

3654-533: The two younger recessional moraines of the Tinley Moraine and the Lake Border Moraine . Each moraine created a dam across the southern outflow of the melt waters of the receding glaciers. As each glacial lake breached a low spot in the moraines, water levels receded, leaving a series of shorelines and dune ridges. The Calumet Shoreline is the oldest visible shoreline of Lake Michigan. It

3717-430: Was a short lived permanency. Beginning in the 1500s, European exploration and trade introduced more changes to the human environment. Tribal animosities and traditional European competition affected tribal relations. Entire populations began moving westward, while others sought to dominate large geographic trading areas. Once again, the dunes became a middle point on a journey from the east or the west. It continued to remain

3780-435: Was captured a mile west of Dune Park Station. Later that month another male was captured east of Dune Park Station. One was busy digging out grubs and the other was nervously flying from tree to tree. In May 1919, a clay-colored sparrow was found near Dune Park. It was a part of a larger flock of Harris's sparrow migrating along the western shore of Lake Michigan. Several species of plants and animals have disappeared from

3843-482: Was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1962. The real estate became the home of the Chellberg family, who built a farm on its sandy soil. As of 2008, the park maintains a heritage farm on the Chellberg land, with the Bailly family cemetery on the northern edge of the property. The Bailly Cemetery is located half a mile north of the homestead. Its location is a sandy bluff, which once looked out across

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3906-560: Was expressed at the disappearance of the dune from mining activity, when it had diminished to 63 feet (19 m). Mining continued until Hoosier Slide had completely disappeared by 1920. A total of 13,500,000 short tons (12,200,000 t) of sand were used for glass, effectively removing the dune in its entirety. However, Ball had enough sand from the dune stored in reserve to continue producing blue jars until 1937. Once their reserves had been exhausted, Ball made clear glass jars, and occasionally made commemorative jars in other colors. After

3969-551: Was formed during the Wisconsin Glacial Period . The Michigan Lobe of the continental glacier began its retreat northward over 20,000 years before present (YBP) forming the southern shore of the Lake Michigan Basin. The Valparaiso Moraine is the dominant geologic form that created the various landscape forms of the Indiana Dunes about 40,000 YBP. Within the arc created by the Valparaiso Moraine are

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