Indiana Dunes State Park

Indiana Dunes State Park
Indiana Dunes State Park
Type	State Park; National Natural Landmark
Location	Porter County, Indiana, United States
Nearest city	Chesterton, Indiana
Coordinates	41°40′N 87°02′W / 41.66°N 87.04°W
Area	2,182 acres (883 ha)
Created	1925
Operated by	Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Visitors	1,367,194 (in 2018–2019)
Status	Open all year
Website	Official Website

Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located in Porter County, Indiana, United States, 47 miles (75.6 km) east of Chicago. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest and is surrounded by as well as within the authorized boundaries of Indiana Dunes National Park, a unit of the National Park Service; the NPS owns the water from the ordinary high water mark to 300 feet (91 m) offshore.^[2] The 1,530-acre (619.2 ha) Dunes Nature Preserve makes up the bulk of eastern part of the park, and includes most of the park's hiking trails and dune landscape. This was one of the first places Richard Lieber considered when establishing the Indiana State Park system. Like all Indiana state parks, there is a fee for entrance. Indiana Dunes State Park was established in 1925 and designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974.^[3]

Preserving the Indiana Dunes has resulted from the efforts of many citizens and politicians.^[4]^[5] In 2018–2019, Indiana Dunes was the most-visited state park, with more than 1.3 million visitors.^[1]

^ ^a ^b "2018 / 2019 Estimated Fiscal Year Visits for Indiana State Parks" (PDF). Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
^ National Park Service, "Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the Lake Michigan Shoreline: National Park Service Jurisdiction and Authorities on the Shore", October 2012.
^ National Park Service: National Natural Landmark Program (Indiana) Retrieved December 4, 2014
^ Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2006). Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, "South Shore Journal - Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes". Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
^ Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2009). The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation. The South Shore Journal, 3. "South Shore Journal - the Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation". Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2015.

[Fiscal_Year_Visits-1] "2018 / 2019 Estimated Fiscal Year Visits for Indiana State Parks" (PDF). Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved November 2, 2021.

[2] National Park Service, "Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the Lake Michigan Shoreline: National Park Service Jurisdiction and Authorities on the Shore", October 2012.

[nnl-3] National Park Service: National Natural Landmark Program (Indiana) Retrieved December 4, 2014

[4] Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2006). Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, "South Shore Journal - Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes". Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2012.

[5] Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2009). The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation. The South Shore Journal, 3. "South Shore Journal - the Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation". Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2015.

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