Indiana Dunes Tourism in Gary

You have to pay the State of Indiana extra to get to the shore of Lake Michigan. They wont accept my Senior Pass. Shame on Indiana.

For the full enjoyment of the park, this is where you start. Be aware that your entry fee for the national park does not cover the entry fee for the nearby state park. Beach walking gives you great chances to see nature and we saw several monarch butterflies during our walk. You can also see downtown Chicago from the beach. Parking was sufficient, but it was a Friday morning.

Great interaction with the rangers here at the visitor center. Arrived close to closing time but they gave us a ton of great information for a short hike and where to park. Beautiful sunset views and could see the Chicago skyline in the distance!

I couldnt believe how nice this building was or how helpful the rangers were! We just kind of pulled off the interstate and walked in not sure what we were doing or where to go and the ranger gave super helpful information and amazingly clear directions on where to go based off of what I indicated we were looking to do.I would definitely stop here again!

I went here to buy my National Park Pass for the year & watched a 30 min video about the Dunes National Park & talked to a very nice & informative girl. I also picked up several brochures about the area & am looking forward to the year.I returned today & bought a book from the gift shop. It was very busy, but everyone was very friendly.

Friendly, prompt service. The college-aged summer staff was well trained and helped shed light on all of the State Park/National Park questions I had!

Beautiful and well organized with lots of parking! It has a gift shop and the passport stamp easily available. They answered all questions and gave helpful advice on the different trails. It also had a very large map showing the trails and which was the national park or state park.

Park ranger was super helpful in directing us to some really nice hikes to fit our time schedule. Glad we were able to stop and visit!

One of the best visitor centers we have stopped at in all of our travels in the last 6 years. The staff is super friendly and very helpful. Everything from the wildflowers and artwork outside to all the educational displays and travel information inside are definitely worth the stop. If you visit Indiana Dunes State Park and complete the 3 Dunes challenge you can pick up a free bumper sticker inside at the main desk.

Incredible visitor center! We spent 2 nights parked in the parking lot on our trip. Big, clean parking lot with lots of beautiful wildflowers. Clean bathrooms inside, port-a-potties outside when it’s closed. A great stop for a roadtrip.

Great visitor center, the staff here are very helpful and the have some really nice t-shirts.They will give you a map of everything that the National Parks has to offer and explain everthing on the map if you have any questions.I highly recommend stopping here because if you are looking for the hill with the step climb that people are being rescued from when they cant make it back up and charged 3000 dollars you wont find it unless you ask some one that knows. You can drive right up to that steep hill and walk maybe 200 feet to it.Enjoy

Wonderful staff and lots of information. Youre able to get your passes for the national parks here as well as the stamp

The is the place to start your visit to the national park. There is so much to learn that you would otherwise miss out on. The park isnt that big but has some hidden gems that the rangers can point out to you.There are also a ton of ranger led events like beach camp fires, boat tours, talks and hikes

Beautiful park. Campground is top notch. Have only done one trail so far but very impressed.

Helpful rangers and staff helped us make the most of our limited time exploring the park. We were able to purchase our annual interagency pass very quickly.

The park rangers here are the absolute best. They tell you everything you would want to know about the park. They take their time with each person to help them out with any queries. Absolutely a must stop before going to the Dunes.

Pretty nice visitor center. Wish there were more options in the gift shop. Park rangers very nice.

Really helpful staff and nice learning environment inside for kidos. This stop made our trip to the Dunes very smooth and fun!

Nice place to go and learn more about the dunes. There is a movie theater there too. The movie is all about the dunes. You can grab a map there too. And a booklet filled with different things to do and there are coupons within as well.

This was the 11th National Park of that we visited this summer and I have to say while we chose to save it to the last one due to its location and the ease of our ability to get home to Massachusetts after visiting I really wish I had given this park more time. We talked with the rangers at the visitor center and picked Kremil beach that we all thought would work for our family and it really was wonderful. All that said theres so much more to explore in this area had we had another day I absolutely would have headed out to the bogs and maybe the heron hatchery area. I underestimated the beauty of this area and I hope I get a chance to come out here again and really dig into some of the hikes and ranger programs!

Overall Indiana dunes was a nice park ... easy to get to and close to the city.... its a great day trip when you are in Chicago.... I visited in middle July and the weather was nice... I took my while family its a great park to grab some lunch and have a picnic at.

Great experience. Knowledgeable staff.

Best gift shop out the the 4 I went to (Over Yonder, Hallmark, and Dunes Nature Center(DNC was next best). Had magnets, puzzles, shirts, sweatshirts, kids activity books, mug, water bottle, and more.They had a little learning area with free posters of the dunes.Park rangers were super helpful with my question for a good local restaurant! Thank you!

The visitors center was surrounded by beautiful wild flowers, birds and butterflies. The rangers were friendly and very knowledgeable. They were able to help us plan our visit and make the most of our time at the Indiana dunes national park

Beautiful and clean area lots of fresh air and awesome views.. I hope you all enjoy your visit to our beautiful Lake Michigan Beaches!

Helpful National Park Rangers can help to best plan your time in and around the national park. We had just 2 hrs to spend and the rangers suggestion helped us to best utilise the time we had.The place also gives important instruction and guidance on ecology and environment. A good place to get stated on the trip to Indiana Dunes

Really well taken care of and lots of great information. The rangers are so kind and so helpful. Such a fun experience.

Rangers were very nice and super helpful. My daughter checked out a bird watching backpack absolutely free with books and binoculars in it. We went to some places recommend by the rangers: The Great Marsh Trail and found a lot of birds, butterflies, and dragonflies. We heard the bullfrog, but couldnt see them and we saw grasshoppers and one bird/insect we havent figured out yet. The Paul H. Douglas Center Trail Education Center and trails. We saw more great wildlife including a few beaver damns. It was amazing and we really enjoyed our nature day investigations!

Very organized visitors center and very clean bathrooms. Wished there was more for young kids to do and see here, but overall an informative place. Thanks for all the brochures!

Amazing opportunities to learn all different things. Lots of hikes and beautiful beaches.

Very informative about the area and locations to visit within the park. Staff is very friendly and the bathrooms are clean.

You can tell that the park is new. Easy to find. Beautiful area.

Nice park located on Lake Michigan. Too bad the nuclear reactor and rust belt artifacts add a Mad Max sort of relaxation to this place.

What an excellent place to visit did the three dune challenge very steep but had an excellent time suggested for everyone the views were great!!!

Rangers here are awesome very knowledgeable answered all our questions this is a wonderful place Indiana Dunes

Great introduction to this National Park with informative Park Rangers. Lots to see in this area with plenty of trails to hike and sites to visit. We just visit a small part and are coming back to see more.

Another wonderful national park to stop and visit.

So glad to finally find a national park visitors center open. Social distancing and masking in full force.Received GREAT info about the park and local info.

Beautiful park. We hiked Cowles Bog trail...lots of flora and fauna and a nice beach

Nicest staff.those hoosiers sure are Fri we n d ly

Visited the dunes at Indiana state park. It was worth the visit!

Hey, I worked for these guys. Unlike a traditional park visitor center, this is mostly a tourist information center, thats the lead partner here. Yet, it a good place to start your visit, if youre new to the area. The Staff will provide in depth information and you can get references or just reminders about the park. The exhibit room as lots of good information, but as it rotates, it isnt always totally inclusive. After all, the park is a geologic wonder, a magnificent beach, and vast green space of plants and animals, so what are we doing inside!

Staff at visitor center was wonderful the Dunes were bit underwhelming but beach was nice

We stopped to use the restroom and saw an amazing exhibit. The kids enjoyed it and it was a great chance to stretch our legs. The exhibit is free.

This is a really great Visitor Center and a must stop when visiting Indiana Dunes. Great maps and loads of local area brochures are available. Staff are friendly and extremely helpful. You can see that they love the Indiana Dunes. There is a small gift shop, clean restrooms and free parking.

We visited this location so our Daughter could get her next Junior Ranger Badge. The gift shop is small for a national park & does not have the typical items you would expect from a National Park. They were out of Indian Dunes offical stickers and the 1991 Indiana Dunes Sticker. The young female Ranger in the gift shop said they used to carry them. She was extremely friendly though The other female Ranger at the desk Sandy was excellent and shared several stories with my 5 yr old about why she loved being a Ranger. They have a decent size auditorium with the park film and another room with items for children. They also have a bathroom. Be aware they close at 6PM sharp so make you you plan enough time for the Jr Ranger program to get back before the doors close. We made it with 10 mins to spare. Lastly they do not have a Offical NPS sign on the building or out front. It was a temporary sign it seemed. Not a big deal but we have been to over 50 NPS sites and the picture is a highlight of our trip.

Welcome to the 61 and newest National Park the Indiana Dunes National Park in Chesterton, Indiana. This park is only 10 minutes away from my home and I run the trails there often.Indiana Dunes National Park hugs 15 miles southern shore of Lake Michigan and has many options for outdoor enjoyment. From bird watching, hiking or flying a kite in beach the park’s 15,000 square miles will keep you busy.

Very nice place. Got some drone footage of the shore but when disassembling the remote, strong wind surprisingly knocked my phone off hood and screen broke. The visitor center is quite nice too.

There is so much to do here! Don’t think you’ll just be able to stop by the visitors center, get your stamp and go. Amazing trails, knowledgeable Ranger staff, a very in-depth Junior Ranger program and so much to explore.

A knowledgeable ranger is available to provide answers to questions, maps & area guides are available & the facilities are clean. There is art outside of the building. Also, there is 24/7 shelter at the entrance to wait out a storm or wild animals.