Porter Beach in Gary

Very lovely trip to Lake Michigan to watch the sun set over Chicago! Beautiful beach.

Pretty nice beach, no more free parking, there are attendants Fri-Sat-Sun at least. Dont know about other days...

Nice place to relax, very clean.

I love how close this beach is to everything. Restaurants, bathrooms, and parking. I don’t like how they don’t always have a life guard. The visibility of the Chicago skyline is amazing sometimes. It is over crowded, probably because of its convenience.

Beautiful place to take your family.

The beach is beautiful but the flies are very pesty we didnt stay long because we were constantly swatting at and being bitten by flies ... Also this is a dog friendly beach which is great but beware because lots of not so friendly people go that do not like dogs and will complain and force you to move

I read the reviews. My question is why the parking lot man still working there?? He is ruining the experience of everyone at the beach. That man should look for another job that fits his angry issues or dont work at all if he is making miserable the life of visitors. We dont need people like him.

Nice beach,not too big not too crowded and the water is clean but it charged us $50 by the private parking lot on 4th of July!

Beautiful beach that Ive enjoyed for several years. But recently, Ive stopped going due to a bad parking situation. A group of truly rude, offensive people have taken over an abandoned house at the beach and try to get people to pay $30 to park on their property. They behave terribly and unfortunately have become the "face" of the beach. Added to that, other locals get up early and park in the free lot. They then offer to move their cars for money. Hopefully the National Parks people get this under control and make this beach welcoming again.

Growing up in Chicago, I never seen a beach so clean and serene. Parking is ASTRONOMICAL, but I think its worth it for the day if you have a good plan. The sand is fine and the beach is very clean. Even though it was crowded, groups were socially distant. I enjoyed every minute of it, but be prepared to find sand in your vehicle for weeks, lol. It was a great place to spend Labor Day.Update- (Fathers Day weekend 2022I took a star away because of the parking lot attendant. Not only did parking increase another $10 for parking (making it 30$ to park therebut the parking lot guy was SUPER RUDE and threatened to tow my truck. From the beach he called out the wrong model of my truck which caused me to ignore his threats. Once I realized what was going on, I walked over to the lot and he screamed at me that the lot closed at 7pm, there were no signs (only that the beach closed at 9pm so we assumed that it was open until close, especially with the price of parking. The parking pass didnt have a time, and he locked us in screaming at us that he was calling a tow truck. It almost ruined my experience completely. Ill be back to the beach but NEVER to that parking lot. If you do decide to go, make sure to ask what time the lot closes.

nice beach, it’s always clean and not overly packed . It always seems that the families who come here are nice and friendly also !

OMG....this memorial day was amazing,for the first time I went to Porter Beach,and it is a beautiful beach,the place is very clean,the water very clean too,they have enough parking space for everyone,and theres also police officers on the beach,making sure everyone is safe and that everyone is having a good time,you can bring your own grill and cook there,NO ALCOHOL IS ALLOWED,and let me tell you guys,I do recommend this beach 100%,you will have a great time with your family and love ones,so if this summer you can come and visit Porter Beach do it,you will come back again. Me and my wife we had a beautiful time together at the beach.

Fantastic place, very nice !Must pay to park now however, but worth it!

Its clean and you would swear you were in Florida or some other great ocean front beach....but youre at a lake in Indiana. Plenty of beach front and free parking. Will be back next year

Beautiful beach. We were there at Sunset and got this nice view. Theres additional parking up the street and there are bathrooms available. I didnt swim, but the water was warm enough I wouldve felt comfortable doing so.

What a beautiful beach!Truly a gem in IN. We had an amazing time. My kid didnt want to leave. We will be back!

I absolutely love this beach. Seems clean. They allow dogs which I like. The only downfall was the walk to it. If you had no choice but to park further away, wait for people to leave or pay 30$ And how rocky it is. Most deff bringing swimming shoes next time. You do kinda get use to it after awhile tho. Will be back (:

Very clean, family friendly beach. Only downside is the parking or lack of it...we had to park for $30, in a parking lot next to one of the beach entrances. The guy managing the lot was so rude, threatening people to get them ticketed, etc! Kind of spoiled our mojo dealing with him...there were limited food options near the lifeguard station- one general store with chips and drinks & one food stand with ice cream, fries etc. Great place to spend a day at the beach, just make sure you come early to get parking. The police patrol doesnt let anyone stand on the road or wait in the free lots. There are many free lots but get filled up soon in season. Busy beach! No alcohol allowed boards everywhere

Really cool place to visit, definitely recommend staying for the sunset

i love this beach. I only recommend that you arrive early because there is not much parking

Clean, spacious, beach with beautiful natural scenery. Plenty of free parking and the state park staff were helpful and friendly.

This beautiful place is my happy place I’m always here in the summer. I love walking the beach. It’s always peaceful . At times a little over crowded hence the 4 star but it is beautiful. Sometimes you can see Chicago in the distance.

Lovely area and the kids had a blast!

I give this a 100 it was absolutely beautiful. Covid-19 in place sailing ,just absolutely beautiful.And George who parks your car for $20 for the whole day. It was a truely amazing experience and I would suggest Porter Beach to anyone. The older gentleman in the photos is George 🌞😁

Always a great time with family. I recommend it to anyone that likes to stroll and beach and enjoy the sand.

Our go to in the summer... Walk a bit West towards the private section for a bit more room. Terrific views of the Chicago skyline and extraordinary sunsets.

Beautiful beach ! They offer free parking but there is another parking that is private and they charge too much didnt know until I had already paid lol

Great beach. Had a blast.

I love going in the morning when no one is there. And the sunsets are stunning!

Waves were choppy but the beach was nice.Watch for beach closer

One of the many stops for us on a day of exploring Indiana Dunes National Park. Great views, crystal clear water. The park is truly a national treasure.

Porter Beach is my local beach, and I love it. I go walking or swimming here once or twice a week. Sadly, people are coming from Illinois and trashing the beach more than ever. Please clean up after yourself, people. Have a little respect for Mother Nature.

Is a beautiful place and peaceful, sad to see that some brainless people threw away trash in the trails but still beautiful the dunes. People should be more conscious and respectful about nature.

Really nice. Limited parking so plan ahead. There is a 20$ parking by a private place if needed. Sand is real nice. Bring hiking shoes also.

Great place to view Chicago from the distance. Beautiful views. The sunset is amazing from here. I love the dunes. Best part of Northwest Indiana.

Great local beach. Free parking, but there aint a lot of it here. You can walk over into the State Park for free from here if you can find a spot. Locals stop here after work all the time for dinner and socializing. Nice family place.

Very quiet. Had the beach almost to ourselves, minus the kit surfers

Quiet little beach next to the indiana dunes. There are public restrooms and parking lot. The beach is animal friendly. There is no food here but a pop machine. The sand here is deep but the beach itself is swallow. Please respect the neighborhood while driving here

Nice beach with a high duneGood observation point for sunset on the lake

Biked here from the Indiana State Dunes Park Visitors center. It was easy to access and they had a bike rack. The beach was clean. The bathrooms were in close proximity and they had filtered water for water bottles!

This beach let me tell you. It has free parking, and is directly next to indiana dunes state park. The also uave a bathroom house and outside shower to rinse off. This beach is swim at your own risk and is posted no dogs but if leashed people do not say anything . the water is Crystal clear most days its honestly one of my favorites dew to beach size and close proximity parking.

Love the close proximity of parking to off load kayak and awesome sand and views

First time here and I loved it! Totally blown away by the size of the lake, that you can see Chicago from the shore and how clean and soft the beach was. Wish I would have spent more time there but we were just passing through. Definitely want to come back for a longer stay someday.

I love this beach! Since it is the end to a beautiful season, it wasnt very crowded. I know at times, this beach can be packed since its free.

This is a Beautiful beach and great for kids! It was a little crowded but it didnt bother us. We will be going back as soon as possible.

Beautiful sunset on a clean stretch of beach. Be sure to stop at the visitor center for some history of the dunes and preservation efforts. A great time in the sun!

Gotta get here early or it gets crowded! The 2 parking lots on the right are free or else its $20 to pay on the left. Clean restrooms, nice beach.

My family and I loved Porter beach...it was smaller, tucked away, and less crowded. There were restroom facilities and a small food vendor which were both surprising. Great place if you just want to hang out on the beach! We will definitely be going back soon!

Didnt spend too long there, as we just did a quick stop on our way back to WI. However, it was a lovely beach! A little tucked away in the woods, but it was a lovely beach with a stunning view of the lake.

Superb. For a person from Western shores of India I just couldnt believe that a lakeshore can be as good as a sea shore, until I visited this place. Clean, quiet, Serene and nice place to hang around. There is no hustle bustle around, and settlements around are unintrusive.