The Indiana Dunes (that’s NOT Indiana Jones, as auto-correct offered) have just become the 61st U.S. National Park, and one of its most diverse, with over 350 species of birds and much more.
Formerly known as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, it contains over 15,000 acres of dunes and miles of beaches along Lake Michigan, with views of Chicago’s skyline in the distance, along with fifty miles of scenic trails that wander through streams and forested areas.
The campaign to save the area from development has a long history, going back to 1899, when Henry Cowles, a University of Chicago botanist, recognized the ecosystem and proposed a Sand Dunes National Park, but Congress turned it down in 1916. A state park was then established in part of the area, followed by a 50-year effort to protect the area. It became a protected National Lakeshore in 1966.
