Indiana Dunes State Park
| Indiana Dunes State Park | |
|---|---|
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| 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°WCoordinates: 41°40′N 87°02′W / 41.66°N 87.04°W |
| Created | 1925 |
| Operated by | Indiana Department of Natural Resources |
| Status | Open all year |
| Website | Official Website |
| Dunes Nature Preserve | |
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| Designated | 1974 |
Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located 47 miles (75.6 km) east of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest, and is surrounded on all four sides by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a unit of the National Park Service (the National Lakeshore owns the water from the ordinary high water mark to 300 feet offshore). The 1,530 acres (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. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974.
Preserving the Indiana Dunes has resulted from the efforts of many citizens and politicians.
The beaches were formed by winds coming off Lake Michigan, which drop sand when the wind hits plants, dunes, and hills. As the lake level of Lake Michigan dropped at the end of the Ice Age, the shoreline receded, and new dunes were formed along the lakeshore. Vegetation took over the previous dunes, and eventually forests grew on top of them. There are "blowouts" along the dunes, where dead stumps were revealed after the wind blew away the sand from on top of them; the most notable such blowout is Big Blowout.
Native Americans used the area for years, primarily the Potawatomi and Miami people. The Dunes were along trade routes used by Native Americans. In the early 19th century, the state park area was home to the settlements of Petit Fort and City West.
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