A Quick Visit to Indiana Dunes National Park

July 2022

This house is actually within the National Park, in the Century of Progress district. This, and four other homes displayed at the Chicago World’s Fair in the 1930’s, were moved here after the fair. The NPS allows these houses to be sublet to individuals who maintain and restore them through private funding. The houses are open to the public only once a year.

After we left SW Ohio, we traveled through Indiana on our way to Michigan. We camped for a couple nights at Indiana Dunes State Park, which is situated between two sides of Indiana Dunes National Park, making it very convenient to explore both parks.

We are happy when we get a spacious, paved, level site!

On our first evening, we went to the beach at the state park to watch the sunset. The beach there is large and has a great view. We could see the Chicago skyline about 35 miles away.

The next day, we began by visiting the Century of Progress district. These houses were built for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933 to demonstrate new technologies and materials, and then moved by barge by a real estate developer to the town of Beverly Shores.

This pink house, called the Florida Tropical House, was built as a showcase to entice tourists to visit Florida. Its color aids in navigation for boats on Lake Michigan!

Weiboldt-Rostone House

Then we drove to the trailhead for the Mt. Baldy Beach Trail. This short trail led around the tallest dune to an overlook above the beach with a view of Lake Michigan. Some people walked down the dune to the beach, but it is a tough, steep climb back up, so we did not go down to the beach! People are not allowed on Mt. Baldy unless they are on a ranger-guided hike.

Kind of off-putting to have a national park right next to a cooling tower! I remember as a kid, when we would drive on the interstate on trips from Chicagoland to NE Ohio, we could see all the pollution spewing in different colors from the factories in Gary and Hammond, Indiana. Now, more than 40 years later, it is cleaned up and Lake Michigan is beautiful—so clear and blue!

Trees that died because they were swallowed up by the dune.

Then we drove to the west side of the park, where we saw more dunes and beaches, and another view of the Chicago skyline.

This was the last National Park we plan to visit this year, although we will still go to other sites managed by the NPS. Next up: a month in Michigan, including visits to 2 National Lakeshores.