Start off with the 3 Dunes Challenge
Milage: 1.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 552 feet
Difficulty – Moderate to Difficult
The 3 Dune Challenge is a trail that summits three of the tallest dunes in the park: Mt. Jackson, Mt. Holden, and Mt. Tom. It’s not technically in the National Park but it’s in the State Park right next to it. It’s $10 to enter for out of staters and $8 for in-staters. National Park passes do not work here. It was a really fun, unique (and more difficult) hike than others as you will be walking up large sand dunes for a good part of the trail. Many people like taking off their shoes while going up the dunes since your shoes will fill with sand anyway. You will be rewarded with great views at the top, and you will definitely feel your calves and glutes working. If you can only do 1 trail during your visit to the area, it should be this one.

Go to Kemil or Dunbar Beach
If you’re ready for a little beach time, head over to the state park and hit up Kemil or Dunbar beach. It’s also the perfect place to eat a packed lunch. We try to pack lunches when we visit National Parks as the food options are usually kind of terrible or inconvenient. These beaches were decent and I even went for a swim, despite the water being pretty cold – even in July. It’s a nice place to relax after a big morning of driving and hiking.

Afternoon

Visit the Progress Homes
Visit one of our favorite parts of the park – the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair Century of Progress Homes. This is a can’t miss stop if you are coming to Indiana Dunes! See visions of what people thought homes would look like in the future (according to builders in 1933). People actually still live in these homes so don’t trespass on the properties. There are five homes: the Cypress Log Cabin, the House of Tomorrow, Florida Tropical, Armco Ferro, and the Wieboldt-Rostone house. They are all within a minute or two of each other so you can easily see them all. Our personal favorite was the Florida Tropical house which is bright pink with decks on all sides overlooking the lake. We found a parking spot on the street near the houses, then walked to them all. 

Walk the Great Marsh Trail and see some wildlife
Milage: 1.1 miles
Elevation Gain: 6 feet
Difficulty – Very Easy
This was an easy (totally flat), low trafficked out and back trail that went around a nice marsh. It is perfect for birding if you are interested in that. We spent 30-45 minutes here and found it to be a nice change of pace from the more crowded trails – very peaceful. If you’re short on time, I recommend prioritizing the 3 Dunes Trail, the Dunes Succession Trail, and the progress homes, before heading here as those were more unique and interesting.

Trek the Dunes Succession Trail (aka Diana of the Dunes Dare)
Milage: 1 mile
Elevation Gain: 81 feet
Difficulty – Easy to Moderate
In terms of hikes in the actual National Park section of Indiana Dunes, this was the best one. You will get to witness the 4 stages of dune succession (how sand dunes are built) in just 1 mile (45 minutes) of walking. You will start by climbing 270 wooden steps up to a nice viewpoint of Lake Michigan, before walking on a boardwalk through the dunes. This is one of the largest wooden staircases we’ve ever seen. You will eventually get to walk on the beach of Lake Michigan, before concluding with a quick walk back to the parking lot. This is a great hike that lets you see most of the highlights of the park in under 1 hour.

Evening

Visit Bailly Homestead
This historic house was the home of Honore Gratien Joseph Bailly de Messein (1774 – 1835) and Marie LeFevere Bailly (1783-1866). Bailly was a fur trader and one of the first settlers in this region of Indiana. The house also served as a trading post. This national park site was a bit more off the beaten path. It was down a small road pretty far away from the main park. There was nobody there when we went. We recommend stopping and looking around the grounds for 10 minutes and reading about the history if you have the time. If not, don’t stress over making it to this site, as the dune areas were more interesting.

End the night with some deep dish pizza
Kind of a hot take being from New York, but we LOVE deep dish pizza. It doesn’t replace our beloved east coast slice, but we like deep dish as its own category. Being only 45 minutes from Chicago, the decision was made for us. We went to Giordano’s. If you’re heading back to Indianapolis, there is also a Giordano’s right in the downtown. But one thing we do know, deep dish pizza is always a good idea. 

If your legs aren’t too tired, consider checking out these hiking trails:
Paul H Douglas (Miller Woods Trail)
Cowles Bog Trail
Hike more at West Beach