Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
11
Side Trips from Chicago
Even with all that the city proper
has to offer , if y ou're in to wn for mor e
than a fe w days (or if y ou're staying with
friends or r elatives in the suburbs), y
might want to v enture bey ond the city
limits and check out some of the sights in
the surrounding areas.
ou
1
INDIANA DUNES STATE PARK
53 miles SE of Chicago (in Indiana)
This all-ages destination is my fav orite for escaping to the gr eat outdoors. The scenery,
with dunes and grasses fronting the lake, is reminiscent of Cape Cod. Sending your kids
running up, down, and ar ound the dunes is a gr eat way to burn off some energy , and
tiring out your kids usually makes for a nice, quiet car ride back to the city!
ESSENTIALS
To get to the dunes, y ou'll need to drive. Take I-94 East to Ind. 49 North (east of Porter).
Follow Ind. 49 nor th to Rte. 12. Travel east on Rte. 12 for 3 miles to the D orothy Buell
Memorial Visitor Center, which has restrooms and a gift shop with postcards, posters, and
slides.
SEEING THE DUNES
You pr obably don't associate the wor ds “sand dunes” with the M idwest, but a trip to
Indiana Dunes State Park might change that. A t the base of Lake M ichigan, near Ches-
terton, Indiana, you'll find 15 miles of dunes so big y ou can't see over them; 3 miles of
the dunes line sandy beaches. You can visit maple and oak for ests, miles of sand piles
covered with vegetation, marshes, and bogs, all in one state par k. Plenty of well-marked
trails help you explore.
Stop at the visitor center for a fr ee map and a 10-minute slide sho w that will orient
you. You might check out Co wles Bog, filled with ponds, w etlands, and marshes, plus
delicate vegetation such as orchids, and not-so-delicate vegetation such as Venus' flytraps.
West Beach offers a 3-mile trail that passes through a prairie zone, a conifer zone, and an
oak forest-deciduous zone, and ends at a beach. If it's beachgoing that you're focused on,
check out Kemil Beach, a long str etch of beautiful white sand. F inally, Mount Baldy is
the largest “living ” sand dune in the par k, so named for the mounds of sand that ar
e
active in the wind.
1600 N. 25E, Chesterton, Indiana.
&
219/926-1952.
www.in.gov. Free admission. Nature center summer
daily 10am-5pm; beaches summer daily 11am-11pm. To park, you'll find some free lots, but some sum-
mer lots require payment.
WHERE TO EAT
There are no restaurants here, so bring a picnic. You'll find plenty of picnic ar eas in the
park, some with barbecue pits. I f you're staying in do wntown Chicago, good places to
