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Northern Indiana

Wednesday, September 1, 2004

Park: #7

Established: 1966

Acres: 15,060

Annual Budget: $7,150,000 (FY 2004)

Visitors: 1,916,641 (FY 2003)

Highlights: 25 mile shoreline, sand dunes, beaches, wetlands, bog, woodland forests

Location: Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana

Hours: Open year round

Phone: 307-344-7381

Fee: $20 per car, $10 per pedestrian

Link: Official Website

Top Pics: 6 Images

Rating:

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NOTE: Portions of this writing were taken directly from the Indiana Dune National Park Guide. All excepts are denoted with double-quotes.

Here's a bird's eye view of the Indiana Dune National Park. The lakeshore stretches 20 miles along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. "The dunelands of southern Lake Michigan are renowned for stretches of uncrowded beaches, bird-filled marshes, oak and maple forests, and towering dunes. Shoreline sand dunes are created when wind blowing off Lake Michigan lifts grains of sand and transports them inland until plants and hills slow the wind and it drops its cargo. On windy days you can place an obstacle on the beach and watch a miniature dune form behind it."

My first stop is Mt. Baldy. Ha! Mt. Baldy. That's an appropriate name for a large sand dune.