Size: 15,349 Acres

Year Established: 2019

Annual Visitors: 3.18 Million

Firearms Information in Indiana Dunes National Park

Open carry and Concealed Carry in this national park is legal in Indiana with a license to carry. The minimum age is 18 years old.

Carrying a firearm in a vehicle within Indiana National Park is legal without a permit, but only if the weapon is empty, stored in a concealed location, and is not within easy reach.

Hunting in Indiana Dunes National Park

Indiana Dunes National Park is a no-hunting zone.

No property inside the national lakeshore boundaries may be used for hunting either. If a hunter is unsure of where the park boundary is located, it is his or her obligation to avoid hunting inside the park.

Additional Information About Indiana Dunes National Park

Indiana Dunes “are to the Midwest what the Grand Canyon is to Arizona and Yosemite is to California,” as poet Carl Sandburg described it. The park’s 15 miles of beaches on the shore of Lake Michigan are convenient for visitors coming from Chicago. The city skyline may be seen from the higher sand dunes, such as Mount Tom, which stands at 192 feet.

Nearly a third of the rare, endangered, and threatened plant species in the state might be here. Pitcher’s thistle, which is only found in Arizona and is legally protected, only blooms once every five to eight years and has exclusively white or pink petals. The park’s hills and marshes have helped it attain the sixth highest degree of biodiversity of any national park in the world, and they’re home to more than 350 different bird species despite its relatively modest size.

Professional and amateur ornithologists use the park’s trails and Great Marsh Observation Deck year-round to observe migrating birds like the yellow-breasted prairie warbler, the red-headed woodpecker, and even the lesser sand plover on rare occasions. A considerable number of people attend the park every May for the annual birdwatching festival, which features conservation-focused workshops and bird-calling competitions.

Best Time to Visit Indiana Dunes National Park

The best time to visit Indiana Dunes National Park is between the months of March to May and September to November

Visitor Information

$15.00 per person/cyclist for up to 7 days.

$25.00 per vehicle for up to 7 days.

$20.00 per motorcycle for up to 7 days.

$45.00 per Indiana Dunes National Park Annual Pass


Interesting in visiting multiple National Parks this year?

Consider the America The Beautiful Annual Park Pass.

This annual park pass to gets you and some friends into all U.S. National Parks for $80.
They also offer Senior, Military, and other discounts.


Visitor Centers

Indiana Dunes Visitor Center

Address

1215 SR-49
Porter, IN 46304

Phone Number

(219) 395-1882

Hours of Operation

Daily 8:00 AM–6:00 PM

Be sure to check for seasonal closures.

Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education

Address

100 North Lake Street
Gary, IN 46403

Phone Number

(219) 395-1824

Hours of Operation

Temporarily Closed

Be sure to check for seasonal closures.