Indiana Dunes National Park skirting along the southern shore of Lake Michigan encompasses 15,000 acres of trails, kayak marshes, wetlands and forest.
The park is ranked among the top five birding destinations in North America. Trails lead up to Mount Baldy—a 125 foot-tall living dune shaped by glacial sands.
A bonus of a visit to the Dunes are the five futuristic homes maintained by the National Park Service that were barged across Lake Michigan at the conclusion of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.
Come along and join National Park Ranger Rafi Wilkinson to discover the rest of the story about one of America’s most visited National Parks.
Carl Sandburg once said, “the Dunes are to the Midwest what the Grand Canyon is to Arizona and Yosemite is to California. They constitute a signature of time and eternity. The loss would be irrevocable.”
Next up we’ll meet Julie Zasada, executive director with Cedar Lake Historical Association that maintains the historic Lassen’s Resort, repurposed as a museum and special event venue.
Zasada is joined by Ted Rita, general manager of the La Porte, Indiana based Hesston Steam Museum—operators of a classic, circa-1915 steam powered boat that takes visitors for time-travel cruises on Cedar Lake.
Michigan City’s circa-1858 Old Lighthouse Museum features eight rooms chock full of historic displays featuring the pioneering days of sailing ships on the Great Lakes and local history.
Join the conversation with the volunteer staff: Jan and Rod Hepner, Greg Coulter, Kirk Rodgers and Bill Hellyer.
Afterwards we’ll step down to the adjacent docks for a visit with Victor Tieri, the skipper of Harbor Country adventures’ M.V. Emita II that takes visitors out on Lake Michigan for park ranger led tours and sunset sails—with majestic vistas of Chicago’s skyline forty miles across the lake.
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