One of the most popular spots in the Indiana Dunes National Park is West Beach. It is of course the beach which attracts the crowds through out the summer. But this location also contains three separate short trails which can be hiked individually or as one longer loop. The trail closest to the lake is named the Dune Succession trail because it highlights 4 stages of dune progression. In order to protect the dunes from erosion the park service has built a series of stairs and boardwalks which take you up one side of the dune complex starting from the parking lot, and back down to the beach on the other side. It is about 270+ steps to ascend the highest dune in the complex, which can be somewhat challenging on a hot and muggy summer day.
On a recent summer day I decided to do a quick circuit on this trail after a more leisurely hike on the nearby Tolleston Dunes trail. for no particular reason I decided to do the trail clockwise, starting from the beach and ending back at the parking lot.
On the way from the parking lot to the beach you get a nice view of this little interdunal wetland.
This is the scene which greeted me as I arrived at the beach. Not surprising given that this was a sunny warm weekend in early August.
I will be the first to admit I am not a beach person. Not at all, and I was only on the beach long enough to get to the trail which heads back into the dunes. It is all a matter of preference, but this scene is my idea of a perfectly horrible way to spend a day outside. Well, to each their own. Btw, the structures you see on the horizon are the Gary Works steel mill on the left, progressing around the southern tip of Lake Michigan to the Chicago skyline just out of the frame on the right.
Ahhhh…. now this is much better. Peaceful and serene. This photo was taken from the exact same spot as the previous view along the crowded beach, all I did was turn around 180 degrees.
Not too far off the beach you encounter a cove of pine trees and you get a glimpse of the stairs ascending the front side of the shoreline dunes.
Up and up you go…
and up …
… until you reach the top of the highest of the foredunes. We are now at the peak of the ridge of costal dunes, looking back down to the parking lot area. In the distance beyond the parking lot you can see the beginning of the Long Lake trail, and at the bottom of the stairs, if you turn to the left you would be at the start of the West Beach trail. The Dune Succession trail itself is about 1 mile in length, all three trails combined make for about a 3.5 mile hike.
The view from the bottom of the stairs at the parking lot level.