Hiking in Indiana

When you think about Indiana, hiking is not the first thing that comes to mind. It's probably the last thing that comes to mind. So why would we leave the great state of Tennessee and go hiking in Indiana in the middle of July? I am not sure why but we did.

Indiana Dunes State Park is about 50 miles southeast of Chicago. The Dunes border Lake Michigan and are surrounded by the steel mills of Gary Indiana. While enjoying the beach area, you see both the Chicago skyline and the industry that Gary is known for. 

The first thing we did when we got to the state park was, you guessed it, we hit the trails. It was the hottest time of the day and the sand was extremely hot. We headed out to see the three highest dunes in the park on a rugged 1.5 mile trail. We saw two of the highest dunes and I was hot, had bug bites and I gave up so we headed back down. It's not easy walking uphill in the sand!
Second Highest Dune in the Park
So what did we do on Day 2 of our visit to Indiana Dunes State Park? You guessed it, we went back for more. It was in the 90s and we went hiking again in the sand. What is wrong with us? 

We did a 4.5 mile loop trail that winds through forest, wetlands, and the sand dunes. These dunes have taken thousands of years to form and tower nearly 200 feet above Lake Michigan. We climbed up and looked down on several blowouts and we had a great view of the lake. We also saw some really cool looking trees. It's a beautiful trail but not one I would recommend doing in the middle of the summer. Hiking in July is crazy . . . hiking sand dunes in July is even crazier.  Although this trail was voted the Best Trail in Indiana, we were the only crazy people hiking it on one of the hottest days of the year. 
Tree Graveyard on the Trail
View of Lake Michigan from the Trail
So this sums up our summer hiking experience in Indiana. There are several other great places to hike in Indiana and I would suggest that if you live in the hoosier state and have any interest in hiking, do an internet search and get out and enjoy what Indiana has to offer. 

Indiana is not known for hiking so here are pictures of what we are known for. 

John Deere Tractors . . . 



 Corn . . . 

And of course, Colts Football. 



Go Hoosiers! 

 In case you don't know, Mike & I are both Hoosiers. We are both proud to call Indiana home. 
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ~Matt. 7:26

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