Agile Trekker

From the parking lot, take the trail to the right. Hike in a counterclockwise loop, continuing on to the beach and through the bath house back to the parking area.

We still had time after our Tolleston Dunes hike before sunset, so we headed back to the beach. There is a huge parking lot here, yet there was only 1 other car in the parking lot. A cool, rainy spring day is the perfect time to go to the beach. The beach is our favorite part of this park (Krumm's too). This was a short loop, but I loved it! The hike is mostly on a boardwalk which climbs a dune and then descends through a forested area.

Photos are in reverse order.

Chicago

Beach play means lots of sand up your nose and in your mouth.

The waves were too big for swimming today.

Most of the trail is on a boardwalk.

Chicago

The trail starts here.

Tolleston Dunes Trail, Indiana Dunes National Park

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
4/11/2024	2.9 miles	1 hour 18 minutes	54'	2.4 mph	250.3 miles

Parking:

5800 U.S. Highway 12, Ogden Dunes, IN

Map:

Provided at Indiana Dunes National Park Visitor Center

Directions:

Take trail from the parking lot to the first loop. Hike counterclockwise around both loops and return to the trailhead.

It rained a lot today. We were lazy. We picked up brunch at a restaurant, but otherwise just bummed around the hotel. At 4pm, we headed out to a used bookstore in Chesterton and found a couple of interesting books. The rain started easing up, so we headed out to hike. Our first hike was the Tolleston Dunes Trail. Note that our hike times were always faster than those listed in the visitor center materials, and we aren't particularly fast hikers. At the trailhead, we ran into a man with a gorgeous smooth coated border collie. Krumm liked the dog a lot, and Krumm is pretty picky about dogs he likes. The trailhead is across the street from the railroad lines. We saw both passenger trains as well as trains with shipping containers. This hike is an inland hike. It goes over dunes, but you really wouldn't know it, as it is a forested hike. This hike was easy and cruisy.

Trailhead

Pussywillow

Lupines!

Prickly pear cactus

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Mt. Baldy, Indiana Dunes National Park

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
4/10/2024	1.8 miles	1 hour 15 minutes	38'	1.5 mph	247.4 miles

Parking:

101 Rice Street (U.S. Highway 12), Michigan City, IN

Map:

Provided at Indiana Dunes National Park Visitor Center

Directions:

Take trail from the parking lot to the beach. Walk along the beach. Return the same way.

This hike was listed as moderate and rugged. It was actually really easy. They call the dunes "mountains" here, lol. The dunes move though, so maybe some years the hike is harder than others? There were 2 ways down to the beach. We took the harder way, which was still easy. The trail cut diagonally across the dune, so you didn't have to hike straight up or down it. We had the beach mostly to ourselves. We hiked west along the beach until we reached a river which crossed the beach. We didn't want to wade through it, so we turned around at that point.

Dune view from the parking lot

This steep area is restricted.

Coal cooling tower

Diagonal trail down the dune

He was not happy with this pose.
We tried to get him to jump up and balance on the log.

River crossing the beach.

Trying to find a river crossing.

Monday, April 15, 2024

Bailly Homestead, Chellberg Farm, Little Calumet River, and Mnoke Prairie Trails, Indiana Dunes National Park

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
4/10/2024	4.2 miles	2 hours 14 minutes	110'	2.2 mph	245.6 miles

Parking:

North of U.S. Highway 20 on Mineral Springs Road, Porter, IN

Map:

Provided at Indiana Dunes National Park Visitor Center

Directions:

Counterclockwise loop. Head towards Chellberg Farm. Cross Oak Hill Road and hike to Bailly Cemetery. Return back to loop trail, crossing Oak Hill Road again. Cross Howe Rd. and loop around the Dunes Learning Center. Cross the Mnoke Prairie. Turn left on Howe Road. Turn right to see Bailly Homestead. Continue along the trail back to parking lot.

Our second hike of the day, close to Cowles Bog Trail, so nice to combine them. This hike passes by Chellberg Farm, which highlights the Swedes who moved to this area. We continued on to the Bailly Cemetery. A large structure, so we assume they were quite wealthy. Lots of today's hike was very, very muddy. Lots of slipping and sliding. We liked the Mnoke Prairie - it was dry :) The Bailly Homestead site had some information about the family - they were fur traders.