Just one small part of the massive arch at Gateway Arch National Park.
Once through the entrance of Gateway Arch, you’ll learn about its history.
for Chicagoans. More than 8 million people live within a hundred miles of the Dunes, and many of them have been more than eager to get out and enjoy the park’s scenic and recreational features. Indiana Dunes National Park presents a treasure of diverse natural resources uniquely located within an urban setting. Most visitors come to stroll and sunbathe on the golden sand beaches that span the 15-mile distance between Gary and Michigan City. TripAdvisor.com has consistently ranked these beaches among the top 10 family beaches in the nation. With its huge swath of sand, West Beach, near Gary, is a popular choice. It features a bathhouse, lifeguard station, and a boardwalk with 250 stairs leading to the Dune Succession Trail, offering spectacular views of Lake Michigan. Immediately inland from the beaches, sand dunes rise in some spots as much as 200 feet in a series of ridges and valleys. Wetlands fill many depressions between the dune ridges. The national park preserves an important remnant of a once vast and unique environment resulting from the retreat of the last great continental glacier some 14,000 years ago. The park landscape represents at least four major successive stages of the formation of Lake Michigan’s shoreline, making it one of the most extensive geologic records of one of the world’s largest
fresh water bodies. The biological diversity within the park is truly outstanding, ranking it fourth among all of our national parks. More than 1,100 plant species make their homes in the dunes, and the wildlife is nearly as diverse. More than 350 species of birds have been observed in the park. Situated as it is at the southern tip of Lake Michigan, the park is an especially important feeding and resting area for migrating land and water birds. Beyond its beaches, the park provides a number of year-round recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, fishing, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Overnight camping is available from April through October at the Dunewood Campground, a facility capable of hosting both RV and tent campers. www.nps.gov/indu, 219-395-1882 The United States Congress approved the Gateway Arch National Park Designation Act in February 2018—an action that serves as the culmination of a five-year, $380 million renovation project. The park was established in 1935 as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial to honor President Thomas Jefferson, who turned St. Louis into the “Gateway to the West” by doubling the size of the United States with the
AMERICA’S NEWEST NATIONAL PARKS
COAST TO COAST FALL MAGAZINE 2021
17
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker