Hike on the Dunewood Trace and beyond, Dunes National Park

this event will be sponsored jointly with Rick’s Hiking and Fun Group https://www.meetup.com/Ricks-Hiking-Fun-Group/ .

dear friends–

we will meet at 12 N EST at the Beverly Shores South Shore line parking lot. though we will not be using the train, the lot is never full, and i’ve never heard of anyone’s having problems parking there, but if you are uneasy about that, park at the Great Marsh trail lot, a couple blocks to the north, and walk to the South Shore parking lot by 12:00.

note, however, that the Great Marsh parking lot is a fee area, so you will need a permit to hang on your mirror (you can purchase one at the Marathon station on the corner–but not cheap).

there is a washroom at the South Shore train station on Broadway, north of the tracks. if you use it, be sure to wear a mask. because of construction, there is a chance that this washroom could be closed. if so, there is also a washroom at the Marathon station at the corner.

getting people together and ready to hike will take a little while, but let’s be moving by 11:30.

we will all start out together from the South Shore line parking lot, cross US 12, enter the campground, turn right, and walk to the trailhead of the Dunewood Trace.

make a careful note of HOW TO GET BACK TO YOUR CAR, cause we may not all be coming back together.

we will take a there-and-back hike on the Dunewood Trace starting from the National Park campground. at 2.5 miles, we will reach the Great Lakes Science Center. there are washrooms there also.

for those who wish to turn back there, you may return the same way we came, and arrive back at our cars with a total hike of 5 miles. but if you want a somewhat longer hike and some variety, you may cross route 12 and walk north to the Calumet Trail, turn right and return to the train station by a different way. depending on the weather, sometimes there is standing water on this gravel trail.

but you also may continue west on the Glenwood Dunes trail as far as you want to go, up to a round trip total of 13 miles.

if you want to go beyond the Great Lakes center, take the nature trail west till it ends. the Glenwood Dunes trail will pick up there, and you may continue west. this is actually a network of trails, so consult the map, or take a photo of the sign at the Great Lakes center so you don’t go astray.

the Glenwood Dunes trail is an inland route at the Indiana Dunes National Park. It is a gentle walk without any steep climbs thru a quiet land of pine forests, rushing streams, and rolling terrain.

The Glenwood dunes towered much higher on the lakefront a few thousand years ago, but time and the elements have lowered the elevation, and muted the terrain to what it is now. these dunes are the first level back from the current lakeshore.

i’m expecting people to self-sort into small groups, hike as far and as fast as they wish, and turn back wherever they want. this will eliminate the frequent problem of accommodating people of various hiking abilities and preferences.

i expect most of us will meet at the Great Lakes center, where we can check in and regroup, but we don’t have to. if you’re in your zone, just continue on at whatever pace you wish, and turn back when you want to.

since we won’t all go the entire distance on this trail, i encourage you to TAKE and POST pictures. if you don’t know how post, please text them to me, and i will post them for you. i would appreciate if you would drop a comment telling me how far everyone went, and what you think of the idea of this hike.

here is a chart of various turn around points, and how long your round trip hike will be employing each option:

to

Great Lakes Science Center 5.0 miles
Teale rd 7.0 miles
Furnessville rd 8.0 miles
Hadenfelt rd 9.0 miles
Tremont rd 11.0 miles
50 E rd 13.0 miles

Make sure to check the weather on the day of the event and dress appropriately http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Beverly+Shores+IN+46301 . Be sure to bring along plenty of water (preferably 2 quarts), and a snack which we will eat along the way.

i will pass a hat for a small donation to cover expenses: mostly, this is the cost of using the meetup website, but sometimes I need some dinero to pay for occasional gifts to neighbors who let us use their parking, prizes for contests, etc. as long as i can cover this with people putting $2-3 in a can, i prefer not doing anything more binding or complicated.

if anyone else wants to organize a restaurant visit, go right ahead, but regretfully, i am not comfortable doing it myself yet. i haven’t dined indoors since 2/22/2020.

please bring a mask in case there will be times when we might need one. also bring hand sanitizer.

if you have Covid-19 (or any other contagious disease), with or without symptoms, please DO NOT ATTEND.

if you have Covid-19 symptoms, whether you’ve been tested or not, please DO NOT ATTEND.

hope to see you there,

Rick