Porter

Lake Michigan town beside Indiana Dunes National Park, where beaches meet dunes, bogs, and oak savanna

Porter is a small town on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, about 50 miles southeast of Chicago. Its main claim to interest is its location inside Indiana Dunes National Park, which stretches for 25 miles along the lakeshore.

The dunes are the draw. Miles of sandy beach, forested dunes up to 60 metres high, bogs, wetlands, and oak savanna create a surprising diversity of landscape within sight of the Chicago skyline on a clear day. The park ranks eighth among US national parks for plant diversity — over 1,400 species have been recorded, including some that are threatened or endangered in Indiana.

The Dunes Succession Trail near Porter gives a good introduction to the ecology that made this area famous: Dr. Henry Cowles conducted his pioneering studies on ecological succession here in the early 1900s, essentially inventing the field. Beyond the beach, the Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm preserve the area's pre-industrial history, and the strange collection of Century of Progress Homes — experimental houses from the 1933 Chicago World's Fair — sit just along the shore. For the most dramatic dune experience, Mount Baldy requires a ranger-led tour but is worth it.

Porter is easily reached by train from Chicago on the South Shore Line, making the dunes a practical day trip from the city.

Guide

Getting There

Porter is unusually well connected for a small town. The South Shore Line — a commuter rail service that has run since 1908 — links Porter to downtown Chicago in about 90 minutes, making the dunes a practical day trip from the city. Trains depart from Millennium Station in the Loop. Check the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District website for current timetables; service is less frequent on weekends.

By car, Porter sits just off Interstate 94 (exit 26B) in northwest Indiana, about 50 miles southeast of Chicago's downtown. The Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center, near the Porter exit, is the best first stop — it has maps, ranger advice, and a bookshop with good books on the dunes' natural and human history. Parking at most trailheads and beaches is free; only the Indiana Dunes State Park charges for car entry.

Guide

Things to Do

Porter sits at the heart of Indiana Dunes National Park, and that's where almost all the action is. The beach and the dunes are the headline attractions, but the park's ecological diversity means there's more to explore than first meets the eye — bogs, oak savannas, wetlands, and the remnants of a working 19th-century farm all sit within a few miles of the lakeshore.

Indiana Dunes State Park, which sits inside the national park boundary, charges a separate entrance fee but rewards visitors with some of the best hiking in the region.