Take A Hike To The Top Of An Indiana Dune That’s Like Something From A Movie
By Tori Jane|Published April 11, 2022
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Tori Jane
Author
Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
Attention readers: are you looking for something interesting to do as the weather warms up? A decent challenge, maybe? Well, if so, then have we got the hike for you; nestled within beautiful Indiana Dunes National Park are plenty of trails, but there’s one in particular that just so happens to be not only an excellent challenge but also ridiculously rewarding. There’s nothing in the Midwest like the Indiana Dunes Trail 8 to Trail 4 Loop, a challenging hike in Indiana that leads adventurers over not one, not two, but three amazing natural sand dunes. Check it out:
Head out to Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana's shiniest, newest National Park!) and embark upon the nothing-short-of-epic Indiana Dunes Trail 8 to Trail 4 Loop.
It's not terribly long, at just 1.8 miles in length, but it's challenging - after all, you've got not one but THREE awe-inspiring natural dunes to climb.
First, you'll clamber up to the top of Mt. Jackson which, rather than being a literal mountain, is one of the largest dunes in the park.
It's taller than Mt. Jackson, at 184 feet tall (Jackson is 176 feet tall). Since this is a challenging climb up 100% pure and soft sand, you might want to make sure to wear really good shoes (and don't be afraid to get your hands dirty for extra support while climbing).
You'll climb some friendly stairs and reach a stunning boardwalk at the summit, where you can look out onto beautiful Lake Michigan for views you simply cannot get anywhere else in Indiana - if not the entire Midwest!
While you're here, be sure to really soak it in; appreciate it for its unique natural beauty, and all the wonder it brings.
Lake Michigan is so enormous that it might as well be the ocean; it stretches on well beyond the horizon, making it easy for you to totally forget you're actually landlocked and far from any sea.
When we say this hike is tough but rewarding, we mean it!
It's brief - under two miles - but all that climbing and scrambling is definitely going to give you a good workout. Of course, in our opinion, the incredible lake and park views from the tops of each dune are well worth the sweat.
What do you think of when you think about challenging hikes in Indiana? Is it a strenuous mountain climbing adventure filled with cliffs, drop-offs, waterfalls, and more? Well, we’ve got a little o’ that here in the Hoosier State, too. For more information about the amazing Indiana Dunes Trail 8 to Trail 4 Loop, including a map and lots more photos, be sure to visit its official AllTrails listing.
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