Follow The Lake Michigan Shoreline Along This Scenic Drive Through Indiana
By Tori Jane|Published May 13, 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.
Hey, did you hear that? It was the sound of your next epic road trip in Indiana creeping up behind you. The Hoosier State is filled with all kinds of wonderful places, and we just so happen to have plenty of delightful scenic routes weaving all over the state just waiting to be explored. We may be entirely landlocked, but nobody ever said we still can’t enjoy a waterfront road trip in Indiana; in fact, one of our favorite Hoosier scenic routes follows along – for the most part – the shores of beautiful Lake Michigan. Check it out:
U.S. Route 12, also known as the Dunes Highway for the Indiana segment of the route, extends an impressive 2,400+ miles long.
Don't let that enormous number fool you, though - today, we're going to focus on just over 21 miles of that route. It might just be the best 21 miles of the entire highway, or we might be a little biased. Either way, adventure awaits!
The segment we'll wander along begins in Gary, Indiana, where you'll be lead through some small communities before embarking out into the world.
Miller Beach looks like something out of a west coast California dream moreso than the Midwest, but that's part of what makes this drive so remarkable. When it comes to your typical Hoosier State landscape, this drive is simply not that. It's its own thing, and a beautiful one, at that.
You'll cross into Indiana Dunes National Park as you meander along the shores of Lake Michigan, which is so enormous that it looks - and feels - like the ocean.
On clear days, you might even be able to see the distant skyline of Chicago. Other notable attractions you'll pass by on U.S. Route 12/Dunes Highway include Ogden Dunes, Dune Acres, Beverly Shores, and Town of Pines.
Sure, it might be "just" 21 miles... but it's 21 jam-packed-full-of-adventure miles.
Of course, you don't need to stop at the end of the 21-mile stretch. You can make this adventure as long or as short as you want, and we promise you'll have a wonderful time no matter how you slice it.
For more information about Indiana Dunes National Park, as well as all the scenic routes you can do, check out the official Indiana Dunes website. If it were up to us, we’d stay at Beverly Shores and make an overnight trip out of it!
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