Beach · Indiana Dunes National Park
An open Lake Michigan beach with a surprising resort-town past.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Indiana Dunes Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Indiana Dunes National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Indiana Dunes audio tourRecorded for this place
Porter Beach: The Johnson Inn Shore“You're nearing Porter Beach, where today's parking area sits on a former hotel site. Bill and Elmer Johnson built a fish house here in nineteen twenty-nine.”
Plays as you drive up to Porter Beach in the Parkwolf Indiana Dunes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Porter Beach is a sandy Lake Michigan beach in Indiana Dunes National Park, near Porter, Indiana. It suits a short shore walk or an unhurried swim, with an open horizon and plenty of shoreline to explore. There are no lifeguards; waves and rip currents can make swimming dangerous, so check beach conditions before getting in.
Give the shoreline a slow walk instead of making this only a swim stop. On a very clear day, Chicago can appear low across the far side of Lake Michigan. Sunset light is another reason to linger; for a photo, keep the wet-sand edge and small waves in the foreground so the frame reads as a beach, not just sky and water.
This stretch was once both a working shore and a resort stop. Bill and Elmer Johnson built a fish house here in 1929; in 1930 the 30-room Johnson Inn followed, operating as a seasonal hotel and restaurant. Johnson Beach survives as the beach’s historic name, and the parking area sits on a former hotel site.
Wildlife
85 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
48 sightingsSandhill CraneMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
114 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
23 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
49 sightingsBeaverMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
13 sightingsBarred OwlMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Indiana Dunes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateCowles Bog Trail4.7 mi · 4 hr · 1.3 mi awayWetland, savanna, and dunes lead to a steep Lake Michigan finish
EasyPorter Brickyard Bike Trail4 mi · 1.8 hr · 1.3 mi awayA paved connector with forest stretches and two highway overpasses.
ModerateGreenbelt Trail to Lake Michigan4.4 mi · 3 hr · 1.9 mi awayA wetland-to-beach walk that earns its Lake Michigan view.
ModerateCalumet Bike Trail9.2 mi · 4.8 hr · 1.9 mi awayA mostly level, 9.2-mile link across the dune-country corridor.
EasyHeenan Trail0.1 mi · 5 min · 1.9 mi awayA short Dune Acres namesake path with access still unverified.
EasyDunes Kankakee Trail3.6 mi · 1.8 hr · 2 mi awayA paved, accessible link between the Visitor Center and State Park.
ModerateLittle Calumet River and Mnoké Prairie Outer Loop3.4 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.7 mi awayA river crossing and prairie link two historic sites in one loop.
EasyBailly/Chellberg Inner Loop1.1 mi · 1 hr · 2.7 mi awayA short loop links a fur-trading post and a Swedish farm.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayLongshore Birding PlatformA high perch for watching spring migration along Lake Michigan.
Sight · 0.3 mi awayDunes PavilionA historic beach pavilion with a rooftop view of Lake Michigan.
Beach · 0.3 mi awayIndiana Dunes State Park BeachMore than three miles of sand beneath dunes nearly 200 feet tall.
Campground · 0.7 mi awayNissaki Youth Tent AreaThree primitive group areas for youth tent camping.
Campground · 0.8 mi awayIndiana Dunes State Park Electric CampgroundStay under the trees, with a beach trail right from camp.
Visitor center · 1 mi awayIndiana Dunes State Park Nature CenterA small indoor stop for dunes exhibits and feeder birds.
Picnic area · 1.3 mi awayTremont Picnic AreaA shaded picnic break, not a beach or dune-view stop.
Visitor center · 2 mi awayIndiana Dunes Visitor CenterStart here to sort out which beach, trail or park comes next.Parkwolf’s Indiana Dunes ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
