West Beach

West Beach is a broad Lake Michigan beach in the national park, with a sandy shoreline, a bathhouse and a large picnic area. It works as a straightforward swim-and-sand day, with a worthwhile dune hike right beside it if you want more than the water. The main trade-off is the walk from the lot: the lake is about a quarter mile away, so pack what you can comfortably carry.

A large paved parking area serves the bathhouse and picnic shelters. The paved route continues toward the beach, making the approach manageable with beach gear, though it feels long with a cooler or small kids on a hot day. The lot rarely fills except on holiday weekends. Flush restrooms and drinking water are by the lot; showers at the bathhouse are seasonal.

Lake Michigan can be cold and rough, and conditions change. Strong waves and rip currents are real hazards; shelf ice is dangerous in winter, and posted water-quality warnings are a reason to stay out. Check the beach notices before swimming rather than assuming the water is safe because the day looks calm.

The 0.9-mile Dune Succession Trail climbs 270 stairs to an open view of Lake Michigan and Chicago, and explains four stages of dune development along the way. The stairs are strenuous, but the view is the payoff. For a photo, include the rolling dunes in the foreground with the lake and city beyond; it makes the distance feel bigger than a flat horizon shot.

The Dune Succession route is one of three connected loops; doing all three covers about 3.4 miles and takes around two and a half hours. Expect loose sand, packed dirt and boardwalk, with sunny stretches as well as shade. A platform above Long Lake gives you a quieter place to look for water birds if the beach is busy or you want a break from the sand.

Some of the flat ground on the West Beach Trail was leveled by sand mining in the 1920s. It is now being restored toward oak savanna, so the walk shows both the damage and the recovery of this landscape. The Dune Succession Trail makes the changes in dune growth easier to see than they are from the shoreline.

The trail passes a pinery with some of the world's southernmost jack pines, likely carried this far south by glaciers and Lake Michigan. Prickly pear grows in the restored savanna, an unexpected plant to spot in Indiana. Near the lot, eight covered picnic shelters have grills; two shelters are wheelchair accessible, and it's an easy place to bring lunch before or after the beach.