Parking
Use Calumet Dunes parking lot at 1596 North Kemil Road (300E), Chesterton. Non-campers cannot park at Dunewood Campground. A park pass is required.
Overview
About Dunewood Trace Campground Trail
Why go
- Nearly level for a 4.4-mile walk, with campground facilities at the destination.
- Old golf-course remnants add a small point of interest near the campground.
Heads up
- Loose sand and a section on an unprotected county road interrupt the easy grade.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Indiana Dunes map
Full mapElevation653–686 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
4 active Indiana Dunes alerts
- ClosureTrail closures and flooding-related access limitsSeveral Indiana Dunes trails are closed or partially inaccessible because of tree damage, riverbank collapse, flooding, and Marquette Greenway construction; stay out of closed sections and use…Official details
- ClosureBailly/Chellberg Trail stair sections closedPortions of the Bailly/Chellberg Trail with stairs are closed through October 30, 2026, to allow completion of a boardwalk replacement project. Check current park conditions before setting out.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Indiana Dunes Tour Guide
Your drive to Dunewood Trace Campground Trail, narrated.
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.
Recorded for this trailhead
Calumet Dunes: A Church Beside the Trail0:00 / 0:26
“Calumet Dunes trailhead is ahead, and the short paved loop is my pick for a twenty-minute woodland break.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Indiana Dunes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Flowers Before the Leaves
- Glenwood Dunes: Picnic and Trail Choices
- Kemil Beach and the Great Marsh View
- The Ice That Left a Bog
- 51 audio storiesacross Indiana Dunes’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bald Eagle, Sandhill Crane, White-tailed Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 34 trails, 30 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Dunewood Trace Campground Trail
A gentle walk to the campgroundDunewood Trace Campground Trail is a 4.
Dunewood Trace Campground Trail is a 4.4-mile out-and-back from Calumet Dunes parking lot to Dunewood Campground and back. It is nearly level, with 30 feet of listed gain, and usually takes about 2.5 hours. Expect packed dirt mixed with loose sand. This is a good fit if you want a longer, low-effort walk with a destination; the campground and old golf-course remnants near it are the payoff.
Find the right branchAt Calumet Dunes, walk around the main building on its south side and take the paved path to…
At Calumet Dunes, walk around the main building on its south side and take the paved path to the right. Dunewood Trace branches left within a tenth of a mile. The surrounding Glenwood and Calumet trail network has 13 junctions, so stick with the Dunewood Trace route unless you mean to add another loop.
Road and campground detailsA section uses County Road 375E without a sidewalk or protected path; that road stretch is the…
A section uses County Road 375E without a sidewalk or protected path; that road stretch is the main tradeoff on an otherwise easy-grade walk. At the campground, year-round restrooms and potable water are available. Non-campers cannot park there, so start and finish at Calumet Dunes. A park pass is required. Dogs are allowed on leash, no longer than six feet; ticks are present year-round and poison ivy can grow along trail edges.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Indiana Dunes
85 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
48 sightingsSandhill CraneMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
113 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.
