Parking
Use the paved Overlook Parking Lot at 5634 U.S. Highway 12 in Portage. It sits about a quarter-mile west of the main Tolleston Dunes parking lot, with the ramp to the boardwalk beginning here.
Overview
About Tolleston Dunes Overlook Boardwalk
Why go
- Two shaded picnic-table overlooks on an accessible boardwalk
- A useful 15-minute wetland stop
Heads up
- No restroom or potable water at the pull-off
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Indiana Dunes map
Full mapElevation610–636 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
4 active Indiana Dunes alerts
- CautionLake Michigan water-safety alert after recent stormsMentions Lake Michigan, referenced in this guideDo not enter Lake Michigan after heavy rainfall or recent storms because E. coli levels are likely to rise above safe swimming standards.Official details
- 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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Indiana Dunes Tour Guide
Your drive to Tolleston Dunes Overlook Boardwalk, 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
Tolleston Dunes Overlook: A Short Wetland Stop0:00 / 0:21
“Tolleston Dunes Overlook is coming up, a short boardwalk stop with two shaded picnic tables above a wetland. The ramp and boardwalk make it an easy, accessible pause; allow about fifteen minutes.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Indiana Dunes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- West Beach: Sand and Skyline
- Tolleston Dunes: An Old Shoreline
- Marquette Trail: Woods Along an Old Rail Line
- A Flower That Makes Heat
- 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 Tolleston Dunes Overlook Boardwalk
A short accessible walkThis wooden-planked boardwalk is an easy out-and-back from the paved Overlook Parking Lot on U.
This wooden-planked boardwalk is an easy out-and-back from the paved Overlook Parking Lot on U.S. 12. A ramp leads to the boardwalk and its two shaded picnic-table overlooks. The mapped corridor is about 0.08 mile each way, or roughly 0.16 mile round trip. The park lists 0.1 mile without saying whether that means one way or the full walk; this listing uses the mapped route length for the round trip. Allow about 15 minutes.
Two wetland overlooksThe boardwalk curves through trees to two picnic-table overlooks with interpretive signs and a…
The boardwalk curves through trees to two picnic-table overlooks with interpretive signs and a view over a large wetland. It’s a small stop for a closer look at the wetland and oak savanna, not a long dune hike. The walkway’s bending rails make a clear frame along the route; the overlooks open the view across the wetland. Dogs are allowed on a leash no longer than six feet. There’s no restroom or drinking water at this pull-off.
The youngest dune systemTolleston is the youngest of the park’s three distinct dune systems.
Tolleston is the youngest of the park’s three distinct dune systems. These dunes began forming about 4,700 years ago, when Lake Michigan stood roughly 25 feet higher than today; their ridges record the lake’s changing shoreline.
The name likely grew from “Tolle’s town,” a nearby community German immigrant George Tolle platted in 1857. The town was annexed by Gary in 1910, and its name later became attached to this shoreline and dune period.
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.
