Parking
Use the West Beach main lot off North County Line Road. A park entrance pass is required; restrooms and potable water are available at the West Beach facilities.
Overview
About West Beach Trail Loop 2
West Beach Trail Loop 2 is a closed hike from the West Beach main lot through open dunes and a recovering dune landscape, toward the Long Lake viewing platform. The official trail map lists the loop at 1.2 miles; a continuous line from the main-lot trailhead measures 1.37 miles (1.4 rounded) with the short access links included. Allow about 45–60 minutes. The route is classified as easy, but loose sand makes footing soft and slows the pace.
Why go
- A Long Lake platform adds a natural water-bird stop.
- Prickly pear, dune restoration and mining history enrich a short loop.
Heads up
- Loose sand makes this easy-grade route slower and more tiring than its distance suggests.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Indiana Dunes map
Full mapElevation605–615 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 West Beach Trail Loop 2, 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
West Beach: Sand and Skyline0:00 / 0:33
“You're approaching the entrance to West Beach, a good choice for a beach day with a picnic. The shore is about a quarter mile from parking, and covered picnic shelters with grills sit near the lot.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Indiana Dunes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Tolleston Dunes Overlook: A Short Wetland Stop
- Marquette Trail: Woods Along an Old Rail Line
- Tolleston Dunes: An Old Shoreline
- Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk
- 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 West Beach Trail Loop 2
Route and footingFollow the Loop 2 signs where paths meet.
Follow the Loop 2 signs where paths meet. The walk crosses open dune terrain on mostly loose, shifting sand, so short distances can feel slower than a firm-surface trail. Stay on the marked route at junctions with the other West Beach loops.
A mined landscape recoveringSand was mined here in the 1920s for rail-car fill and construction.
Sand was mined here in the 1920s for rail-car fill and construction. Local preservation advocates including Dorothy Buell and Charlotte Read helped protect the remaining dunes. Today, the landscape is being restored toward oak savanna; prickly pear grows among the dune plants. Keep to the tread to protect this fragile recovery.
Long Lake platformA viewing platform near Long Lake offers a place to watch for water birds.
A viewing platform near Long Lake offers a place to watch for water birds. Bring binoculars and allow a quiet pause; sightings vary with season and conditions.
Before you goUse the West Beach main parking lot; a park entrance pass is required.
Use the West Beach main parking lot; a park entrance pass is required. Restrooms and potable water are available at the site. Leashed pets are allowed on a leash no longer than six feet, but keep them out of the designated swimming area during summer lifeguard service. Ticks occur 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.
