Trail #6 of the Indiana Dunes National Park 1966 Hiking Challenge is the Glenwood Dunes Extension Trail in Porter, Indiana. This trail is part of the larger Glenwood Dunes trail system but was added as a ranger-led tour for the challenge starting at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center parking lot. We went inside the center to review the map and use the restrooms before setting out on the trail.

The walk to Glenwood Dunes begins by the exiting the visitor center north on the yellow-brick road of the Dunes Kankakee Trail. This paved bike path runs alongside State Road 49 and crosses on a bridge over US 20 Highway before crossing the ramp to continue on the trail. The path is lined with wildflowers along this section of the Dunes Kankakee Trail. Keep your wits about you when crossing the road as these intersections are very busy.

Unfortunately, this is where we got majorly confused with the map we were given compared to our surroundings and the lack of signage directing to the trails at Glenwood Dunes. We came to a beautiful crossroads signpost for the Calumet Trail, visitor center, and the beach suggesting that we should continue on straight ahead along the Dunes Kankakee Trail, but that would have taken us to the park at Lake Michigan instead. With a back-and-forth reference between Google Maps, the Glenwood Dunes map, and the 1966 Hiking Route map, we backtracked to the road and turned RIGHT to walk along the road’s shoulder on loose dirt until we came to Main St to turn left into a residential neighborhood. This didn’t feel right until we had walked over a mile and saw what might be a trail entrance with two small wooden posts. We were determined to find this trail for the challenge but were pretty close to calling it quits!

This wouldn’t have been a problem had we attended the ranger tour last month, but hiking solo trying to find the extension trail on these roads was frustrating. Below is our simplified version of the route from the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center to Glenwood Dunes that would have helped us tremendously!

Once we were finally on the Glenwood Dunes trail, we were able to relax and take in our surroundings. The trail took us into the woods with large trees, very few roots, and hardly any mosquitos. It was a fairly flat trail most of the way with a mixture of packed dirt and loose sand with a few boardwalk bridge crossings over a creek. We marked this route as a trail for us to return to for a decent running route!

It’s a straight route out until coming to Tremont Road where we had to turn right to walk down the road a little ways to continue back into the woods. It would have been helpful to have another sign here at this intersection, but we were able to figure it out with the map. Just keep making your way to Glenwood Dunes since this is an extension trail coming from the west.

Once we got to the junction at Hadenfelt Road, we had made it to the end of this hike and reconnected with the main trail system at Glenwood Dunes. We made a U-Turn and walked it all back on the same trail to where we started! It was marked as 3.6 miles but with our backtracking steps to find the trail, we hiked it in 4 miles total. What’s a good hiking story without getting lost? We were able to pull it together and carry on to complete the challenge!

Observations:

Location: Indiana Dunes Visitor Center Parking Lot- 1215 N State Rd 49, Porter, IN 46304

Trail Length: 3.6 miles
Difficulty level: Easy hike

Highlights:

• Wildflowers!
• Low crowds
• Flat, easy hike
• Great running trail
• Into the woods!
• Nice path to be able to connect from the visitor center lot

Tips/Suggestions:

• Check with a ranger to make sure you know where to go. Bring a map and your phone to check Google Maps just in case you get lost!
• Look both ways before you cross! There are about 3 busy intersections you will need to cross.
• Stay alert and off the road when walking in the shoulder.
• Walk on the left side of the road so you can see oncoming traffic coming and have time to get out of the way.
• Enjoy the hike through a woodland area!

The Glenwood Dunes Extension Trail has been completed on the 1966 Hiking Challenge!