Hobart Wooded Trail

January 19, 2025.Reading time 7 minutes.

Trail #16 of the Indiana Dunes National Park 1966 Hiking Challenge is the Hobart Wooded Trail at Robinson Lake in Hobart, Indiana. This trail is part of the Oak Savannah Trail that we have biked many times over the past years. As we continue on our last three trails of the 1966 Hiking Challenge, the […]

Dunewood Trace Trail

August 26, 2024.Reading time 7 minutes.

Trail #15 of the Indiana Dunes National Park 1966 Hiking Challenge is the Dunewood Trace Trail in Chesterton, Indiana. This trail is part of the larger Calumet Dunes and Glenwood Dunes Trail systems in a rich landscape of woods and wetlands that are over 12,000 years old. Hiking the Dunewood Trace felt like a place […]

Cowles Bog Trail

August 15, 2024.Reading time 9 minutes.

Trail #14 of the Indiana Dunes National Park 1966 Hiking Challenge is the Cowles Bog Trail in Dune Acres, Indiana. The trail is named in honor of Henry Chandler Cowles (1869-1939), a botanist from the University of Chicago, who helped define the field of ecology with his research of the Indiana Dunes. Cowles’ published works […]

West Beach Trail

July 25, 2024.Reading time 8 minutes.

Trail #13 of the Indiana Dunes National Park 1966 Hiking Challenge is the West Beach 3-Loop Trail in Gary, Indiana. We first hiked this trail in the dead of winter in 2021 when we were new to the area and wanted to explore the trails. You can read our winter hike blog here: Hiking the […]

Little Calumet/Mnoké Prairie Trail

July 11, 2024.Reading time 10 minutes.

Trail #12 of the Indiana Dunes National Park 1966 Hiking Challenge is the Little Calumet River and Mnoké Prairie Trail in Porter, Indiana. We returned to the Bailly-Chellberg Farm (Trail #2) that we completed a couple weeks ago to hike the outer loop of the woodland trail, explore the Mnoké Prairie’s grasslands, and follow the […]

Marquette Trail

July 9, 2024.Reading time 9 minutes.

Trail #11 of the Indiana Dunes National Park 1966 Hiking Challenge is the Marquette Trail in Gary, Indiana. This rail to trail is part of the former Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad that used to run through Miller Woods and was named after Father Jacques Marquette, the French Jesuit missionary, who explored the Great Lakes region in […]

Dunes-Kankakee Trail

July 9, 2024.Reading time 9 minutes.

Trail #10 marks the halfway point for us with the Indiana Dunes National Park 1966 Hiking Challenge on the Dunes-Kankakee Trail! We were excited to be able to join the group hike for this one since we were late bloomers to the challenge that has been ongoing weekly since May. The Dunes-Kankakee Trail is a […]

Portage Lakefront Trail

July 8, 2024.Reading time 5 minutes.

Trail #9 of the Indiana Dunes National Park 1966 Hiking Challenge is the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk Trail. Formally an industrial site for U.S. Steel, the landscape was reclaimed for public park access and wetland restoration in 2008. This trail has great views of the lake and is a prime location to see dramatic clouds […]

Harbor Belt Trail

July 5, 2024.Reading time 9 minutes.

Trail #8 of the Indiana Dunes National Park 1966 Hiking Challenge is the Harbor Belt Trail in Gary, Indiana. We returned to Miller Woods after hiking here earlier this week to complete the Harbor Belt section of the park. Cutting East to West through Miller Woods is this abandoned railroad bed that was built when […]

Tolleston Dunes Trail

July 3, 2024.Reading time 8 minutes.

Trail #7 of the Indiana Dunes National Park 1966 Hiking Challenge is the Tolleston Dunes Trail in Ogden Dunes, Indiana. Before this location was created a park, it was the site of former sand mining. The Tolleston Dunes are known for the rare black oak savanna and plants such as the prickly pear cactus, butterfly weed, […]