Runners * Explorers * Dream Chasers
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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Game Changers 