Dunes Heritage hike

About this event

if you can't find parking at the main lot, there is a huge overflow parking area across Mineral Springs rd.

meet near the washrooms at Chellberg Farm at 11 CT, 12 ET

this hike will be held jointly with

Michiana Adventures https://www.meetup.com/meetup-group-yjezdrty/

Wabash Valley Wanderers. https://www.meetup.com/wabash-valley-hiking-social-meetup-group/members/

Indy Hiker. https://www.meetup.com/indy-hiker/

dear hiking friends--

today's hike features a cross section of the history of the region during the 19th and early 20th centuries. we have taken this hike every year since 2002, except for 2020.

please check the weather before departure and have appropriate clothing and equipment https://weather.com/weather/today/l/46301:4:US . bring along a lunch which we will eat on the trail, plus enough water (one quart minimum).

this hike will have a moderate and a longer, more difficult option. depending on which you choose to take. you can make these choices on the spot depending on your endurance, the weather, or your whims, once on the trail.

remember, this is a fee area--you must DISPLAY A PERMIT to park here--so before you come to the lot, make sure you study the rather Byzantine and non-user-friendly fee structure at the National Park website

https://www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit/fees.htm

i'm not sure how much they enforce this off season, or what the fines are, but be informed and beware.

this is a complex route, with lots of unexpected twists and turns--if you get ahead of Erin or Jonathan, make sure to stop whenever you come to a junction with another trail or road, or in any place where the trail is ambiguous or confusing. also, make sure you know where your car is parked.

i also encourage you all to take and post pictures to the site. if you don't know how to post to the site, text pictures to me, and i will post them.

i decided to tweak our route so that we hit more of the points of historic interest first, and moved the long walk across the prairie, over the river, and through the woods to later in the hike.

we will gather near the restrooms off the parking lot, and wait till 11:20 CT for all to arrive. then we will turn right at the valley's edge and walk a short distance till we come to the Chellberg Farm.

this is a preserved farmstead which was owned by Swedish immigrants to the region, and run in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. there usually are animals in the farmyard and the barn.

after that, we will ascend some bridges and stairs up a streambed and across a road to the Bailly Family Cemetery. it is quite elaborate for a pioneer graveyard, with a stonework mound and a tall wooden cross, and carved gravestones with passages from the Bible and the Apocrypha.

we will tarry there awhile, then return, cross Oak Hill rd, and reach the junction with the Porter-Brickyard trail, where you can make a choice.

if you go right with Erin, we will walk about 3/4 of a mile through the woods, then over a boardwalk, and cross the Little Calumet river on a bridge, then ascend a hill, and cross the Mnoke' Prairie, then back over the Little Cal, and arrive at the Bailly Homestead, where one of the earliest European settlers to the area had his home and his trading post. after looking over this large, preserved complex, we will head back and back to the parking lot for a total day's hike of 4.0 miles.

if you go left with Jonathan, we will hike the Porter-Brickyard trail, that crosses route 12 and accesses the Cowles Bog trail complex.

this set of trails is shaped like a snowman, and you can fashion a trail of various lengths. Jonathan has two versions of this hike, one rugged hike of several mies that goes down to the beach, and re-ascends the dunes to return to the Chellberg Farm and the parking lot, and a shorter version that cuts off a mile of trail, and the beach descent for a gentler return to the beginning. if you''d like to skip the each descent and take the gentler hike, tell Jonathan after you crosss rt 12, and he can alert you when it's time to turn back.

Both versions atart out on an easy wooded path that goes behind the Dunes Park headquarters, and at the 1st mile mark, crosses HW 12 on that huge yellow bridge.

A short walk down Mineral Springs Road, and we'll reach the tiny Greenbelt parking lot, and take the Greenbelt trail to the west. This leg of the hike is level and runs besides lakes and marshes for a mile or so. The next mile and a half runs through the woods and includes some significant ups and down, terminating at an amazing overlook on the lake nearly 200 ft below.

After descending we'll be at the wide and grassy lakeshore. It's beautiful. We'll take a break and enjoy the view. I recommend bringing a snack. The biggest challenge is climbing 200 feet up the dune to get off the beach. Once back on top of the dunes, there 1/2 a mile of hilly terrain, and then we settle down for 2.5 miles of mostly level hiking back to the cars.

hope you can attend this year,

Rick

directions:

from US 12, turn south on Mineral Springs rd; enter the parking lot marked "Chellberg Farm"; if the parking lot is full, there is ample overflow parking across the road; try to arrive by 11:00; we will wait till 11:20, then depart on foot.

from US 20, turn north on Mineral Springs rd; enter the parking lot marked "Chellberg Farm"; if the parking lot is full, there is ample overflow parking across the road; try to arrive by 11:00; we will wait till 11:20, then depart on foot.

to view photos of previous hikes by this group at this location, see below.

our group has actually been doing this hike since November 24, 2002, but photography was in its infancy then, so i don't have albums for those years. : )

2009 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/765778/

2010 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/1167250/

2011 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/4540442/

2012 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/11801082/

2013 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/events/130537162/

2014 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/25755614/

2016 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/26705361/

2016 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/27435567/

2017 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/28364881/

2018 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/29430687/

2019 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/30513495/

2021 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/31585359/

2023 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/32434940/

2023 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/33702266/

2024 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/34993307/

2025 https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/35698384/

From Rick's Hiking & Fun Group