Indiana Dunes National Park Tolleston Dunes Parking Lot

"I lead FREE hikes everyday at the Indiana Dunes National Park. See Indiana Dunes Hiking dot Com. One can request a custom hike or join a planned one. Tolleston is a fantastic place to see oak Savanah, mature dunes covered in plant life, wildflowers, mushrooms and more. There is NOT a bathroom and as if 8/31/22 there hasn’t been a porta-Pottie. It is a must see!!! Fall colors are of course great generally in the later half of October but it depends on rainfall and temperature at that time."

"While not the most spectacular trail in the Indiana Dunes National Park, the Tolleston Dunes Trail is a pleasant walk through one of the three dune ridges created by earlier and higher levels of Lake Michigan, as well as traversing an interdunal wetland. The trail follows on an old roadbed for .4 mile then turns to ascend a dune ridge. There are two loops to the trail. The short loop is about a mile long, the long loop is 1.8 miles. If you aren't sure you want to do the whole trail, do the short loop, and then decide about doing the longer loop. Doing the long loop will mean retracing only .2 mile of the short loop. The short loop has the best views. It travels the ridge of a fairly steep dune for about a quarter mile and the rest traverses a wetland, which was thick with ferns in August. The long loop is a bit more isolated and quieter and goes up and down the dunes. Go about 2/3 of mile west of the Tolleston Dunes trailhead on Highway 12 for the Tolleston Dunes Overlook. This is a short accessible boardwalk that leads to a viewing platform (with picnic table) above a piece of the Inland Marsh wetland, which looked to be dry during my visit. An excellent spot for a picnic."

"As far as parking lots go, very decent with most parking spaces shaded, smooth concrete that hasn’t been ruined by ice or snow ploughs and even trash cans. Only about 15 parking spots but we went on the weekend in early fall and it wasn’t full. The nearby hiking trail is easy to spot and has an informational signpost."

"Though we just took a very short hike this time, it has lots of promise during spring bird migration and spring flowering and also probably in late spring/summer for butterfly viewing. But there could be lots of mosquitoes here in the warmer months. A very beautiful place."

"This trail surprised me with it's beautiful scenery. It is similar to Cowles Bog, but without the beach blowout. The trail is about 3 miles using the long loop and 2 miles using the short loop."