You are here

Record Visitation Seen At Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 2010

Share

The sandy beaches and cool waters of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore attracted a record number of visitors last year. NPS photo.

Not only did Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore welcome a record number of visitors last year, but most came from out of the immediate area, demonstrating the pull sandy beaches and cool waters can have during a hot summer.

Lakeshore officials tallied 2,165,605 visitors last year, an increase of nearly 12 percent from 2009 levels.

“Surveys show that approximately 80 percent of the park’s visitors are not from the local area,” said Superintendent Costa Dillon. “That means some 1.6 million of these visits are from people outside northwest Indiana contributing to the local economy through tourism spending.”

Nearly 500,000 visitors came to the park in July, the park’s busiest month, and June and August saw more than 300,000 each, according to a release. The Dunewood Campground had 23,439 people stay at least one night either in a tent or a camper.

The 2010 survey of park visitor satisfaction revealed that 91 percent rated the park’s recreation opportunities as 'good' or 'very good.'

The most-visited area of the park was the Lake Michigan shoreline. Visits to individual sites included 172, 840 at Mount Baldy, 118,743 to the Bailly/Chellberg area, 176,920 at West Beach, and 140,304 at Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore includes 15 miles of the southern shoreline of Lake Michigan and 15,000 acres of beach, woods, marshes, and prairie in the northwest corner of Indiana.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.