Day 1: Indiana Dunes and New Buffalo
Indiana Dunes
On Monday, October 12, 2020, I picked up a rental car from Avis and drove a little over an hour to Indiana Dunes. I arrived around 9am and headed straight to the parking lot for the 3 Dunes Challenge, an epic climb up the three tallest sand dunes at Indiana Dunes State Park: Mount Jackson (176 feet), Mount Holden (184 feet), and Mount Tom (192 feet). The views from Mount Jackson and Mount Tom are beautiful, while there isn’t much of a view from Mount Holden, as the top of that dune is covered with trees. The entire route is well marked with colorful “3 Dune Challenge” signs.
According to my Strava app, it took me 34 minutes to conquer the 1.5 mile sand dune hike, with an elevation gain of 552 vertical feet.
After completing the challenge, I hiked a mix of Trail 9 and Trail 10. Starting with Trail 9, I hiked through woodlands before branching off to the right to follow the signs for Trail 10. This section of the hike offers picturesque views alongside the Calumet River and leads northward to hike along the shores of Lake Michigan. As beautiful as it was to walk along the lake, it was quite windy that day. The strong winds prompted me to opt for the shelter of the forested trail, so I rejoined the path for Trail 9. The blend of the two trails showcased the diverse landscapes of the park. According to Strava, I hiked 6.33 miles in 2 hours and 14 minutes.
In total, I spent about 4 hours at Indiana Dunes.
New Buffalo
I left Indiana Dunes around 1pm CT and drove to Lake Country Inn in New Buffalo (now unfortunately closed at the time of this writing).
It was perfect timing, as it started to drizzle just then and turned into a pretty strong storm while I was driving to the inn. After checking into the hotel and freshening up, I watched the storm from the deck of the hotel while editing some of the photos I captured during my time at Indiana Dunes. When the rain subsided, I walked around downtown New Buffalo, heading towards New Buffalo Beach to catch the sunset. It really was a beautiful sight to see!
After watching the sunset, I walked to The Stray Dog Bar & Grill, a popular waterfront dining destination known for its laid-back atmosphere, delicious food, and picturesque views of Lake Michigan, for dinner.
