Great Marsh Restoration

Review

For a more recent Great Marsh trip, click here.

Where in the Midwest is it?

 

As a life-long Chicago resident, I have witnessed the changes taking place in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore over about three decades, and the results are nothing short of astounding. Although Indiana’s Lake Michigan shoreline is short compared to other states with whom it is shared, and although it is dotted with industry, conservation efforts and their fruits are nowhere more evident than at the Great Marsh.

Located in Beverly Shores, Indiana, the Great Marsh has been heavily degraded due to local industrial activity, draining, some residential development, and subsequent invasion by non-native plant species. The area is very important to migratory birds. Its location at the southern end of Lake Michigan is where flight paths of many migratory species merge together as birds follow the shore of the lake. In recent years, National Park Service staff at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore have been actively re-establishing emergent marsh and sedge meadow wetland habitat within the Great Marsh at Beverly Shores by restoring the hydrology of the area and controlling invasive species. 

There is a short official trail and boardwalk designated for viewing the marsh and for birdwatching. However, there are many ways one can extend the adventure and enjoyment of the area by walking or biking over lightly traveled adjacent roads, some of which have fallen into disrepair, and are no longer passable by car, the nearby Calumet Trail, or —in cold weather— even the Lake Michigan beach using fatbikes.

If you set out on foot, consider walking up S. Broadway about 1/2 block north from the Great Marsh trail entrance, and you will find an unmarked unmaintained paved road, which is not open to cars, but passable on foot or by bike. Following this road, you will come to a small homemade wooden foot bridge, where you can sit in complete solitude, surrounded by the enormous marsh with only the sound of birds to keep you company.

If you have a small bike like a Brompton with you, this will definitely expand you exploration range. When you emerge back on the road, you can continue exploring the area by following Beverly Drive, a lightly-used local access route, where drivers are quite accustomed to cyclists and pedestrians. Biking along Beverly offers great, uninterrupted views of the marsh and good opportunities for birdwatching. After a six decade absence, sandhill cranes have started to nest again in the Great Marsh. You can spot individual pairs, or — if you are patient and observant— you may be lucky enough to see a whole flock on tufts of vegetation deep within the marsh.

For cold-season adventure, you could roll out a fat-wheel bike, which will open up even more exploration options. Weather and wave-action permitting, you may be able to skits along the hard-packed beach sand, and explore numerous now-disused roadways that once served as access points to homesteads that no longer exist. After heading up the beach one way, take a connecting road out to the Calumet trail and complete your loop in the opposite direction. Note that the Calumet Trail is unpaved and seasonally prone to heavy flooding. If you have a fatbike, and are open to adventure, this should not be a problem, and if you happen to do your adventure in the spring, you’ll be rewarded with a concert of peepers.

Any and all of these options are completely doable as a day trip from Chicago if you drive or take the train to Beverly Shores. Of course, it’s also possible to cycle here from Chicago, and camping is available in both the State Park and the National Park Dunewood Campground facilities.

National Park Service Great Marsh page.

Shirley Heinze Land Trust Great Marsh Project