Miller Woods at Indiana Dunes
The Paul H. Douglas Trail in Miller Woods starts at the Nature Center by the same name, and winds through several habitats including wetlands, globally rare black oak savanna, open dunes and beach.
Portions of the trail skirt edges of interdunal pods, offering glimpses of beaver, waterfowl, turtles and other wildlife. During warm months, these ponds may be explored by kayak if you put in and paddle over from the nearby Marquette Park.
This trail offers wonderfully intimate views of both the dunes and Lake Michigan. The oak savanna's native grasses and wildflowers, including lupine, thrive in the sunlight and open forest floor. May is usually peak lupine season, when they carpet the woodland floor in a stunning, lavender-colored display.
As tempring as it is to clamber over the steep dunes, lease stay on the narrow trail to protect yourself from the abundant poison ivy along the trail edges, and to help preserve this fragile habitat.
Summary:
Miller Woods is part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and consists of several habitats including wetlands, globally rare oak savanna, open dunes and beach.
The savannas native grasses and wildflowers, including lupine, thrive in the sunlight and more open forest floor. The wild lupine, the only food for the caterpillar of the endangered Karner blue butterfly, grows close to the trail.
Perfect weekend-morning escape from Chicago, or a day-long biking destination (bikes are not allowed on trails).
Dig the Dunes Miller Woods page.
National Park Service Miller Woods page.
Friends of Indiana Dunes website.