Paul H. Douglas Trail

The trail starts at the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education and winds its way around a wetland full of wildlife including beavers. The trail then turns north, featuring beautiful scenery with small interdunal ponds nestled among oak savanna covered dunes teeming with wildflowers in the spring and summer. Once you cross the bridge over the Grand Calumet River, the landscape changes dramatically into a world of towering sand dunes. The trail winds around and through the dunes all the way the shore of Lake Michigan.The trail surface is mostly sand with some sections of packed soil, gravel or boardwalk. The round trip trail distance is 3.4 miles. This route will take longer than you think due the loose footing of making your way in the sand. The trail starts in relative shade but ends in the full sun. Please bring plenty of water, sun protection and dress in layers. The weather on the beach can be dramatically different than in the woods.

This trail is a partnership between the National Park Service and the City of Gary, IN.Indiana Dunes National Park (formerly national lakeshore) was established to preserve portions of the Indiana Dunes and other areas of scenic, scientific, historic and recreational value. Up to two million annual visitors enjoy the park's 15,000 acres of wetlands, prairies, sand dunes, oak savannas, forests, and historic sites. The park's 15 miles of beaches hug the southern shore of Lake Michigan from Gary, IN, to Michigan City, IN. For more information, visit https://www.nps.gov/indu or https://www.facebook.com/IndianaDunesNPS.In 2019, the trail name was changed from the Miller Woods Trail to the Paul H. Douglas Trail.