West Beach, Indiana Dunes National Park

West Beach in Indiana Dunes National Park near Portage, Indiana, is a beach on the southern shore of Lake Michigan and, according to Wikivoyage, the largest and most visited beach in the park, with the best facilities. The area shows the sequence of dune vegetation from open sand to oak forest. The park was established as a National Lakeshore in 1966 and became a national park in 2019.

The Dune Succession Trail is a loop of about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) with more than 270 stairs and roughly 81 feet (25 m) of climbing; allow about 45 minutes. From the top you look out over Lake Michigan, and Chicago is visible in the distance. The trail shows four stages of dune development. Together with the two other loops you get 3.4 miles (5.5 km) and about 2.5 hours. The paved parking lot holds 600 cars and 20 buses or RVs; the beach is 0.3 to 0.5 miles (0.5 to 0.8 km) away. Showers and lockers are seasonal. Expect ticks year-round, poison ivy grows along the trail edges, and lifeguards have not always been on duty recently, so ask at the visitor center before you swim (as of October 2026).