After visiting the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education in the Miller Woods section of Indiana Dunes National Park, we continued our day with a pleasant walk in the woods along two loops of the Paul H. Douglas Trail. The two loops combine for an approximately one-mile hike. We also hiked out toward the beach about a tenth of a mile to see the results of some beaver activity. From where we turned around, the trail continues another mile to the beach. We also explored the accessible picnic area and trail west of the center.
After descending the stairs at the entrance to the center, we hiked the northern leg of the eastern loop before crossing the pond on an accessible bridge and hiking the western loop in a clockwise direction. About two-thirds of the way around the western loop, we took a sharp left onto the beach trail for a short distance before returning to complete the western loop. After crossing the pond a second time on the bridge, we completed the southern leg of the eastern loop and climbed the stairs back to the front of the center and the pedestrian overpass over Lake Street that leads to the large, paved parking area.
We hiked this trail during our late October 2019 trip to the park.
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| Street map with GPS route |
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| Stairs from the center to the trail |
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| Trailhead kiosk |
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| Typical initial trail conditions |
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| Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education |
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| One of several ponds along the way |
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| Another view of the pond |
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| Miller Woods |
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| An accessible bridge crosses the pond to create the two loops on the trail |
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| Crossing the pond on the accessible bridge |
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| A flock of Canadian geese from the bridge |
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| Wildlife viewing area on the bridge |
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| Southern leg of the western loop |
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| A riot of color |
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| Black oak savanna of Miller Woods |
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| Climbing the hill at the southwest corner of the loop |
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| View northeast of the pond |
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| Beaver lodge |
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| Pond west of the trail |
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| Another view |
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| View east with beaver lodge and connecting bridge |
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| More of the pond west of the trail |
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| View west from a hilltop |
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| Another beaver lodge |
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| On the beach trail |
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| Beavers have been busy |
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| Several trees cut down by beavers |
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| The Norfolk Southern mainline to Chicago borders the woods to the south |
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| Returning to the loop trail |
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| Typical trail conditions |
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| More savanna |
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| Approaching the connecting trail |
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| Return trip to the trailhead is on packed gravel |
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| Benches and under-construction stairs |
Entry to Indiana Dunes National Park is free. However, an expanded amenity fee of $6 daily is collected at West Beach from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend through the Monday of Labor Day weekend from 8:00 am to as late as 7:00 pm Central Time. This fee is used to provide the bathhouse and lifeguard service.
The park website is https://www.nps.gov/indu/index.htm.
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