Indiana Dunes National Park is the first in Indiana, and at about 40 miles from downtown Chicago, the nearest to the city by a large distance. It became the nation’s 61st national park in February.
The Dunes are a popular destination, with more than 1.7 million visitors in 2018.
Before the Dunes, the most recent place to be designated a national park was the Gateway Arch in St. Louis in February 2018. Prior to that was Pinnacles National Park in California in January 2013.
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Chicago
DETAIL
AREA
Indiana
Dunes
National
Park
94
65
IND.
Miles
4
Indiana Dunes
State Park
Lake Michigan
94
20
12
INDIANA
90
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Indiana Dunes National Park
12
Indiana Dunes
State Park
Miles
4
Lake Michigan
94
20
Burns
Harbor
Chicago
DETAIL
AREA
94
INDIANA
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65
65
90
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IND.
Portage
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Indiana Dunes National Park
12
Indiana Dunes
State Park
Miles
4
Lake Michigan
94
Burns
Harbor
Chicago
DETAIL
AREA
94
20
INDIANA
90
80
Gary
65
65
INDIANA
Portage
Where national parks are located
Most of the national parks are concentrated in the West. Only 11 of the 61 national parks lie east of the Mississippi River. Meanwhile, there are nine national parks in California alone.
Currently, the closest national parks to Chicago are Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Cuyahoga Valley just outside of Cleveland.
U.S. National Parks and number of visitors
Number of visitors in 2018
- National Parks
- Indiana Dunes National Park
Number of visitors to national parks
Indiana Dunes compares favorably to the national parks in number of visitors, with over 1.7 million visitors last year. In comparison, the eight national parks in Alaska had just under 1.7 million visitors combined.
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#1
Great Smoky
Mountains
National Park
11,421,200
visitors
#15
Indiana Dunes
National
Park
1,756,079
visitors
#61
Gates of the Arctic
National Park
& Preserve
9,591
visitors
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#1
Great Smoky
Mountains
National Park
#15
Indiana Dunes
National
Park
#61
Gates of the Arctic
National Park
& Preserve
11,421,200
visitors
1,756,079
visitors
9,591
visitors
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#15
Indiana
Dunes
National Park
#61
Gates of the Arctic
National Park
& Preserve
11,421,200
visitors
1,756,079
visitors
9,591
visitors
| Rank | Park | State | Visitors in 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | Tennessee, North Carolina | 11,421,200 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon National Park | Arizona | 6,380,495 |
| 4 | Rocky Mountain National Park | Colorado | 4,590,493 |
| 5 | Zion National Park | Utah | 4,320,033 |
| 6 | Yellowstone National Park | Wyoming, Idaho, Montana | 4,115,000 |
| 3 | Yosemite National Park | California | 4,009,436 |
| 8 | Acadia National Park | Maine | 3,537,575 |
| 9 | Grand Teton National Park | Wyoming | 3,270,076 |
| 7 | Olympic National Park | Washington | 3,104,455 |
| 10 | Glacier National Park | Montana | 2,965,309 |
| 15 | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | Indiana | 1,756,079 |
Size of national parks
While the parks in Alaska don’t see as many visitors as the parks in the lower 48 states, they make up for it in size. Alaska’s eight parks are vast, totaling over 31 million acres.
Indiana Dunes is the fifth smallest national park, and the third smallest in the continental U.S. (two of the smaller parks are in the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa).
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#1
Wrangell-St. Elias
National Park
& Preserve
8,323,146
acres
#57
Indiana Dunes
National Park
15,347
acres
#61
Gateway
Arch
193
acres
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#1
Wrangell-St. Elias
National Park & Preserve
#57
Indiana Dunes
National Park
#61
Gateway
Arch
8,323,146
acres
15,347
acres
193
acres
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#1
Wrangell-St. Elias
National Park & Preserve
#57
Indiana Dunes
National Park
#61
Gateway
Arch
8,323,146
acres
193
acres
15,347
acres
| Rank | Park | State | Size, in acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve | Alaska | 8,323,146 |
| 2 | Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve | Alaska | 7,523,897 |
| 3 | Denali National Park & Preserve | Alaska | 4,740,911 |
| 4 | Katmai National Park & Preserve | Alaska | 3,674,529 |
| 5 | Death Valley National Park | California, Nevada | 3,372,981 |
| 6 | Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve | Alaska | 3,223,383 |
| 7 | Lake Clark National Park & Preserve | Alaska | 2,619,816 |
| 8 | Yellowstone National Park | Wyoming, Idaho, Montana | 2,219,791 |
| 9 | Kobuk Valley National Park | Alaska | 1,750,716 |
| 10 | Everglades National Park | Florida | 1,400,539 |
| 57 | Indiana Dunes National Park | Indiana | 15,347 |
Nod to an Illinois senator
The legislation designating the Dunes a National Park also includes a name-change to a trail — from Miller-Woods Trail to Paul H. Douglas Trail. Douglas served in the U.S. Senate from Illinois from 1949 to 1967 and was instrumental in preserving the area. Douglas was a reknown economist from the University of Chicago and also a Chicago alderman. A nature center at the Dunes is also named for Douglas. He died in 1976.
Sources: National Park Service, U.S. Senate, Tribune reporting
Twitter @ChiTribGraphics
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