The Indiana Dunes National Park is a year-round destination for enjoying the outdoors, whether that means relaxing on the beach, hiking the sandy trails, boating or learning more about the unique environment at the southern tip of Lake Michigan.
But that’s never more true than during the Outdoor Adventure Festival, an annual fall event that highlights all the activities that the park and the surrounding area have to offer.
“When we started brainstorming this event in 2016, we wanted to create a fall festival that showcased everything available in the park and this region,” said Rafi Wilkinson, a park ranger at Indiana Dunes National Park and one of the festival organizers. “That includes the state parks, city parks and anyone else who wants to get involved.”
The festival — Sept. 9-11 this year — has evolved to include more than 50 activities, ranging from self-guided hikes to photography lessons, paddle trips, yoga classes, bike rides and nature education. Most of the events are free with admission to the park, although some require an additional fee and registration.
“If you look over the schedule, you can see the breadth of all there is to do here,” Wilkinson said. “No one could ever do it all in one weekend, but you can pick and choose different ways to explore the park.”
This year’s festival has also combined elements from a previous apple festival into the outdoor fest, centering kids’ activities and other events around the Chellberg Farm located in the park.
“We decided to fold the apple festival into our outdoor festival and make it one big event,” Wilkinson said. “It adds a bunch of kid-friendly events and some more cultural elements to the other more outdoor-focused activities.”
Chellberg Farm, a restored historic home in the park that recreates how farmers lived in the early 1900s, serves as the gathering point for many festival events. Demonstrations there will include learning how to make applesauce, apple butter, apple cider and apple vinegar.
Live music and food vendors will be at the farm Sept. 10-11, and kids can help feed the farm animals each day at 4:30 p.m. Wagon rides will also be available for a suggested donation to help support the farm operations.
Those looking for more active ways to explore the park have plenty of options. Many outings are led by either rangers or other experts to help visitors better understand the surrounding environment. For instance, a ranger will lead a hike to the top of the park’s iconic Mount Baldy. Or you can take a bike ride around the area with a geology professor who will speak on the area’s history since the last ice age.
“Most people don’t realize that northwest Indiana was covered by a sheet of ice,” Wilkinson said. “You get to learn about the geography of the region (on this ride) and see for yourself how this place was created.”
The festival includes many natural adventures for the kids, including pond explorations, nature hikes and animal encounters. Join a photographer to get tips on taking the perfect sunset shot in the evening, or take a 90-minute boat tour on Lake Michigan to get a different view of the coastal dunes.
“If you’ve never seen the park from the water, it gives you a different perspective,” Wilkinson said.
Those looking for a little more sweat in their adventure can take on America’s Race, a 5K and 10K obstacle course run Sept. 11. The event, organized by the creator of Leon’s Triathlon, is designed to commemorate the Sept. 11 attacks and honor the military and first responders.
Participants will be expected to do army crawls, carry sandbags, drag dummies and conquer other obstacles along the American-history-themed course.
“They really do a good job — it’s a sight to behold as you drive up the West Beach Entrance and see all the American flags,” Wilkinson said. “They really pay tribute to our armed forces and our veterans.”
The National Park enthusiasts can enjoy a presentation by a couple who have visited all 423 National Park units, and history buffs will enjoy the Fur Trader Encampment, a recreation of the area’s fur-trading past. Re-enactors will portray the French-Canadian voyageurs in dress, food and lifestyle from the 1700s.
While the Indiana Dunes has experienced a nearly doubling of visitors since it became a national park in 2019 — it had been a national lakeshore since 1966 — Wilkinson said the park remains very accessible.
“The fact that we’re a national park now draws a lot of attention,” he said. “But we’ve got plenty of room. We’re not like some of the parks you read about out west that have to limit visitors … it’s still a place where it’s easy to find some solitude and enjoy nature.”
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Indiana Dunes Outdoor Adventure Festival
When: Sept. 9-11
Where: 1215 N. State Road 49, Porter
Tickets: $7 per car for in-state drivers, $12 for out-of-state drivers; some events charge additional fee, registration
Information: 219-395-1882; dunesoutdoorfestival.com
Jeff Banowetz is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.