Indiana

Indiana offers Lake Michigan dune-climbing and beaches, hiking ravines and forests, paddling rivers, and cycling rail-trails. Indiana Dunes National Park, the rugged ravines of Turkey Run and Shades state parks, Brown County State Park (the 'Little Smokies'), and the caves of the south anchor it.

Fall (October) is superb for color, especially in Brown County; summer is prime for the Lake Michigan dunes and beaches. Spring brings wildflowers and flowing creeks in the sandstone gorges.

White-tailed deer, wild turkeys, and increasing numbers of bald eagles inhabit the state, while the Indiana Dunes' remarkable plant diversity and migratory birds draw naturalists.

The Indiana Dunes are famously biodiverse — a meeting of prairie, forest, wetland, and dune that helped found the science of ecology (Henry Cowles studied succession here) — amid a landscape of farmland, hardwood forest, and karst.

Glaciers flattened northern and central Indiana, while the unglaciated south holds rugged hills, sandstone gorges, and extensive limestone karst with major cave systems. Lake Michigan's shore built the great dunes, and Hoosier Hill (1,257 ft) is the modest high point.

The Miami, Potawatomi, and other peoples inhabited the region before removal. Indiana became the 19th state in 1816, its name meaning 'Land of the Indians.'

Brown County's arts-and-autumn tradition, Lake Michigan beach culture, and a strong state-park heritage define Indiana's outdoors.

Protecting the biodiverse Indiana Dunes amid heavy industry, restoring wetlands and prairie, and conserving cave ecosystems are leading concerns.

Indianapolis is the main airport; the Dunes are reached from Chicago (about an hour). A vehicle is essential for the rural parks and caves.

Lake Michigan rip currents are a real danger at the dunes — heed warnings. Summer heat, storms, and ticks, plus steep, slick gorge trails after rain, warrant caution.

State parks charge a fee, and the Indiana DNR administers licenses; Indiana Dunes National Park requires a pass for the beach areas.

Heed Lake Michigan rip-current warnings, and stay on gorge trails after rain.

Climb the dunes and swim Lake Michigan in summer (watch currents), hike the dramatic gorges at Turkey Run, and visit Brown County in October for the best color.

Indiana borders Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois, linking the Great Lakes, the Ohio River, and the cave country of the Midwest.