I went
here yesterday.
On the way there, there was this eerie wind farm that had hundreds of turbines, as far as the eye could see, for 11 miles. They were just all silently turning, some at different rates, and something about them freaks me out a little.
This is the view between the parking lot and beach...acres and acres of beautiful dunes anchored by grasses and trees.
This is the staircase that's part of the Succession trail. The college where I did my Bio undergrad is very near this, and during one of my field botany classes I had to hike this damned thing at least twice a week, rain or shine, charting the locations of sand cherry trees and jack pines. My calves got huge.
More beautiful dunes shots:
Some of the flora and fauna here are completely unique and can't be found anywhere else in the world.
They discourage going off-trail because disturbing the grasses causes the dunes to shift, covering paths and structures. People do it, though.
Between the dunes and beach there's a bath house. There are usually rangers there to discourage all fuckery literal and figurative. Walking through the bath house, the beach opens up before you with this amazing view:
Look to your left, and there's Gary and Chicago off in the distance.
See Chicago? That hazy group of skyscrapers out there?
The path to the right leads to various trails.
continued...