Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, authorized by Congress in 1966, is located approximately 50 miles southeast of Chicago, Illinois in the counties of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte in Northwest Indiana. The national lakeshore runs for nearly 25 miles along southern Lake Michigan, bordered by Michigan City, Indiana on the east, and Gary on the west. The park contains approximately 15,000 acres, 2,182 of which are located in Indiana Dunes State Park and managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Miles of beaches, sand dunes, bog, wetlands, woodland forests, an 1830's French Canadian homestead, and a working 1900 era farm combine to make the national lakeshore a unique setting for studying humans and their impact on the environment. Dr. Henry Cowles conducted his landmark ecological studies in the Indiana Dunes. Indiana Dunes is ranked 7th among national parks in native plant diversity. Research conducted over the last two decades has revealed 1,418 vascular plant species within park boundaries, of which over 90 are on the state of Indiana's threatened or endangered list.
J. Edward Roush Lake A 900 acre lake, J. Edward Roush Lake was formerly known as Huntington Lake. It is located in north central Indiana and lies in an area rich in Native American history. The lake was completed by the Corps of Engineers in 1968.
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial On this southern Indiana farm, Abraham Lincoln spent fourteen of the most formative years of his life and grew from youth into manhood. His mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, is buried here.
Mississinewa Lake In an area rich in Indian history, the 3,180 acre Mississinewa Lake includes both State and Corps managed recreation areas. The name, "Mississinewa" was derived for the Miami Indian word for "water on a slope." The lake was completed by the Corps of Engineers in 1967.
Monroe Lake Indiana's largest lake, near the Indiana University campus, features a scenic stone-bluffed shoreline and wooded hills. Monroe Lake is located in south central Indiana. The lake was completed by the Corps of Engineers in 1965.While this area of southern Indiana is known as the "The Limestone Capital of the World," at one time it also had several salt deposits, creating a lucrative trade by rafting the mined salt down the creek that would one day become Monroe Lake. Hence the name, Salt Creek.
