The range of activities makes this a great pet and family-friendly park to visitĬhesterton, IN 46304 Driving Distance From Chicago Some of the highlights of Indiana Dunes State Park include the wide variety of beautiful landscapes and scenery that visitors can enjoy along with the amazing hiking trails in the park. If you prefer something a bit different, the lakeside beaches also have swimming and other beachside activities available throughout summer. If you don’t love climbing sand dunes, check out the many other hiking trails.

The park even has a ‘3 dune challenge’ which involves attempting to hike the three tallest dunes. The park has a variety of ecological systems and landscapes, ranging from rich forests to marshes to towering sand dunes. This is quite unusual but can also be seen as an indicator of the breadth of important environments and the significance of this area. Indiana Dunes State Park is an interesting park as it is a state park surrounded by a national park. Baldy in the Indiana Dunes State Park Indiana Dunes State Park, Indiana The park is situated in Will County, just under an hour’s drive from Chicago. AddressĬhannahon, IL, 60410 Driving Distance From Chicago The many rivers provide a wide variety of fish for keen fishers and different difficulty levels for canoeing. HighlightsĮxperience traditional camping without all the modern conveniences a vehicle can provide, or simply stroll through the park for a picnic. The park is also popular for picnics, canoeing, and fishing. This means campers must do “primitive tent camping”, only using gear that can be walked to the campsite. The park is somewhat unique in that camping is allowed but vehicular access is not. The name ‘Channahon’ comes from a Native American word meaning “the meeting of the waters”, as the park is on the convergence of the Dupage, Des Plaines, and Kankakee Rivers. Channahon State Park, IllinoisĬhannahon State Park has played a significant role in history over the years before its current place as a calm and relaxing park.

We sorted these state parks by driving time with the parks closest to Chicago first. You'll find a little dirt trail leading up, but I think that is just for general maintenance of the Mound.The I&M canal in Channahon State Park Best Parks to Visit near Chicago So do all your walking on the flat grass or your meditation. As it is disrespectful anyways to those buried below, to trample over them. Please be aware that you are advised per one of the signs, not to walk on the mound. There are a couple benches that are perfect for enjoying a nice breeze. There is a little parking along the gravel strip in front of the mound along the street. Here at Shrum, the Mound was used for burial purposes. There were linear, effigy, conical and compound. Mound useage ranged from containing deceased tribe members as burial grounds, along with artifacts, or were used for rituals, or for residential living. They were the first to build Mounds and were located in Southern Ohio Today while checking out this beautiful Mound, I learned about the Adena culture and their part in history, from their traditions to their geographic location. The Adena culture seems to be one of those interconnected groups. There were tons upon tons of tribes with many tribes actually being interconnected.

Beautiful nature scenery near me