The beach was littered with trash when we first got on it, trash cans closest to the beach were overflowing, there were gnats and flies eating us alive. The people there were uh weird. read more

West Beach, Indiana Dunes - Overflowing trash can - Beaches Near Me - Gary, Indiana

Absolutely beautiful beach & views of Lake Michigan. This national park is awesome. The trails were amazing & easily accessible. Lifeguards on duty, although there was a riptide warning & no swimming when we were there mid August. Concession stand had lots of choices. We got a Chicago dog & cheese fries. read more

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Parking for twenty five is insane for in state, the views right and left of industrial waste generators really adds to the Indiana, at least sand was cool for the cloudy weather and bathrooms clean. read more

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This was my first beach and view of Lake Michigan, and it did not disappoint! Easy access with plenty of parking (although we were there in the Fall, so I could see how this great spot would be busy during the Summer peak). We visited during the government shutdown, so didn't get much interpretation along with the site, but entry was free (it is not usually). read more

Hiked the West Beach dune succession trail. It's a 1 mile loop that takes you along the beach. About half was boardwalk and the other portions were sand. The sand is pretty soft so walking wasn't the easiest but the views were great! Easy trail, clean and well kept! We went on Sunday around 4 pm and entrance was free! Unfortunately bathrooms were closed for the season. read more

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West beach is part of the Indiana Dunes National Park. Which is $20 for a day pass for an Indiana resident. I would recommend going to Indiana Dunes State Park. The state park has a $7 day pass for Indiana residents. The State Park has a Pavilion that is closer to the parking. Also, parking is closer to the beach. read more

Came here for a nice beach and swim day! It wasn't as humid as the temp was hovering around 82 degrees. The water was actually chilly at first. Overall, the beach was pretty crowded. I didn't see much trash. It was actually pretty clean. Since you're so close to factories on the beach (or the boats zipping by), you could see an oil sheen across the water. I went in but didn't dip my head underwater. read more

West Beach, Indiana Dunes - Beaches Near Me - Gary, Indiana

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Indiana beaches are better than Chicago Lakefront!! I will say this for many reasons. 1. Clean 2. Crowds are well-behaved 3. Showers available. I like that they have multiple restrooms available as well. Things to keep in mind. Indiana dunes are classified as a national park, so you will pay accordingly to the park. At the time of review, single car pricing is $25. However, you can visit multiple times within 7 days. West Beach has significant parking available. However, I recommend arriving before noon. Otherwise, you will be circling the lot. read more

Enjoyed a day at the beach once we got past the crowd and set up where there weren't many people near us. Warning: it's a long walk from the parking lot to the actual beach with few benches scattered on the walking path. Come prepared with something to haul your beach stuff! The water is fairly clean, but I do wish people would always remember to clean up after themselves. It was great that on the beach there are trash cans to encourage throwing trash away! There were a couple food/drink trucks at the parking lot, but they are high priced in my opinion. We found The restroom at the parking lot to be incredibly dirty with human waste on the floor, so we weren't able to change into dry clothes before leaving... read more

This was our first time to the Michigan beaches and it was an amazing experience. The Lake is huge and it looks beautiful just like an ocean. We decided to go to the West beach as that was what was recommended to us. There's a huge parking lot with tons of spaces. There's a bathroom right at the parking lot entrance and then another right before you get to the beach. The beach is pretty, water is crystal clear and it's a family friendly environment. The only con is the $25 entrance fee. Would recommend checking this location out. read more

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What a great place for hiking. There are enough stairs that you get one heck of a workout (as if the sand wasn't enough). Love the trails at west beach especially the dunes succession trail. If you take it from the parking lot to the beach, you can then just die on the beach for awhile and let the waves put you to sleep. The bathrooms are also really nice. Very important in a place. I don't know why it took a pandemic for me to go here. But since June, I've probably been five or six times. Get there early before the crowds in the summer so you can stake out a place on the beach. Also walk down a little bit and it gets way less crowded. read more

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Came here upon the visitor center's suggestion, did the walk over to West Beach and walked along the beach for a bit. It was full of people and just a beach on Lake Michigan. Pretty mediocre spot, wouldn't go out of my way to come here. read more

Ventured out on a 90 degree day ... the beach was packed and the sand was hot hot hot. We found a nice spot 100 Mts onto the beach with a tree shade . The teen kids had a blast building castles and running in the water... it was priceless to see the happy faces. The entry fee is $6/- . We would certainly come after 4pm next time in the summer.... It's way too hot. read more

West Beach, Indiana Dunes - Beaches Near Me - Gary, Indiana

Wow! All I can say is WOW!!!!! What a beautiful place to see. This place was absolutely gorgeous!!! The sand is white and the waves were perfect and the sand hills where just a dream and right across the way you can see the beautiful buildings of Chicago. They had a stairway trail that was perfect for a little hike/walk. Good size parking lot and it was free entrance when I went, but there is a booth for a charging fee so keep in mind there is a possibility of charge. But what really blew me back was how CLEAN it was!! I was amazed honestly, not one piece of garbage was seen. The only reason this place doesn't get 5 starts is because the smell was so bad! Not exactly sure if it was from the factories nearby but holy moly ahah a gush of wind will go by and hit your nostrils causing you to cover your face a bit ahaha but it is tolerable to some. *No dogs allow on beach but they can do the hike but have to be on leash. *Bathrooms were very warm around this time of the year which was perfect because they helped me defrost a bit and they were also very clean. *no alcohol allow on beach. read more

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Beach is fairly clean. Have a nice area for showers,and food. But if you bring your own snacks I recommend going to an area where lifeguards don't need to be on duty. About 50 yds away from nearest life guard and because there wasn't one on duty where we sat they kept coming by with their whistle telling everyone to get out of the water citing lack of staffing despite them having the resources to constantly come down and usher people out of the water. Better off going extra 50 yds east where you can swim without lifeguards and have an annoying free more relaxing day. read more

We visited in early May to hike the Dune Succession Trail over "Diana's Dune". It's referred to as "scenic but strenuous" on the NP website and I CONCUR. Stairs galore (270 in the first ascent) and sand terrain. Gorgeous views of Lake MI and the Chicago skyline. You come out of the wooded area on the shore of the lake and it's a great spot to rest and enjoy the sights and sounds of the water. West Beach Bathhouse has bathrooms, picnic tables, and a covered area in case of rain. Short walk back to the parking lot along a paved road. About a mile in total, but feels like a lot longer if you are not athletic. read more

Great beach, clean beach and water. The access was a little far from parking and bbq area, but we made it work. read more

West Beach, Indiana Dunes - Beach - Beaches Near Me - Gary, Indiana

Beautiful area with high, sweeping dunes and bright blue water. Miles of beach front to walk up and down and a paved a path leading up to it. Bathrooms were closed due to COVID. We went a Tuesday afternoon and there were about 20-25 people on the beach but everyone was being respectful of distancing. Dogs are allowed on this beach and there were quite a few. There was also the succession trail off the same parking lot but we didn't want to brave flights of steps with the dogs. read more

West Beach, Indiana Dunes - Beaches Near Me - Gary, Indiana

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I love the dunes but we've decided we are done with this beach. There are signs posted but no enforcement of this being a "no pets allowed" beach. In addition, people were not cleaning up after their pets, we witnessed owners kicking a little sand over their pets deposits. I could deal with the shortness of the beach (not much left of it) and the crowds but we also found the amount of pot smoke in the air did not make this a family friendly option. read more

West Beach, Indiana Dunes - Beaches Near Me - Gary, Indiana

We recently roadtripped our way from Buffalo NY to Indiana to visit for a couple days at Indiana Dunes National Park. We stopped by the visitor center to ask for recommendations on which beach is best for families, and the park ranger pointed us to West Beach. We came on a day that was sweltering hot, so the cool waves of Lake Michigan were well received by our whole fam'! From the parking lot, the walk to the beach is a bit of a trek. But it is an accessible boardwalk the whole way down to the beach. There are bathrooms both near the parking lot, and down next to the beach. The bathrooms by the beach have shower facilities to rinse off sand, but nothing private to actually take a proper shower, just for a sand hose-down. The beach itself was large and long. There was plenty of room to spread out from other beach-goers. Swimming is swim at your own risk, with no lifeguards on duty. But the water was fairly shallow, and actually got more shallow as you went further out into the lake. Still of course keep an eye on any little ones you have, since there are not lifeguards. We spread out our beach blanket, and enjoyed the water for several hours one hot afternoon. At the parking lot you can see a boardwalk and stairway trail that ascends the nearby dune. But we did not hike the trail on the day we were there because it was just to stiflingly hot. We had a nice time relaxing at West Beach during our visit to the Dunes! read more

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Love this beach! It's dog friendly and so much fun! We bring our dogs here multiple times in the summer. It's close and only 6$ to get in. Me and my husband both grew up by the beach so we love a mini get away but driving to Florida is insane, this only takes us 2 hrs and 30 min from Indianapolis so it's been our new mini getaway spot. The beach is clean, everyone is super nice and it may not be "allowed" but most people let their dog off the leash to play in the water! All the dog people kinda band together to keep an eye on other off the leash dogs so they can play together. There's tons of space, even on the 4th of July it wasn't crazy crowded to the point where we didn't have room to let the dogs run. read more

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This beach is fairly convenient! It closes at dusk! If you are going on Memorial Day weekend, show up right when they open. The park rangers were checking coolers that weekend! Seen a lot of people have to throw away good beer, which I consider a loss of good alcohol, moment of silence.... By 1pm, their parking lot was full. It is $6 for passenger cars to park and it's cash only, so don't say I didn't warn you! Lather on the sunscreen and enjoy! read more

West Beach, Indiana Dunes - Beaches Near Me - Gary, Indiana

Excellent beach. Tons of sand, sun and surf. Life guards are on duty till around 5:30-6:00ish. I wasn't wearing a watch. There's a shower/bathroom/concession building that isn't immaculately clean or anything but works fine. The concession people leave at 5pm. There are several rather adventurous trails that with my little ones we didn't get to experience. I'm going with 5 stars here because it's a beach that makes you feel like you are on the coast, except with freshwater! No salt water in your eyes! We will be going here very often from now on. read more

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I was excited to start beaching on this hot Monday summer day, but when I arrived all I found was pavement and a lot of cars. It had a restroom and a charging station but no water or sand. Would recommend if u like parking lots. read more

West Beach, Indiana Dunes - Beaches Near Me - Gary, Indiana

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The beach is lovely but due to high water in 2019, more narrow than would be nice. Still, we showed up at noon and easily parked and had a good afternoon. Wish they'd ban smoking. Heard a complaint about litter read more

Oh, the dunes. How I love you so. Listen, if you've read any of my past outdoors-y reviews, you know this about me: I am chronically NOT outdoorsy. I hate the sun. I hate bugs. I hate the heat. Most of all, I loathe summer. Like...a LOT. Suffice to say, barring a post-prom experience in high school (read as also: a long *ss time ago), I haven't been to the dunes in warm weather. And I have zero intention of changing that. But autumn? Spring? Hell, even winter...this is my jam, yo. My bigger kids can't enough of scaling the "sand mountains". My littler ones can't get enough of running just close enough to the water to make my heart stop every now & then. My husband and I are avid sea glass collectors. It's beautiful, rather clean, scenic, & extraordinarily peaceful (because again...off peak times = not a whole lot of people there). It's easily one of my favorite outdoorsy places, even as a true hater of the outdoors. Five stars for all seasons except summer. You're on your own for that one. :) read more

Our first time there all I could say was wow My expectations weren't very high so when we went I started looking around and noticed that the beach was really nice and the area was nice, the great thing is that parking is within 100 yards off the beach. It cost $10 per car to get in however you can bring coolers and umbrellas. They have a concession stand that sells alcohol and snacks, prices were pretty reasonable I was really amazed at how clear the water was even out 30 to 50 feet out on The Sandbar The place is easy to get to and you don't have to do a lot of walking in order to enjoy yourself on the beach read more

Fantastic! I went up the stairway trail and it's intense. About 500 stairs up and down and then walked up and down Sandhills. It's very pretty. I had my dog and they are not allowed at the beach so I didn't think I would be able to see the beach but the trail ended on it so we had to take the beach to get to the parking lot where we were parked because my husband said he wasn't walking those stairs back lol. I loved it read more

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Pretty darn closest thing to heaven considering its proximity to Chicago and the interstate corridor. The drive from the entrance road alone is great. Access the parking lot, park, walk about a block and a half's distance to the building structure that is the entryway to the beach. On the walk to the beach you are transported to a different place and time - just seeing the dunes and the dune ecosystem is special. Walk through the portal from the building to the steps leading to the beach and you see sand and water. It's so clean (thank you pedestrians who care enough!). You can see Chicago's skyline as a small postage stamp in the far distance. I seriously want to live close by so I can visit any time I want. read more

There were way too many people and not enough beach. The scenery might be pretty but the crowds were overwhelming. You can bring coolers in, but make sure it has wheels. It's a trek to the beach from the parking lot. I would rather find a beach that is less popular. read more

Love the Dunes! This beach in particular had tons of parking, however it's a $6 fee to get in (some others are free). There's also a bit of a walk to the beach and some stairs, but nothing too intense. There's a huge staircase trail that's also available if you want to get in some exercise instead of just having a lazy beach day, like I do. I went on Memorial Day weekend (opening day) so it was absolutely packed, but we still found a spot not too far down the beach. Bathrooms are also available in a building, which is a nice touch. read more

Great Beach for sure. My fiance and I went there on a Tuesday so I cannot speak for the Week end, They have life Guards and the beach was clean. Beach was not over crowded at all, about 100 yards or less (not Far) from the Beach you have a Concession stand with the norm, place to take a shower and restrooms all underneath a pavilion with plenty of room. I have been all over the Dunes and can say its a Gem for sure. Oh. you can see Chicago to the North West of the beach its kinda neat but the views to the east and west not so good because of Factories. Still its nice and clean read more

Hard to believe you're still in Indiana! Beautiful scenery and plenty of area for swimming. Life guards were on duty and very helpful about explaining weather conditions to keep everyone safe. Had so much fun spending the day here. Convenient bath house for bathroom breaks and changing clothing when you have little ones with you. read more

Beautiful! 100x better than the Chicago beaches. Not very crowded and amazing views of water and nature. I have gone to quite a few beaches in the Indiana and Michigan area and this is one of my favorites because you can bring your rafts and floats here. read more

I absolutely love the Dunes. You'll catch me spending most of my summer here. Firstly, the place is clean and natural. It's easy to tell how serious the park managers are about keeping this area preserved. The only spot that isn't so tidy is the bathrooms/showers, but this is understandable, seeing as a ton of people are dragging their sandy feet onto the wet floor. The lifeguards try their best to keep the showers and floors clean in addition to the toilets unclogged. There's a concession stand upstairs in the building that surprisingly isn't that pricey. The food is delicious. I always get a cheeseburger and a nice, cold strawberry shortcake as a treat while I lounge in the sun. Because there's a ton of space, people are usually spread out so overcrowding isn't an issue. You can bring coolers, tents, chairs, umbrellas... anything your heart desires with the exception of inflatables or boogie boards. The lifeguards are strict on this rule because they don't want any beach balls, floaties, or inner tubes drifting out into Lake Michigan. Save these bad boys for the local public pool. Climbing the dunes is a lot of fun and exercise depending on the size of the one you tackle. It can be tough, but the reward of running down them full speed with the wind blowing through your hair really makes it worth it. Nothing beats a tan (or sunburn! Seriously, put on that sunscreen!) from the Dunes. I have my best summer memories here. :) read more

love it, nature, sand dunes, peace and quiet, it's clean, great for the family, especially if you like to hike, great place to "zen"