Trails for Hiking and Biking

Gary’s Miller Beach neighborhood sits at the heart of over 20 miles of interconnected biking and hiking trails. This trail system links the Miller South Shore station, the Indiana Dunes National Park, Marquette Park, and Miller Beach’s shops and restaurants.

Lake Street Bike Path connects it all together:

Paved, off street bike lane along Lake Street, 1.5 miles. Starts at the South Shore’s Miller train station and ends at Miller Woods Beach and Marquette Park on Lake Michigan. In the middle of this path there are 5 blocks of downtown Miller Beach shops and restaurants and a lovely section of the Indiana Dunes National Park.

In that section of the national park, the Douglas Nature Center entrance is only 10 minutes from the train station (or 20 minutes by foot). This is also a connection point to the Marquette Trail, where a new trailhead is scheduled to be paved in 2025.

Continue north to end at Lake Street Beach and Miller Woods Beach on Lake Michigan for a gorgeous Chicago skyline view. At that point, there is a trailhead for Chanute Trail into Marquette Park for scenic Lake Michigan views where you can ride the Marquette Park loop.

This special trail connects many scenic places plus restaurants and shops. It is a “must do” way to visit the national park. It is fairly level, paved the entire way, and off street - making it safe, easy, and fun for a family outing.

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Bayless Dune Trail

Sandy. Take a scenic dune hike through wooded areas, dunes, and blow outs marked with interpretive signage. Located at 8975-9047 Indian Boundary Road, Gary, IN. Inside the Shirley Heinz Preserve in the northeast residential section of the Miller Beach neighborhood.

Photo Credit: Tom Cera

Marquette Park Loop

Paved. 1 1/2 mile. Bike path circling Marquette Park in with gorgeous views of Lake Michigan and oak savanna habitat. Passes the kayak launch on the Calumet Lagoon, the Marquette Pavilion, and the historic Gary Aquatorium.

Beachfront Trail

Sandy. Over 3.5 miles of beautiful public beaches are open year round for walking along the Lake Michigan. Miller Woods Beach starts at the west end, to Lake Street Beach, then Marquette Beach, stretching east across the entire Miller Beach neighborhood. Public parking available Lake Street beach, Marquette Park Beach, Wells Street Beach and West Beach. Miller Beach has 3.5 miles of the 15 miles of Indiana Dunes beaches, all lined by lovely sand dunes.

Miller Woods Trail

Sandy. 1 1/2 mile. This trail connects to the Paul H Douglas Center and winds through oak savannas habitat, dune and swale habitat, across the Calumet Lagoon, thru sand dunes, and ends up on Miller Woods Beach, the westernmost beach in the Indiana Dunes National Park with gorgeous views of Chicago. It features an awe inspiring bloom of millions of lupines every May that is lauded as a beautiful sensory experience in many nature books and publications. .

Chanute Trail

Paved. Connects Lake Street Beach and Marquette Beach. Extensive views of wetlands and open dunes, with peeks of Lake Michigan.

There is trailhead at the east end of the Lake Street Beach parking lot and from the west end of Marquette Park beach parking lots. Connects to the Lake Street Bike Path.

Take any of the sandy paths north of the paved trail to access the beach. This fun trail is easy to walk, or bicycle between two beach areas.

Nelson Algren / Simone de Beauvoir Trail

Paved. Short connection to Marquette Park Pavilion from east end of Forest Avenue off of Lake Street. Oak savannas & views of the Calumet Lagoon. Begins adjacent to the former home of famous author Nelson Algren at the end of Forest Avenue near the Calumet lagoon and let’s out next to the Marquette Pavillion in Marquette Park.

Author Nelson Algren wrote his book “Man with the Golden Arm” here winning the National Book Award for Fiction. It was made into a movie starring Frank Sinatra.

Paul H. Douglas Trail and ADA loop (Miller Woods)

Paved. Gorgeous views and trails through wooded areas and interdunal ponds. Lovely picnic areas with grills. Boardwalk trail leads hikers over a beautiful interdunal pond and marshlands. 1 mile hard pack trail loop is suitable for people with disabilities or families with strollers. Enter next to the Paul H. Douglas Center (the western visitor center for the Indiana Dunes National Park). Hikers can follow the trail north to reach Lake Michigan and Miller Woods Beach.

This is the only section of the national park that features globally rare dune and swale topography and it has extensive oak savannas. Because of its diverse habitats and rich history, the Indiana Dunes National Park chose to dedicate the park here in 2019.

Marquette Trail

Hard Pack/ Gravel. (aka Marquette Greenway Trail) Beautiful views of Long Lake, scenic wetlands with beaver lodges, oak savannas, and forested dunes. This east- west trail connects West Beach to the Douglas Nature Center on Lake Street.

Cuts through the center of the Miller Beach neighborhood. Additional trailheads at Grand Avenue and Montgomery Streets about 1/2 mile south of the lake. Note: Grand Avenue to West Beach is great for bike riding. Grand Avenue to the Paul H. Douglas Center parking lot is good for hiking and not recommended for biking at this time. West of Lake Street is rough gravel. The intersection with Lake Street is only 2 blocks north of downtown Miller Beach.

This is a 6 mile section of the 60 mile regional Marquette Trail that starts in Chicago and ends in New Buffalo, Michigan. This section is all within the Indiana Dunes National Park and connects two sections of the national park together.

This trail is scheduled for paving from West Beach to Lake Street, and then west from Lake Street to downtown Gary in 2025 (at Broadway near Union Station).

The National Park Service has been seeding a pollinator trail on this greenway which creates colorful beauty through all of the bloom seasons.

West Beach - Indiana Dunes National Park

Sandy & Boardwalks. The West Beach area at Indiana Dunes National Park is located at the eastern end of the Miller Beach neighborhood. This is the site of “Diana of the Dunes Dare” famous Succession Trail (which inspired the theory of Ecological Succession). It starts at the beach and winds through dunes, pines, deciduous forest, and up many stairs to a scenic overview with panoramic views of the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan. The West Beach trails include The Long Lake Trail, the West Beach trail, and the Dune Succession Trails, which wind through wetlands and dunes. Listed as an Important Birding Area by the Audubon Society.

Diana of the Dunes (her real name was Mabel Gray) lived in this section of the national park but was a frequent visitor in the “Town of Miller”, now known as Miller Beach to see friends and get provisions.