Warren Dunes SP, MI to Indiana Dunes National Park, IN

August 31, 2023

Day 6

Today was an exciting day. I wasn't riding routes from my previous ride in this area, I was riding my bike for the first time to a national park and we got lost for the first time with a minor wrong turn.

This morning we got up around 8 am. which was a testament to how quiet this camp is. Apart from the distant freeway noise it was just us with nature. Once we were all packed up we rode over to the modern camp to eat our breakfast and make our final preparation to ride for the day, which usually includes some chamois cream and suntan lotion. In all the right places of course.

We left the State Park at 10 am. as we didn't need to get to Michigan City until 1 pm. when the lighthouse opened, starting our day on the Red Arrow Highway which wasn't particularly busy.

We left the highway somewhere near Lakeside and took Lakeshore Road through some private communities but were not restricted to pass through.

Barren Public beach. A small trail took us down to this beach amongst all the private beaches in the area.

Barren Public beach. Somewhat vague, what is the shore?

We arrived at New Buffalo via Marquette Drive and stopped to look at the replica lighthouse that actually looks nothing like the lighthouse that was here in the 1800s.

While there we climbed the stairs up into the sand dunes for a better view. What a great day, very little wind and clear skies with people around getting an early start on their Larbor Weekend holiday.

New Buffalo Lighthouse

The New Buffalo Lighthouse no longer exists.

History:

1839-40: Erected
1858: Not exhibited again after the close of the lake for the winter.
1859: Officially discontinued August 1, 1859
1861: Bricks and metal work sold
1862: Keepers house sold

Leaving town we picked up Bike Route 35 again, I suspected it did not arrive in New Buffalo the same way we did. We lucked upon some generous people that had free tomatoes outside their home. Not to pass up free food we grabbed a bag and selected some of the different varieties.

The route took us back towards the Red Arrow Highway and this would be the last we saw of Bike Route 35 as it headed east and ultimately south into Indiana. Many miles later it finishes in Jeffersonville, Indiana close to where I work.

Our route was to take us further southwest around the lake and we also had a motive to get back on a major road to get a photo of the state line sign. Indiana, 2nd state of the trip.

Welcome to Indiana. The 2nd state of the trip.

Not wanting to play on the side of a busy highway to long, we got our photos and rode another mile into Indiana until we could turn off and back towards the lakeshore. Not before noticing that US Highway 12 in Indiana had no shoulder of course.

Our route took us slightly north back towards the border and then we rode Michiana Road, a road the shares the border between Michigan and Indiana. So many questions; how maintains the road?, different garbage pick up days?, a mailman comes from each state?

Once back at the lake, we rode Lake Shore Drive into Michigan City passing through more private beach communities. However here we noticed the license plates were favored more to Illinois than Indiana suspecting many of the beach homes are owned by residents of Chicago.

We arrived in Michigan City at noon and rode out to the north pier. I wanted to ride all the way out to the Michigan City East Pierhead Lighthouse but the logistics (big steps) of getting my bike down on to the pier were not worth it, so we walked out.

Michigan City East Pierhead Lighthouse

The current lighthouse was built in 1904 using the light from the old 1859 Michigan City Lighthouse. An elevated walk was built to enable the keepers to tend both the light and the fog signal which was installed at the same time.

Storms in 1913 and 1929 washed away sections of the elevated walkway that needed to be replaced.

In 1933, the light was automated.

While waiting for lighthouse to open, we ate our lunch in a park adjacent to the beach.

Precisely at 1 pm. we rolled up to the Old Michigan City Lighthouse, right on opening time.

After paying our admission fee, we did a tour which included a trip to the top. I also obtained two stamps here.

5th Order Fresnel Lens. 1858, installed in old lighthouse, 1904, moved to East Pierhead lighthouse. 1982, retired from service.

Old Michigan City Lighthouse. Stairway to lantern room.

Old Michigan City Lighthouse. Stairway to lantern room. This staircase is not original to the building and was added in 2003.

Old Michigan City Lighthouse. Lantern room view west.

Old Michigan City Lighthouse. Lantern room view east.

Old Michigan City Lighthouse

The first lighthouse at Michigan City was lit in the summer of 1838. It was a 39 foot brick tower with a separate brick house for the keeper.

In 1858 a new lighthouse was built, this time one structure for both the house and the tower.

In 1871, a wooden tower was also erected on the east pier. Four years later this tower was transferred to the west pier.

The construction of a breakwater and extension of the eastern pier begun in 1900 and in 1904, the old 1858 lighthouse light was removed and the light established on the eastern pier along with a light on the west pier and one on the breakwater. The 1858 lighthouse was remodeled to accommodate the three keepers who maintained the three lights and a fog signal. At the same time the old wooden tower was removed.

The longest serving lighthouse keeper was a women named Harriet Colfax who tended the light for 43 years, April 1, 1861 to October 14, 1904. She was 80 years old when she retired and died a year later.

We left the lighthouse at 1:30 pm and rode through Michigan City, but there wasn't a lot to see. Most of the towns north of here in Michigan had better downtown areas. Leaving on US highway 12. we shortly found a trail that I thought was not complete during my planning so we rode that till we reached the Indiana Dunes National Park sign.

Shortly after we turned on Beverley Drive. We decided not to ride a Calumet Trail as it was un-paved and we wanted to go to see the 1933 Chicago World's Fair Century of Progress Homes along the shoreline.

The 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago, called the Century of Progress, was held during the Great Depression. After the show, a developer Robert Bartlett brought five homes from the Homes and Industrial Arts housing exhibit and moved them by barge and truck to Beverly Shores, a resort community he was developing on the Indiana shore of Lake Michigan.

To save the structures, Indiana Landmarks leased them from the National Park Service, then subleased four to people who have restored them in exchange for long-term leases.

1933 Chicago World's Fair Century of Progress Homes.

The rustic 'Cypress'. 1933 Chicago World's Fair Century of Progress Homes.

House of Tomorrow. 1933 Chicago World's Fair Century of Progress Homes.

Florida Tropical.1933 Chicago World's Fair Century of Progress Homes.

Armco-Ferro. 1933 Chicago World's Fair Century of Progress Homes.

Wiebolt-Rostone. 1933 Chicago World's Fair Century of Progress Homes.

From Beverly Shores we re-connected with US Hwy 12 (Dunes Highway) then turning inland so we could visit the National Park Visitors Center. While on North Tremont Road, I turned early on to Hwy 20 which took us to a major interchange. After turning around and re-navigating we managed to get to the bike trail that led to both the visitors center and the National Park.

After getting water and our National Park stamp for Indiana Dunes we followed the trail in the Indian Dunes State Park where we had a camping reservation for the night.
By 4:30 pm. we were all set up so took a hike up into the dunes.

We decided to climb just one of the dunes in the 3 Dune Challenge, climbing up to Mt Tom. It was the highest at 192 feet high.

Coming down out of the dunes, we walked along beach then took the trail back to the camp.

Dinner was spaghetti with meat sauce, corn and our free tomatoes. No nearby grocery store today so a meatless dinner.

We went over to the facilities for showers and noticed the lights didn't come on. Thinking a sensor was bad, we showered in the semi darkness. When we got back to our camp site we found out the electricity was off for the whole camp.

The mosquitoes started to come out so we headed off to bed however as it was Labor weekend the camp had some noisy campers. The electricity was restored sometime around 10 pm. much to the delight of the RVers.

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Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 284 miles (457 km)

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