Biking, Birding (& Beer?) along Indiana's Great Marsh
Sandhill crane (photo credit NPS)
As you may already know, the Dunes are no longer free. The NPS has imposed entrance fees on most of the choice sites in the newly-designated Indiana Dunes National Park, which went into effect last month.
While the fees will be put to noble use* —the creation on the Marquette Greenway, a 60-mile non-motorized trail that will link Chicago and New Buffalo, MI— they make it harder and less convenient to hit the Dunes’ attractions spontaneously, as has been our wont. It makes more sense to combine your trail visits into day-long expeditions, so you can get the most bang for your visitor’s pass buck.
This makes visiting the lovely, but annoyingly short Great Marsh Birding Trail a bit frustrating. The 1.3 mile designated trail does culminate in a well placed observation deck, which affords breathtaking views of the marsh in all its glory, and opportunities for intimate glimpses of all manner of birds as they go about their business. But is it worth the $25 entrance fee, unless you’re also visiting other sites in the Dunes?
So, a bicycle comes in very handy. According the the NPS website, simply passing through the park on a bicycle does not require an entrance fee. So, I have a plan for you to enjoy a nice 20-25 mile ride, see all the birds, and save your money for for lunch and beer mid-trip.
The Great Marsh is fabulous birding site with views of the largest wetland complex in the Lake Michigan watershed. You’ll likely see flocks of coots, mallards, and wood ducks over the wetland's surface. Kingfishers, tree swallows, and rusty blackbirds rest there during migration. So do sandhill cranes, and you may spot a nesting pair or even a group of them, if you’re lucky. I have heard (but never seen) the elusive American Bittern along its edge. The Great Marsh literally teems with diverse animal activity of a robust wetland ecosystem, shockingly so considering how ravaged the region has been by decades of rampant industrial excesses.
To turn this outing into a healthy 20+ mile bike ride, I suggest starting at the western end of the Calumet Bike Trail, that offers free parking. The Calumet trail is unpaved and can be a bit rough. A hybrid, gravel or mountain bike is best, but even a Brompton will do in dry weather (in wet weather, this trail features man-eating puddles). You’ll take this trail to State Park Boundary Road, and make left, and continue to Beverly Drive. Although Google Maps makes it look like a through road, this street is actually closed to cars between this point and Broadway. However, traveling on foot or by bike, you will come to a small handmade wooden foot bridge, where you can sit in complete solitude, surrounded by the enormous marsh with only the sound of birds to keep you company.
Continuing east, you will rejoin Beverly Drive, as it skirts the affluent community of Beverly Shores. There’s no shoulder, but it is a lightly-traveled road with drivers generally traveling slowly, and giving cyclists and walkers wide berth. From this road, you will experience the longest stretch of the great marsh, with views galore and countless opportunities to see birds and other wildlife. You can also take short forays down old disused roads, remnant of an old community that once stood here, or pop down to Central Beach for some lake views. At the far eastern end of Beverly Drive, where it merges with Rte 12, you can visit Mt. Baldy (for a fee), or simply rejoin the new civilized and paved portion of the Calumet Trail. This will take you past the imposing, funnel-shaped cooling tower of the energy company NIPSCO (no, it’s not a nuclear plant, it’s coal), and ride into Michigan City for a lunch and beer at Shoreline Brewery before heading back.
Wanna try it? Click image below for live map:
* I’m balancing two opposing views here. On the one hand, I am in favor of financially supporting our natural resources; on the other, I hold that nature and outdoors can and should be enjoyed for free. It’s a dilemma. What do you think?