West Beach, Indiana Dunes

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

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.

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. :)

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.

Great Beach for sure. My fiancé 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

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!