Become a resident tourist, tour guide

Children climb on a lifeguard chair at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's West Beach in Portage.

Salazar praises National Lakeshore during visit to region

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, center, looks at a project through which kids can make arrowheads during a tour Thursday of the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Salazar praises National Lakeshore during visit to region

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Superintendent Constantine Dillon, far left, talks Thursday about activities for children at the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education. Dillon toured the building with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, from left, Indiana Rep. Charlie Brown and Secretary of …

Salazar praises National Lakeshore during visit to region

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Superintendent Constantine Dillon, left, watches as Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar holds water from Lake Michigan in his hand Thursday while touring the national park. Salazar is visiting four Midwestern states this week to highlight America's initiati…

Salazar praises National Lakeshore during visit to region

Environmentalist Lee Botts, left, walks with Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on Thursday during a tour of West Beach at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Botts, founder of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, said the secretary's visit means the National Park Service “really values this n…

Salazar praises National Lakeshore during visit to region

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., left, and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar talk Thursday during a tour of West Beach at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Salazar, Durbin and other officials made an announcement in Chicago earlier Thursday about a $1 million federal grant for Lake Mic…

GUEST COMMENTARY: Play at beaches, but play it safe

Lake Michigan can be a wonderful place to swim and surf, but it can also be a dangerous place. The National Park Service reminds visitors to use care when swimming in the lake. We do our best to inform the public of what they need to do to protect themselves, but we cannot make the park free…

Man reported missing from beach wandered to East Chicago

PORTAGE | It was a long night for the missing 18-year-old Aurora, Ill., man as he walked through Northwest Indiana looking for help, officials said.

Chicago Heights child rescued from Lake Michigan, airlifted to Chicago

A 5-year-old Chicago Heights boy under water for about 10 minutes was airlifted from a Gary hospital to Chicago after being rescued from Lake Michigan on Thursday, officials said.

Lifeguarded beaches along Lake Michigan are hit-or-miss

Lake Michigan's waters can be wicked. Calm one moment and deadly the next.

Riding the heat wave: Extended high temperatures setting records at the Dunes

PORTER | You might think that the sizzling, desertlike sand is the last place you’d want to park your posterior on a day with triple-digit temperatures.

Avoid the Beach Crowds and Go to West Beach

INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE: On hot summer weekends the beach parking lots along Indiana’s shore quickly fill up. That is, all but one. West Beach, part of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, rarely fills up. The National Park Service wants to remind visitors that they can often find a pa…

Prescribed burns planned today at National Lakeshore properties

PORTAGE | Fire managers at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore are planning two prescribed burns in Portage and Beverly Shores.

Prescribed burn planned today at West Beach

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is conducting a 58-acre prescribed fire at West Beach in Portage today.

Feds award nearly $1 million in grants for Great Lakes projects

U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, talks Monday at a news conference announcing $1 million in federal grants at West Beach at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Gary on Monday.

Feds award nearly $1 million in grants for Great Lakes projects

Parks Superintendent Costa Dillon welcomes a crowd Monday to a news conference at West Beach at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Gary.

Feds award nearly $1 million in grants for Great Lakes projects

Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas introduces Cameron Davis, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's senior adviser on the Great Lakes, during a news conference Monday in Gary.

Feds award nearly $1 million in grants for Great Lakes projects

Cameron Davis, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's senior adviser on the Great Lakes, announces two new Great Lakes restoration grants Monday in Gary.

Park's popularity causing parking problems, tickets

PORTAGE | Regina Dehnart thought she was going to have an enjoyable afternoon Saturday at Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk site of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Miller's County Line Road bridge closed through Sunday

County Line Road Bridge in Gary's Miller neighborhood closed Thursday morning and will remain closed through Sunday morning for construction work, officials with the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore announced.