Indiana Dunes National Park guide · 1 min read
1,100 Plant Species: America's Biodiversity Hotspot
More than 1,100 flowering plants grow within the park's 15,000 acres, which puts Indiana Dunes fourth for biodiversity among the national parks.
The park follows about 15 miles of Lake Michigan's southern shore and holds sand beaches, dunes, bogs, marshes, and woodland. Each habitat supports its own mix of plants, from marram grass on the sand to skunk cabbage in the wet ground.
Bogs belong to the park's wetlands, along with marshes and swamps. Pinhook Bog is a good place to look for round-leaved sundews and baby purple pitcher plants. Paper birches reproduce naturally in a grove beside the Cowles Bog Trail, which is reported to make it the most southerly population of the species in the Great Lakes area.
Among the park's large trees, black oaks are the ones you are most likely to see. Black oak savannas are one of the park's habitats, and asters and prairie grass grow in them. The black oak savanna at Miller Woods is a good place to see this setting.
Rare plants have a foothold here too. Mead's milkweed and Pitcher's thistle both carry federal protection as threatened or endangered species. Others, such as shooting star and pink corydalis, appear on state lists. Spring brings May apple, buttercups, and violets into bloom, and summer belongs to orchids and goldenrod.
Over 50 miles of trail cross dunes, wet ground, marsh, and oak savanna, so a single hike can pass through several habitats. The Oak Savannah Trail is one option, and you can pick up a paper map of it at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center or from the kiosk where the trail begins.
