Hike all of the trails in the Indiana Dunes National Park by taking the “Project 1966 Hiking Challenge”! Join a ranger as they hike all of the trails in the Indiana Dunes National Park. The first hike challenge of 2026 “Kicks-off” from the Heron Rookery east Parking Lot.
The Heron Rookery Trail takes you beneath towering oak, maple, tulip and sycamore trees of the river’s rich floodplain. Renowned for its diversity of springtime plants, the first flowers appear in March alongside the last lumps of snow. Later into spring, the ground is blanketed in petals of all shapes and colors.
The hiking challenges will take place over the course of the summer with each week featuring a new trail. There will be a total of 19 hikes covering 66 miles to honor the year the park was established. Can’t make them all? Look on Indiana Dunes National Park’s website (www.nps.gov/thingstodo/1966-hiking-challenge.htm) for a link to Project 1966.
For information, please call the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center at (219) 395-1882 or check the Indiana Dunes National Park Facebook page.
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Susie Young Baxter, CEO, has published PanoramaNOW Magazine for 31 years. Her hobbies are Camping, Boating, Hiking, Nature, Gardening and Outdoor Activities. She is an Artist, Graphic Designer, an Avid Seamstress, Dabbles in Homemade Crafts and Landscaping. Since her Father was a Health Teacher, she also likes homeopathic Health Solutions. Since blogging started over 10 years ago, PanoramaNow has been added to Newsbreak – a national news affiliate.
