Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Indiana Dunes State Park is open; Mt. Baldy is not

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Indiana Dunes State Park is open and ready for visitors, despite some confusion caused by the closure of nearby Mt. Baldy at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Just to set the record straight: Mt. Baldy is a federally owned property managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and its parking lot, trail, and beach have all been closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic while NPS continues to investigate holes and depressions which have been found on top of the dune.

Last summer, a 6-year-old Illinois boy fell into one of the holes and narrowly escaped death.

Indiana Dunes State Park (IDSP), on the other hand, is managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, is located some 10 miles west of Mt. Baldy, and covers almost 2,200 acres along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

“The campground, beach and scheduled interpretive activities at Indiana Dunes State Park are unaffected by the Mount Baldy closure,” IDSP Property Manager Brandt Baughman said. “Although there has not been any indication of similar occurrences at Indiana Dunes State Park, the park labor crew and lifeguard staff will conduct daily monitoring of the beach to provide for visitor safety.”

Although Mt. Baldy is off limits, the remaining 15,000 acres of the Dunes National Lakeshore is open to visitors.

 

Posted 5/21/2014

 
 

 

 

 

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