News Release

Central Avenue Beach Reopens at National Park

News Release Date: January 25, 2021 Central Avenue Beach in Indiana Dunes National Park reopened today, January 25, 2021. The beach area has been closed since the spring of 2020 due to severe erosion caused by high water levels in Lake Michigan.  

This reopening follows the completion of an Army Corps of Engineers project that placed 56,000 tons of sand on Central Avenue Beach. This was the second sand nourishment project completed at the national park in the last year. The other occurred in the fall of 2020 at the park’s Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk site.   

This winter, access to Central Beach is down a steep sandy slope. Walking down the slope can be difficult and the return climb is quite strenuous. Individuals need to decide based on their own abilities if they are capable of the climb. After erosion from winter and spring storms concludes, park staff will be able to restore a more gradual access path down to Central Avenue Beach in time for the summer beach season. 

For more information on beach access at Indiana Dunes National Park, contact the park’s information desk at 219-395-1882 or go to the web page at www.nps.gov/indu. For up to date information on available beach parking, call 219-395-1003.   
 

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www.nps.gov/indu 

 
Indiana Dunes National Park is part of the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.