{"id":2591,"date":"2021-06-14T03:13:10","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T03:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitmillerbeachgary.com\/?page_id=2591"},"modified":"2021-10-24T23:34:24","modified_gmt":"2021-10-24T23:34:24","slug":"national-parks","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/datamine.mobi\/vmb2020\/national-parks\/","title":{"rendered":"National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ranger Nadia greeted us \u00a0with plenty of advice on what to do and see on our visit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Interesting exhibits showed us the history of early area residents and the fight to save the dunes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Ranger Julie is getting a water testing activity area ready for visitors to the Douglas Center. Tanks along the walls contain local turtles, snakes, fish, and reptiles for observation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Hiking is Fun in Any Season on the Miller Woods Trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Mile long Miller Woods Beach is at the end of Miller Woods Trail, on Lake Michigan. A calm and peaceful spot to swim, or just enjoy the calm and Chicago skyline view. This is the eastern point of 5 continuous miles of walkable and swimmable beaches. \u00a0Surfers and beach goers park at Lake Street Beach and walk west. \u00a0\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Even tiny hikers enjoy the Marquette Trail. \u00a0It connects the Douglas Center with West Beach (another national park section). Photo Credit: \u00a0Cullen Ben-Daniel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>

The Indiana Dunes National Park begins in Miller Beach<\/h1>\t\t\t

The\u00a0Douglas Nature Center<\/a>\u00a0 is the western visitors\u00a0center of Indiana Dunes National Park<\/a>. \u00a0It’s only a block north of Gary’s Miller Beach neighborhood downtown on Lake Street, and has it’s own beach! \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The West Beach section of the national park forms our eastern border. The Marquette Greenway Trail runs through our neighborhood and connects the two park sections together. National park lands wrap around 3 sides of Miller Beach (Lake Michigan is the fourth side). \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Formally called the \u00a0Paul H Douglas Center for Environmental Education, 100 N Lake St, Gary, IN, the Douglas Center \u00a0is an attraction of its own! \u00a0Bring the kids and check out the exhibits of live turtles, snakes, and fish. \u00a0Get your national park stamp or Junior Ranger badge! \u00a0Join weekly programs involving free kayaking, guided hikes, water testing, or other family oriented activities. \u00a0Watch interesting videos that show what the park has to offer in Miller Woods or other areas of the park.<\/p>\n

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Early June hiking group on the Miller Woods Trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The new picnic area on the deck outside the Douglas Center overlooks trails, forest, and a wetland. Great place to stop and refresh! Two other picnic areas are available outside! \u00a0Ask a ranger \ud83d\ude42<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Stairs lead to a trailhead, or exit the back for an ADA loop through a pleasant wooded trail that is great for strollers, walkers, or wheelchairs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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An outdoor kids area includes another picnic area and drinking fountains.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Want to try snowshoeing? No worries, the Paul H Douglas Center<\/a> has free loaners, and cross country skis, too!.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Ranger Nadia greeted us \u00a0with plenty of advice on what to do and see on our visit.     Interesting exhibits showed us the history of early area residents and the fight to save the dunes.   Ranger Julie is getting a water testing activity area ready for visitors to the Douglas Center. Tanks along […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"fullwidth.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2591","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/datamine.mobi\/vmb2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/datamine.mobi\/vmb2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/datamine.mobi\/vmb2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datamine.mobi\/vmb2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datamine.mobi\/vmb2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/datamine.mobi\/vmb2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2591\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/datamine.mobi\/vmb2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}