Central Avenue Walk-in Sites

Proximity to the beach was a wonderful experience, but that was more or less the only enjoyable part of the whole trip. The port-a-potty was desperately in need of service, while the woods were so choked with undergrowth that it literally wasn't a physical option to use any backcountry toileting methods. Our site had large piles of brick and red roofing tile rubble in it. The sites are well separated and set back from the trail for an impression of seclusion, but airplane, train, and road noise still came through loud and clear. Overall, while I would have tolerated these conditions cheerfully if it were a cheap or free site like is common on forest service land, paying fifty dollars for two nights of a pretty trashed site was hard to swallow, even as someone who happily wants to fund park services more.

The trail to get to the campsite is not very well maintained. Was rubbing against brush and walking over/under dead limbs. The campsite itself was remote and quiet. I did not hear the lake/waves from the campsite, but did hear trains using their horns on the nearby railroad. The site had a nice table and fire pit available.

This was my first time visiting a National Park! I had a wonderful time. Everyone from Indiana always talks about how amazing The Dunes are but I didn't know just how serious they were being!

Beautiful site. Unfortunately when we left our wood near the trail as we were walking our other items in, 4 bundles of firewood got stolen.

It was unfortunate as we didnt have a car where we could easily go replace it.

Nice, easy to walk into sites. You could hear the nearby train/amtrack, which was a little noisy but not bad. The nearby beach was gorgeous. It would be nice however, if they picked up all the loose trash that is around the dumpster. It must fall out when the garbage truck comes, and then no one cleans it up.

Arrived and walked out to site and was a ten alive by bugs. Decided it was not worth taking all our gear out to be bitten alive. Path was seamed very rundown and looked abandoned. Stayed at a local hotel.

As rustic as it gets.

I would highly recommend that you go and watch the sunset/sunrise along the beach that is not too far away from the campsite. This was a nice site to stay at.

The location in proximity to Lake Michigan is excellent. It was great to be able to wake up, walk to the lake, and jump in. The campsite is more primitive than the listing makes it seem. I had trouble finding the trail to the campsites as the sign was literally tucked away in a bush - it seems that could be intentional as there is a lot of foot traffic nearby from day visitors. To find the campsites, you walk directly to the right of the campsite parking spots when facing the lake. It was interesting being so close to the city and dealing with the potential dangers that come with city living, like worrying about theft and having to fight off raccoons that are used to accessing human food (seriously). The restrooms were not in working order although that was not communicated before my arrival. A sign on the building door said the restrooms were closed for the season, which I thought was unusual for mid-August. There were 3 port-a-potties though and those were decently clean, they're just a small hike away from the campsites. This campsite is excellent if you come into in expecting few resources. There is no potable water. The gnats were awful and like dive bombing into eyeballs, but if you have a bug net to put over your head, you'll be fine. I enjoyed staying here, but if you're looking for a cushy campsite to relax with the family, this may not be the one for you.

The place is beautiful and the hike-in to camp site 3 worked fine. However, the bathrooms next to central beach were not operational which was a big drawback. Also you really need to put in "bear-proof" boxes so campers can protect food and toiletries against raccoons. There was a lot of trash around because raccoons snatched things from the campers.