Central Avenue Walk-in Sites

We thoroughly enjoyed our one night stay. The porta potty had recently been serviced which we greatly appreciated.

A fun immersive stay at the Dunes! Husband and I camped with our 7- and 9-year-old and our friend with his 4-year-old. PARKING/ACCESS: Rangers reserve the eastern-most parking spaces for the campsites. Campsite trailhead access is opposite the parking lot entrance with a small yellow sign with a map of the campsites and trail. Sign may be slightly covered by brush. Site #5 is the second campsite along the trail, about 1/3 of a mile from the trailhead. #4, #3, and #2 are further down the trail respectively. (#1 is next to parking) Bring a wagon or bike with trailer to haul. BEACH/RESTROOM: Port-a-potty by the parking lot is clean and well-stocked with tissue and sanitizer. Beach access road goes north from there, about an ⅛ of a mile. Single indoor family bathroom w/ sink and mirror at the beach. Drinking fountain and outdoor foot shower for sand. Beach less crowded than others in park. If you have minimal stuff, beach can also be accessed through trail just northeast of campsite #5. Trail is about ¼ of a mile and ends on top of a high dune cliff you must climb down to the beach. All our kids made it down and up. CAMPSITE: Site #5 is up a small dune hill. Site #5 is big and level with a picnic table and a brand-new-looking fire ring and grate. Firewood can be brought in. Place selling firewood along Route 12/Dunes Hwy. LOTS OF TICKS! The most ticks we have ever seen at a campsite. We applied bug repellent and wore long sleeves/pants/socks and still removed some from half of us. Found a number of ticks on our stuff when we got home.

Wonderful! Some tips: the entrance to the campsites is off the entrance road on the right-hand side opposite the parking lot entrance, not easy to find from online maps but there's a yellow plastic sign in the bushes. Except for site 1, it's a long walk from the parking lot to your campsite. Not backpacking long, but long if you're making multiple car trips. Get here early in peak season because there's no easy parking except for the park lot. Highly recommended experience we are so lucky to have this in the Midwest.

What a cool place to camp! It took about 2 minuets to walk from the parking lot up to the campsite, the beach is about 3 minuets away with incredible views of Lake Michigan, and the Chicago skyline. This site was large, clean, and nicely protected from the wind. The firepit has a grate for cooking. There is a small hill to hike up to get into the campsite.

We stayed in site 1, which was lovely. A little less secluded, but most convenient. It's up on top of a dune, surrounded by trees, with so many birds! It is definitely walk-in, so I would bring a wagon if you can, or be prepared in some way to carry your gear. There is a picnic table at the site. We chose to eat dinner down at the beach (about a 5-10 minute walk), and had a gorgeous sunset with the Chicago skyline far in the distance. The rangers we consulted with beforehand told us mixed things, but the restrooms at the beach were open and had potable water. There is also a well-stocked Dollar General not far away where we bought water (before realizing there was water nearby). We were bike camping, and it all worked beautifully. We were a little anxious about not having a place to secure food overnight, but we had everything tidy and no critters got into it. If we had had a car, we would have left our food inside the car; we saw a raccoon not far from the site. Beware of ticks.

Great location, firewood was provided in the communal pit area, and the site had a picnic table and a fire pit ring. Quiet place and a beautiful view of Lake Michigan just under a quarter mile away!