INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL PARK - The National Park Service is seeking public comment on several changes proposed for the fee program at Indiana Dunes National Park.
The changes include expanding the reservation system at Dunewood Campground and adding new fees for group camping and some special events and programs.
Bruce Rowe, Indiana Dunes National Park Public Information Officer, says expanding the reservation system from half the campsites at Dunewood to all the sites will allow more visitors to use the national park’s campground. Without reservations, many people will not risk the chance of arriving at the park to discover there are no available campsites.
Rowe says the expanded reservation system will allow all 67 sites to be reserved online up to six months in advance. There will be no increase in the fee of $25 per night. Use of the campground increased 30% in 2018 when half of the campground went on a reservation system.
The park is also requesting a new fee of $60 for group camping sites. While there are currently no public group sites, the National Park Service is working to establish several of these sites in the Dunewood Campground that will hold between 17-30 people. Rowe says these sites will be ideal for scouts and other large groups or families.
New fees for some park festivals and interpretive programs are also being sought. While the majority of the park’s 400 public programs will remain free, Rowe says these new fees will help recover the additional costs associated with some larger or more expensive programs. These proposed fees are $5, per car, for festivals like Maple Sugar Time and the Indiana Dunes Apple Festival.
A $10 per person fee is proposed for specialty programs like bus tours and Art in the Park, and a $25 per horse fee, for guided horse hikes.
Comments can be sent electronically to: INDU_Communications@nps.gov or by writing to the Superintendent, 1100 North Mineral Springs Road, Porter, Indiana 46304. Comments must be received by February 7, 2020.
If you prefer to comment in-person, there will an Open House on these topics on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center at 1215 North State Highway 49, in Porter.
