Indiana Dunes National Park
Managed by National Park Service
142 acres1.2 mi of trail
Tolleston Dunes Trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ogden Dunes
24% of Ogden Dunes’ land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2.0 miles of mapped trail cross Ogden Dunes, 2.7 per square mile of land. 24% of Ogden Dunes’ land is conserved, about 111 acres.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
111 acres · of 0.7 sq mi of land
Trails
2.0 mi
2.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
83 ac
73 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Ogden Dunes?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ogden Dunes have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ogden Dunes is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ogden Dunes’ overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land73 acres of park per 1,000 residents (83 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Ogden Dunes’ 24% is ahead of 99% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 99% of them.
Water is 50% of Ogden Dunes’ area (1 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Indiana Dunes National Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Suerenity Park (Horsethieves' Hollow)
Nature preserve
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Long Lake Park
Nature preserve
4 acres0.2 mi of trail
Sand Track Walking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 21 parks & preserves
Indiana Dunes National Park142 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsLong Lake Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Boat Club Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Hillcrest Park8 acres
DirectionsSuerenity Park (Horsethieves' Hollow)7 acres
Kratz Memorial Field4 acres
Nelson Reck Park4 acres
Forest Avenue Park2 acres
Tamarack Park2 acres
Diana Park2 acres
Ski Jump Hill Park2 acres
Long Lake Marsh2 acres
Polliwog Pond Park1 acres
Bittersweet Forest1 acres
Woodland Park1 acres
Ski Hill Circle Park1 acres
West Side Park1 acres
Ski Hill Park1 acres
Cedar Trail Green1 acres
Grandin Park1 acres
Ski Hill Place Green1 acres
Who protects it
111 conserved acres
24% of Ogden Dunes’ land. Water is left out: Ogden Dunes has 0.7 square miles of land and 0.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ogden Dunes’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service104 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land38 ac
Town or city7 ac
Conservation Easement · 76 acNational Park · 66 acLocal Park · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 38 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana Dunes National Park National Park | National Park Service | 66 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Long Lake Playground Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Ogden Dunes
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Ogden Dunes
Ogden Dunes BeachIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsPeaks in Ogden Dunes
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Sand Track Walking Trail0.7 mi
Tolleston Dunes Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Hour Glass CottageBuilding · listed 2023
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Ogden Dunes: July to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 36 | 47 | 58 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Ogden Dunes →
Next door
Ogden Dunes and its neighbors
Ogden Dunes has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ogden Dunes | 24% | 2.7 | 73 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Portage | 13% | 1.1 | 55 | 76% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ogden Dunes
Where can I hike in Ogden Dunes?
The longest trail networks: Indiana Dunes National Park, 1.2 miles; Long Lake Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ogden Dunes is conserved land?
24% of its land, against a typical 2% for an Indiana town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Ogden Dunes’ trails?
Indiana Dunes National Park and Hillcrest Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ogden Dunes?
14,284 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ogden Dunes or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 83 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ogden Dunes have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Ogden Dunes neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →