Indiana Dunes National Park
Managed by National Park Service
3,499 acres10.8 mi of trail
Dunewood TraceGreat Marsh TrailDune Ridge TrailBurton Place+1
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Weller House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Pine Township
Pine Township has 3,110 acres of parks, 1,276 for every 1,000 residents
24% of Pine Township’s land is conserved, about 4,133 acres. The biggest trail networks: Indiana Dunes National Park (10.8 mi), Dale B Engquist Nature Preserve (2.1 mi), Heron Rookery (1.7 mi). 18 miles of mapped trail cross Pine Township, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
4,133 acres · of 26.8 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,110 ac
1,276 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.8 mi
4.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
8 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Pine Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pine Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pine Township is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Pine Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land1,276 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,110 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home70% of residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 92%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Pine Township’s 24% is ahead of 99% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 88% of them.
Water is 8% of Pine Township’s area (2 of 29 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 22%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to 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 10.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dale B Engquist Nature Preserve
Managed by Shirley Heinze Land Trust
276 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Heron Rookery
Nature preserve
461 acres1.7 mi of trail
Heron Rookery Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Shirley Heinze Great Marsh Preserve
Managed by Shirley Heinze Land Trust
128 acres0.7 mi of trail
Charing-Bellevue TrailMcAllister Prairie Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Reynold's Creek Game Bird Habitat Area
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources
862 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 12 parks & preserves
Indiana Dunes National Park3,499 acres · 10.8 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsDale B Engquist Nature Preserve276 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · Shirley Heinze Land Trust
DirectionsHeron Rookery461 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
DirectionsShirley Heinze Great Marsh Preserve128 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Shirley Heinze Land Trust
Reynold's Creek Game Bird Habitat Area862 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Indiana Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsBrincka Cross Gardens85 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Hawk Ridge Park142 acres
Shirley Heinze130 acres · Shirley Heinze Land Trust
Father Basil Moreau Nature Preserve93 acres · Shirley Heinze Land Trust
DirectionsPine Township Property64 acres
Lituanica Park8 acres
Pines Park3 acres
Who protects it
4,133 conserved acres
24% of Pine Township’s land. Water is left out: Pine Township has 26.8 square miles of land and 2.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Pine Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service2,750 ac
State fish & wildlife1,243 ac
State natural resources77 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land64 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)32 ac
Other state land19 ac
Town or city12 ac
National Park · 2,687 acState Conservation Area · 1,243 acConservation Easement · 179 acForest Stewardship Easement · 77 acLocal Park · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 193 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 14 parcels. 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 | 2,687 | Open |
| Reynold's Creek Gamebird Habitat Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,243 | Restricted |
| Lituanica Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Pines Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
Things to do
31 places to go in Pine Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Pine Township
Beverly Shores BeachIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsCentral BeachIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsDunbar BeachIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsKemil BeachIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsLake View BeachIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsMount Baldy BeachIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsPlus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Pine Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Pine Township
1 Foot FallsIn Heron Rookery
DirectionsScenic views in Pine Township
Great Marsh Observation DeckIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Pine Township
Brown’s Ridge
DirectionsDimple DuneIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsGleason HeightsIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsGreens HillIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsMount Aiko
DirectionsMount AllinsonIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsMount Ashley
DirectionsMount JensenIn Indiana Dunes National Park
Directions4 more peaks
Mount McCrayIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsMount Roper
DirectionsMount WellsIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsMount WhiteIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Pine Township
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Lake ViewIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsPlus 2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Pine Township
Dunewood CampgroundHours: Apr 01-Nov 01 · Fee · In Indiana Dunes National Park · National Park Service
DirectionsTrails & water
9 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.9 mi
Dunewood Trace1.8 mi
Heron Rookery Trail1.6 mi
Great Marsh Trail0.9 mi
Dune Ridge Trail0.6 mi
Charing-Bellevue Trail0.5 mi
East 1500 North0.3 mi
McAllister Prairie Trail0.2 mi
Burton Place0.2 mi
Fire Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Tennis
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Weller HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Pine Township: July and 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) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 59 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Pine Township →
Next door
Pine Township and its neighbors
Pine Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Westchester Township55 miPine Township18 miBeverly Shores9.3 miCoolspring Township6.4 miJackson Township4.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Township | 24% | 0.7 | 1,276 | 70% | A |
| Westchester Township | 32% | 1.7 | 298 | 93% | A+ |
| Jackson Township | 6% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Beverly Shores | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Coolspring Township | 3% | 0.2 | 45 | 61% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Pine Township
Where can I hike in Pine Township?
The longest trail networks: Indiana Dunes National Park, 10.8 miles; Dale B Engquist Nature Preserve, 2.1 miles; Heron Rookery, 1.7 miles; Shirley Heinze Great Marsh Preserve, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pine Township 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 Pine Township’s trails?
Indiana Dunes National Park and Dale B Engquist Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Pine Township?
4.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Pine Township?
13,537 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pine Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,110 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pine Township have?
Ahead of 92% 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 Pine Township 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 →