Indiana Dunes National Park
Managed by National Park Service
1,263 acres8.9 mi of trail
Little Calumet River TrailBailly/Chellberg Trails
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Porter
30% of Porter’s 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. 30% of Porter’s land is conserved, about 1,202 acres. 1,194 acres are parks and preserves, 229 per 1,000 residents.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #1 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
30%
1,202 acres · of 6.2 sq mi of land
Trails
9.5 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,194 ac
229 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.4 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 4.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Porter?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Porter have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Porter is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 593 in Indiana. All four inputs put Porter near the top nationally; the share of residents near a park ranks highest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Porter’s overall grade.
Conserved land30% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4APark land229 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,194 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13AParks 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
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)#1 of 593
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Porter’s 30% is ahead of 99% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 98% of them.
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 8.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
J.D. Marshall Underwater Preserve
Nature preserve
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,202 conserved acres
30% of Porter’s land. Who manages Porter’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service1,160 ac
Town or city25 ac
State parks17 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land16 ac
National Park · 1,141 acConservation Easement · 35 acLocal Park · 25 acState Park · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 19 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 | 1,141 | Open |
| Hawthorne Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Indiana Dunes State Park State Park | State parks | 17 | Open |
| Porter Cove Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Indian Springs Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Porter
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Porter
Porter BeachIn Indiana Dunes National Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Porter
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Porter
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Porter
Hamilton Slide
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Little Calumet River Trail3.1 mi
Bailly/Chellberg Trails0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Basketball
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Porter: 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 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 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 Porter →
Next door
Porter and its neighbors
Porter has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porter | 30% | 1.5 | 229 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Chesterton | 13% | 1.1 | 23 | 90% | A |
| Dune Acres | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Burns Harbor | 9% | 0.2 | 162 | 85% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Porter
Where can I hike in Porter?
The longest trail networks: Indiana Dunes National Park, 8.9 miles; Hawthorne Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Porter is conserved land?
30% 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 Porter’s trails?
Indiana Dunes National Park and Hawthorne Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Porter?
5.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes and 4.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Porter?
15,901 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Porter or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,194 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Porter have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #1 of 593 in Indiana. 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 Porter 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 →