Mount Baldy at the Dunes

Over the last several years, park officials at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore have noted that Mount Baldy, a sand dune famous for its desert-like appearance, has begun moving inland at an alarming pace. Left unchecked, the dune could start to cover over its own parking lot in as few as seven years. The reason for the increased movement seems to be a combination of too little dune grass on top of Mt Baldy and too many people climbing its southern slope. The lack of dune grass, also known as Marram grass, allows the wind to more easily move the sand. In addition, every footstep up and down the dune helps push sand down the steeper southern slope toward the parking lot while also killing off any Marram grass attempting to take root.