INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL PARK: Solar eclipse fever has hit Indiana Dunes National Park as the region will experience a 95% eclipse of the sun! Please join National Park Service staff, the Friends of Indiana Dunes and park volunteers as we host an informal viewing party from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm on Monday, April 8 at West Beach. The eclipse will take place from 12:51 pm to 3:22 pm, peaking around 2:08 pm. Meet at the contact station in the West Beach parking lot. We recommend you bring a chair or blanket for your comfort. A limited number of Eclipse Safety Glasses and Junior Ranger Eclipse Explorer booklets will be available on a first-come first served basis. Please come prepared with your own glasses so you can safely observe this special event.
The last time a solar eclipse crossed the United States from coast-to-coast was in 2017, with the next one not occurring again until 2045. Eclipse facts and activities, such as the Jr. Ranger Eclipse program, will be shared with visitors during this program so that they can learn more about this historic event.
The West Beach parking lot is located at 376 North County Line Road in Portage, about one half mile north of U.S. Highway 12. For more information on this and other programs at Indiana Dunes National Park, call 219-395-1882, visit our website, download the official National Park Service app, or view our Facebook page.
Indiana Dunes National Park has an entrance fee of $25 per car for a 1–7-day pass. A $45 annual pass for the national park is also available. Please purchase passes or pay the entrance fee at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center, Paul H. Douglas Center, West Beach Entrance Station (after April 1st) or at www.recreation.gov/sitepass/indu. Veterans/Military/Gold Star Family, Access, and 4th Grade passes are available for free. For more information on national park passes go to www.nps.gov/indu.