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Lots Going On At Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore This Winter

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Make plans now to help make maple sugar at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in February/NPS

Winter isn't a slow season at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on the shores of Lake Michighan. The park has a long list of activities planned for the winter months.

All of the following programs are free. For more information, check the park'™s website.

Douglas Center Open House at National Lakeshore

Is cabin fever hitting you hard? Then get out and join a ranger for an Open House every Saturday at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore'™s Douglas Center. Explore the center from 9 a.m. '“ 3:30 p.m. and check out interactive exhibits, a park video, and even a live animal room. If you don'™t mind the cold and there is enough snow, borrow a pair of cross-country skis or snowshoes and explore the Miller Woods Trail just outside the center.
Warm up inside the center with a snack and hot chocolate or coffee. Throughout the months of January, February and March, enjoy hands-on exhibits featuring other national parks with African-American connections complete with an indoor scavenger hunt for prizes.

The Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education is located in the western portion of the national lakeshore at 100 North Lake Street, about one mile north of U.S. Highway 12.

* Kid'™s Rule at National Lakeshore Visitor Center

Join a ranger in the visitor center'™s activity room for a Sunday afternoon of kid'™s activities, puppet shows, stories, and fun in the months of January, February and March. Stop in between 1 p.m. '“ 3 p.m. in the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center'™s activity room to help your children learn a little more about your neighborhood national park. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

The Indiana Dunes Visitor Center is located at 1215 N. State Road 49 just south of the intersection of 49 and U.S. 20 in Porter, Indiana. 

* Snowshoe Programs at the National Lakeshore'™s Visitor Center

Learn a little bit about nature in winter and how to explore its beauty on snowshoes. Join a ranger at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore'™s visitor center for a brief indoor program on winter and the use of snowshoes. Then, get a chance to try out some snowshoes on a ranger-led hike through the fields and woods surrounding the center. This two-hour program will be offered on January 3, at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., January 24, at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., February 7, at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and February 14, at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. There are a limited number of snowshoes available for loan during this program or you can bring your own. If there is not enough snow, a hike will be offered instead.

The Indiana Dunes Visitor Center is located at 1215 N. State Road 49 just south of the intersection of 49 and U.S. 20 in Porter, Indiana.

Martin Luther King Holiday Celebration at National Lakeshore

Celebrate and honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders at the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Saturday, January 10.

Join a park ranger at 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. for an armchair tour of some national park sites that commemorate the struggle for civil rights. Included in the program are the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (NHS), Chicago Portage Naval Magazine National Memorial, Brown vs. Board of Education NHS, Central High School NHS, and the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. After the program, in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., please volunteer your time. Help out with separating native seeds from the chaff and preparing wild indigo seeds for planting throughout the park this spring.

Throughout the day, a variety of fun, hands-on activities, volunteer opportunities and exhibits featuring national park sites with an African-American connection will be available. These exhibits will remain on display at the Douglas Center through March 1st.

As always, kids can make a free craft or help feed the Douglas Center'™s resident amphibians, reptiles and fish. Snowshoes and cross country skis are available for free checkout from 9 a.m. '“ 3:30 p.m. every Saturday when there is at least one inch of snow on the ground.

The Douglas Center is located at 100 North Lake Street in the Miller section of Gary. 

* Music Heritage Series at National Lakeshore

Join in with the Save the Tunes Council as they perform traditional music associated with the current time period. Tune up your vocal cords and gather up for a sing-along on January 16, February 20 and March 20 from 7:30 p.m. '“ 9 p.m. at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Visitor Center.

The Save the Tunes Council is a group of local musicians devoted to preserving and passing on folk songs in the traditional way, using a variety of musical instruments including guitar, autoharp, dulcimer, banjo, harmonica, bagpipe, penny whistle, hurdy gurdy, and other obscure instruments.

Meet at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center located at 1215 N. State Road 49 just south of the intersection of 49 and U.S. 20 in Porter, Indiana. 

Groundhog Program at National Lakeshore

Join a ranger for a special puppet show in honor of Groundhog Day on January 31 during the open house at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's Paul H. Douglas Center. Shows at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. will explain where these furry rodents have been and how they survive the long winter.

During the open house, you can also borrow some cross-country ski equipment and get some skiing instruction between 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. from a park ranger or experienced volunteer. Then, warm up inside the center with a snack and hot chocolate or coffee. Throughout the months of January, February and March, enjoy the hands-on exhibits featuring other national parks with African-American connections complete with an indoor scavenger hunt for prizes.

Make a free winter craft such as a lighted snowman using recycled milk jugs to bring home. And your help is always appreciated with feeding the Douglas Center'™s resident amphibians, reptiles and fish.

The Douglas Center is located at 100 North Lake Street in the Miller section of Gary. 

* Stewardship Day - Rescuing the Fruit Trees at Good Fellow Camp

On January 31, from 9 a.m. to noon, join a park ranger and other fruit tree enthusiasts and learn different ways of restoring neglected fruit trees. After an indoor education session, you'™ll get a chance to help prune some of the old fruit trees at the historic Camp Good Fellow for the first time in over 25 year. Wear comfortable clothes; work gloves and equipment will be provided.

Meet the ranger at the Camp Good Fellow gravel parking lot. 

* Snowshoe Hike at National Lakeshore'™s Bailly/Chellberg Woodlands

Join a ranger on January 31 from 1:30 p.m. '“ 3:30 p.m. for a winter adventure on snowshoes though the woodlands of the historic Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm area of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Meet at the ranger at the Bailly/Chellberg contact station for a quick lesson on using snowshoes and then take a guided snowshoe walk to enjoy the beauty of winter. A limited number of snowshoes are available for use during this program. If there is not enough snow, a nature hike will be offered instead.

The Bailly/Chellberg parking lot is located on Mineral Springs Road between Highway 20 and Highway 12 in the central portion of the national lakeshore.

Help Prepare for Maple Sugar Time at National Lakeshore

It'™s almost Maple Sugar Time at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. So, join a ranger at Chellberg Farm on February 21, from 9 am to noon and help 'œwake up the sugar bush' in preparation for this annual event. Lend a hand with cleaning the sugar shack, moving equipment, preparing fire wood and tapping a few trees to collect the sweet maple sap. Meet at the Chellberg Farm parking lot. Work gloves and equipment will be provided, but be sure to dress for the weather.

The Chellberg parking lot is located on Mineral Springs Road between Highway 20 and Highway 12 in the central portion of the national lakeshore. 

* Stewardship Day at the National Lakeshore

On March 21, from 9 a.m. to noon, lend a hand to help improve 'œYour Neighborhood National Park' during this volunteer opportunity at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Activities may include removing invasive species, planting native flowers, or other work depending on the conditions of the day. Call 219-395-1661 to find out the location of the program this month. Wear comfortable clothes; work gloves and equipment will be provided.

Maple Sugar Time at National Lakeshore

Enjoy a sweet taste of spring at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore'™s annual Maple Sugar Time program. Join National Park Service rangers and volunteers at the historic Chellberg Farm from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on the weekends of March 7 & 8 and March 14 & 15, for this fun and educational event marking the unofficial start of spring.

Stop by the farm and take a self-guided tour to learn how maple tree sap has been used for hundreds of years. Park staff will be at each trail stop to help visitors see how American Indians first boiled maple sap into sugar and how later settlers used large iron kettles to make the sap into syrup. Then, stand in the warm steam of the sugar shack where sap is still boiled down the way the Chellbergs did it back in the 1930s.

Try your hand at drilling a tap hole or at using an old-fashioned yolk to carry heavy sap buckets. You can even enjoy a free taste of pure maple syrup and compare it to 'œartificially flavored' syrup. Admission for all activities is free. Pure maple syrup and related products will be for sale on site.

Maple Sugar Time takes place at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore'™s Chellberg Farm on Mineral Springs Road between U.S. 20 and Highway 12 in the central portion of the national lakeshore.

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