Dune Acres

No. Dune Acres is an incorporated municipality and a public community. Its roads are public, and limitations on beach access are practical rather than legal. A staffed security office is located at the town’s entrance near the Cowles Bog trail and operates year-round. Security personnel assist residents, guests, and visitors, including National Park users. Because the town has narrow roads and very limited parking, public parking areas are reserved for residents and their invited guests.

Lakefront homeowners generally access the beach directly, while several public access points are located along the shoreline for use by all residents. Each access offers a slightly different experience. The eastern end of town tends to be more social during summer months, while the western end is quieter and more remote.

Yes. Indiana’s Lake Michigan shoreline up to the ordinary high water mark is held in public trust, and the Dune Acres beach is no exception. While the beach itself is public, access is limited by permit-only parking within town. Some visitors walk in from Porter Beach to the east or via the Cowles Bog Trail to the west, though both routes can be physically demanding. In practice, beach use in Dune Acres remains limited compared to much of the shoreline.

Yes. Dune Acres is entirely surrounded by protected land, much of it managed by the National Park Service. In addition, the town owns more than 200 acres of parkland, most of which is preserved as natural area. The Dune Acres area of the Indiana Dunes is recognized for exceptional biodiversity relative to its size.

No. Dune Acres is almost entirely residential. Land originally zoned for commercial and industrial use was acquired by the National Park Service in the 1960s, shaping the town’s long-term development. While there are no shops or restaurants, residents often gather for social events at the historic clubhouse and on the beach. Nearby Chesterton offers dining and shopping approximately fifteen minutes away, with Valparaiso and Michigan City also within a short drive.

This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of owning lakefront property in Indiana, and worth understanding clearly before purchasing.

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled in Gunderson v. State (2018) that Lake Michigan's shoreline is held in public trust up to the ordinary high water mark — the point where wave action creates a visible, natural demarcation on the beach. In practice, this often includes a substantial portion of the dry sand beach, not merely the wet sand at the water's edge. In high water years, it may encompass the entire beach. The land below the ordinary high water mark is owned by the state and held in trust for public use, including walking, fishing, and boating.

Deeds for lakefront properties sometimes describe ownership extending to the water's edge, but the Court held that public trust ownership predates Indiana statehood and supersedes those claims. A seller's assertion of exclusive beach ownership is, at minimum, a legally nuanced one.

That said, lakefront ownership does confer meaningful rights. Littoral owners — those whose property borders the lake — retain a vested right to access the water regardless of where the ordinary high water mark falls in a given year. You may cross the public trust land to reach the lake, and as the high water mark shifts over time due to lake level fluctuations, erosion, or accretion, your private property line shifts with it while your right of access remains intact.

The practical implications: you cannot exclude the general public from the beach below the ordinary high water mark, even directly in front of your home. Construction of docks, seawalls, or other structures in that zone typically requires a permit from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. And while access to your shoreline communities' beach may feel private — limited by parking restrictions, geography, or community governance — the legal character of the beach itself is a different matter.

Buyers considering lakefront properties in any Indiana shoreline community should factor this into their understanding of what they are purchasing.