Tourism promotion leads visitors across the region.
by Ken Kosky
More than three million people come to the Indiana Dunes each year to take in the views from atop 120-foot sand dunes, hike on wooded trails and relax on sandy beaches as gentle waves lap the shore around them.
And tourism officials say more and more of those three million people are shaking off the sand and spending their money all over Northwest Indiana. More money means more businesses and attractions thrive, leading to more jobs and recreational opportunities for residents. And that means a better quality of life for the people who call the region home.
“Often the incentive for travelers to come to the area is the beach,” says Indiana Dunes Tourism Marketing Director Christine Livingston. “We're giving them reasons to stay the night, grab a bite to eat and shop in our communities. We're providing the tools and incentive to plan more than a one-day trip.”
Livingston spearheaded the Beyond the Beach Discovery Trail, a collection of 60 of Northwest Indiana's greatest natural, cultural and historic sites. The trail features everything from a bison farm where visitors can get within inches of the enormous animals to a bog with insect-eating plants and a floating boardwalk that allows people to literally walk on water.
There are printed Beyond the Beach guides, a map and a website – www.BeyondTheBeachDiscoveryTrail.com – that provide descriptions and directions to each site.
Stops along the trail, such as Broken Wagon Bison Farm, report calls and visits have increased dramatically since the advent of the trail. “Since being listed with the Discovery Trail, we have seen an increase in customers – from a single person looking to see a bison and pick up a little buffalo meat to a tour group of 53 people from Wisconsin wanting to learn more about the bison's story and take a tour into the herd,” says Bud Koeppen, co-owner of Broken Wagon Bison Farm.
Livingston says the trail, which launched last autumn, has grown from 54 to 60 sites this year in Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, Newton and Pulaski counties. The multi-county project came together with cooperation among the counties' tourism officials, park officials and attraction operators, says Livingston.
Among the attractions new to Beyond the Beach this year are Marquette Park in the Miller section of Gary, Brauer Museum of Art at Valparaiso University and Bluhm County Park in Westville (which features a great mountain biking area).
The new Beyond the Beach guide also features a section on birding in Northwest Indiana and a “blueways” guide designed to help boaters enjoy the area's waterways and Lake Michigan.
Indiana Dunes Tourism Executive Director Lorelei Weimer says initiatives such as Beyond the Beach cater to the travel trends – people seeking short trips close to home and unique experiences they can't get in their own community.
Weimer says spending by visitors grew even during the recession in Northern Indiana, helping to keep business going strong and greatly supporting the contribution from local taxpayers. “We are fortunate to be very rich in natural assets and we've gone the extra mile to weave these assets along with historic and cultural attractions into one trail,” says Livingston.
“We encourage people to come for the Indiana Dunes experience and then stay, shake off the sand and enjoy the many other experiences available beyond the beach and throughout Northern Indiana,” says Livingston.
