Central Avenue Walk-in Sites
5Heads uppark alerts
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 17 of the next 17 nights read 15:33 UTC
- A night
- $25From, per site
- Sites
- 5All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 11 notices
In the agency’s own words
Indiana Dunes National Park hugs 15 miles (24 km) of the southern shore of Lake Michigan and has much to offer. Whether you enjoy scouting for rare species of birds or flying kites on the sandy beach, the national park's 16,000 acres will continually enchant you. Hikers will enjoy 50 miles (80 km) of trails over rugged dunes, mysterious wetlands, sunny prairies, meandering rivers and peaceful forests. Keep reading
Recreation
There is no one-size-fits-all trip to the dunes. Each season offers new and different ways to enjoy Indiana Dunes National Park. Spring splashes the river banks of the Heron Rookery with an abundance of colorful wildflowers in this birder's paradise. Lake Michigan summer sunsets paint the skies with vibrant rays that offer a picture-perfect picnic setting. In the fall, Maple trees burst with warm red and golden hues crafting a spectacular backdrop for a hike by the Chellberg Farm and winter brings a scenic canvas of virgin white snow begging for a cross-country skiing adventure in the Glenwood Dunes. As the seasons change, so do the recreational opportunities, park facility operating hours and closures and safety concerns. Here is a list of some of the activities that occur in the National Park: Beach-going & Swimming, Biking, Bird Watching, Camping, Fishing & Boating, Hiking, Geocaching, Historical Sites, Horseback Riding, Interpretive Programs, Picnic, Winter Activities and Guided Tours. Check the Calendar page on our website for our list of Ranger-led programs.
Facilities
The Central Beach Walk-In Sites has 5 sites that will require a walk to get to your campsite. There is a vault toilet by the Central Beach Parking Lot. There is no drinkable water in the area so you must bring your own water. There is a Picnic table and a fire pit at each site.
Natural Features
Indiana Dunes National Park is a treasure of diverse natural resources located within an urban setting. The national park features communities that have both scientific and historic significance to the field of ecology. In addition, four National Natural Landmarks (including Pinhook Bog and Cowles Bog ) and one National Historical Landmark (the Bailly Homestead ) are located within its boundaries. The park is comprised of over 15,000 acres (6070 ha) of dunes, oak savannas, swamps, bogs, marshes, prairies, rivers, and forests. It contains 15 miles (24 km) of Lake Michigan shoreline spanning the distance from Gary to Michigan City. Lake Michigan is part of the largest complex of freshwater lakes in the world. The national park's beaches are the park's most significant recreational resource. For more information on our natural features visit the Nature and Science page on the park website.
Nearby Attractions
Central Avenue Beach on Lake Michigan is located nearby, less than 5,000 feet (1524 m) from the campground. Several other national park beaches are within easy driving distance. A gas station / convenience store is located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of the campground on U.S. Highway 12. The Beverly Shores South Shore Railroad station with passenger service to Chicago and South Bend is located on Broadway Avenue. Indiana Dunes Tourism and LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau have lists of other activities in the area.
Charges & Cancellations
A $10.00 service fee will apply if you modify your reservation or change your stay dates. Cancelling your reservation prior to 11:59 pm Eastern Time two nights before your stay will incur a $10 cancellation fee. Late cancellations (camping reservations cancelled the day before or day of arrival) incur a $10 cancellation fee plus a forfeiture of the first night's use fee. For more information please review Recreation.gov's Rules and Reservations Policies.
What the agency tells you
Eight (8) people are allowed per site maximum.
You must walk to each Central Avenue campsite, up a large hill with uneven terrain, from the parking area. WALKING DISTANCES TO EACH CAMPSITE: Campsite One: 528 feet/161 m (.10 mile/.16 km) Campsite Two: 2,050 feet/625 m (.39 miles/.63 km) Campsite Three: 2,460 feet/750 m (.47 miles/.75 km) Campsite Four: 2,700 feet/823 m (.51 miles/.82 km) Campsite Five: 3,310 feet/1009 m (.63 miles/1 km)
Two (2) vehicles are allowed per site. Vehicles must park in the Central Beach parking lot.
Everything else this campground posts · 8
Pack-in, pack-out, including all trash.
No collection of wood for fires from the woods--all firewood must be brought in.
A valid entrance pass or receipt is requried for all visitors. You may pay upon arrival or purchase in advance. Indiana Dunes honors Federal interagency passes (annual, senior, access, 4th grade, Golden Age, etc.). For more information, visit the Indiana Dunes Fees & Passes page .
Stays are limited to 14 days in a 30-day period.
Quiet hours are daily, 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Please be considerate of others.
All tents must be in the open area on the site.
Any pets must be attended at all times and must remain on a leash if outside a tent.
To prevent theft, leave no valuables visible inside your vehicle.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 5 · 5 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets - seasonal · Portable Toilets - seasonal
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Beach
- Backpacking
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Wilderness access
Something open on 14 of the next 17 bookable nightsread 15:33 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 5 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 5 are free on Mon, Oct 19. read 15:33 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
These counts cover the 5 reservable sites only. This campground also has first-come sites, and recreation.gov publishes no availability for a site you can’t reserve.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 17
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $25 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
“A $10.00 service fee will apply if you modify your reservation or change your stay dates. Cancelling your reservation prior to 11:59 pm Eastern Time two nights before your stay will incur a $10 cancellation fee.” · this campground’s own terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 15:33 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
5 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 5 mapped sitesAll 5 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 5 of the 5 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 5 of the 5 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Central Area | Central 1 | tent only nonelectric | 249 ft | 698 ft | 209 ft | $25 |
| Central Area | Central 2 | tent only nonelectric | 183 ft | 446 ft | 1,238 ft | $25 |
| Central Area | Central 3 | tent only nonelectric | 145 ft | 299 ft | 1,058 ft | $25 |
| Central Area | Central 4 | tent only nonelectric | 145 ft | 232 ft | 914 ft | $25 |
| Central Area | Central 5 | tent only nonelectric | 249 ft | 494 ft | 458 ft | $25 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Dunewood CampgroundIndiana Dunes National Park · 2.8 mi
Dunbar Group SiteIndiana Dunes National Park · 3.1 mi
Chellberg Farm Picnic SheltersIndiana Dunes National Park · 9.1 mi
West Beach Picnic SheltersIndiana Dunes National Park · 14 miThe Central Ave Beach Parking Lot is one mile (1.6 km) north of the intersection of Central Avenue and U.S. Highway 12 in the Town of Pines. NOTE: It is not possible to drive directly to the campsites. Each campsite is a walk of between .1 and .6 miles from the Central Avenue Beach Parking Lot, including a large hill with uneven terrain to get to each site.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Beverly Shores, IN
Typical weather
Typical October night 45°F, day 62°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 18°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Central Avenue Walk-in Sites is in Indiana’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, Frank Mrvan (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →