Dunbar Group Site
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We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- A night
- $100From, per site
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
- Season
- April 1 – October 31Open April 1 through October 31
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 15,000 acres (6070 ha) 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
Tent Only Nonelectric 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
Dunbar Beach, situated along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, is approximately 0.2 miles (.32 km) from the group camp site. Several other national park beaches are within easy driving distance. Do NOT park in the Town of Beverly Shores' beach parking lot, which is located just to the east of the Lake View lot. You will get ticketed. The town strictly enforces parking laws. A gas station / convenience store is located ¼ mile north of the campground at the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and Broadway Avenue. The Beverly Shores South Shore Railroad station with passenger service to Chicago and South Bend is located on Broadway Avenue, ¼ mile (.4 km) north of the campground. Indiana Dunes Tourism and LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau have lists of other activities in the area.
Charges & Cancellations
Customers who cancel a group site reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee.
What the agency tells you
Only Tent camping is permitted. Campers or RVs are not permitted. Parking is limited to vehicles less than 20 feet (6 m) long.
Access to sites. The campsite is not accessible by vehicle. You are not allowed to drive up to the sites past the cable gate. There is a steep hill you must walk up to reach the group camp site. The terrain is a combination of gravel and grass. During the peak summer season parking can be very limited, especially on warm days.
Tent set up. All tents must be set up in the open mowed area.
Everything else this campground posts · 8
A valid entrance pass or receipt is required 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
Garbage. All garbage must be packed out with you. Several dumpsters are available at the Dunewood Campground. Please do not leave it in the Dunbar Parking Lot garbage can, it is too small for camping groups to use.
Group Size. Up to 30 people may camp on the Dunbar Group site.
Maximum Stay. Stays are limited to 14 days in a 30-day period.
Quiet Hours. Quiet hours are daily, 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. Please be considerate of others.
Pets. Pets must be attended at all times and remain on a leash.
Campfires and Firewood. Fire must remain in the fire ring and you must bring your own wood. Do not cut or damage any standing trees.
Restrooms. The restroom is at the bottom of the hill in the Dunbar Parking lot.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 20 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Little
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush 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
- Beachcombing
- Biking
- Birding
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Cross Country Skiing
- Cultural Activities
- Environmental Education
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Ranger programs
- Kayaking
- Picnicking
- Scenic drives
- Night sky · 20th darkest of 23 in IN
- Bortle 5
Full this Saturdayread 15:29 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
1 campground has sites open within 30 miles, read 16:49 UTC. See them
OpenBooked
The one site on offer is taken this Saturday. 1 is free on Mon, Oct 19. read 15:29 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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 · 18
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $100 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.
“Customers who cancel a group site reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use 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
Open within 30 miles this weekend · 1
Sites the agency is offering this Friday and Saturday that nobody has taken, nearest first. read 16:49 UTC
- Dunewood CampgroundIndiana Dunes National Park · 1.2 mi · 1 of 131 site-nights open
recreation.gov availability, read 15:29 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 1 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. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Dunbar | Dunbar Group Site | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 525 ft | 2,226 ft | $100 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Dunewood CampgroundIndiana Dunes National Park · 1.2 mi
Central Avenue Walk-in SitesIndiana Dunes National Park · 3.1 mi
Chellberg Farm Picnic SheltersIndiana Dunes National Park · 6.1 mi
West Beach Picnic SheltersIndiana Dunes National Park · 11 miDunbar Group site is on Dunbar Ave and West Lake Front Drive in Beverly Shores, Indiana.
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 night of the open season: typical April night 40°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
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 · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Dunbar Group Site 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 →
Who can change it · 4
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The office that runs itIndiana Dunes National ParkNational Park Service unit
- The member who votes the moneyFrank J. MrvanU.S. Representative · Indiana’s 1st district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationJim BanksU.S. Senator · Indiana
- Your senator, on the same appropriationTodd YoungU.S. Senator · Indiana
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks the National Park Service to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up, and to post what that share is.
Subject Hold back a share of sites at Dunbar Group Site for campers who drive up
To the National Park Service, Indiana Dunes National Park: I tried to camp at Dunbar Group Site in Indiana and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Dunbar Group Site are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Dunbar Group Site keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m asking for one specific thing: set aside a published share of the sites at Dunbar Group Site as first-come, first-served, and post what that share is so it can be checked. Somebody who drives up has no way in, and no way to find out whether they might have had one. Sent about Dunbar Group Site (Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Dunbar Group Site, Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana
Dear Frank J. Mrvan, I’m a constituent in Indiana’s 1st district. I tried to camp at Dunbar Group Site, Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Dunbar Group Site are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Dunbar Group Site keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Dunbar Group Site. I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Dunbar Group Site (Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Dunbar Group Site, Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana
Dear Jim Banks, I’m a constituent in Indiana. I tried to camp at Dunbar Group Site, Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Dunbar Group Site are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Dunbar Group Site keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Dunbar Group Site. I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Dunbar Group Site (Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Dunbar Group Site, Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana
Dear Todd Young, I’m a constituent in Indiana. I tried to camp at Dunbar Group Site, Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Dunbar Group Site are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Dunbar Group Site keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Dunbar Group Site. I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Dunbar Group Site (Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana) via campanac.com