Battle to the Dunes 2025 – Adult Overnight with Out Our Front Door out of Chicago, IL
June 7 @ 7:00 am - June 8 @ 7:00 pm
$140
Ride Specifics
Mileage: Day 1: 75 Miles | Day 2: 55 miles
Support: Semi supported – you carry the majority of your own camping gear etc. on your own bike. OPTIONAL: (We will allow 1 school-size backpack to be carried in our support vehicle to lighten your load.)
Lodging: Tent (camping gear not provided). We will stay at Dunewood Campsite (IN Dunes National Park) located near Dunbar beach in Beverly Shores, IN 46301 (map).
Pace: 12-15mph
Trail/Route: Paved road with minimal gravel incorporated and possible snow. – cut this or add “all bikes and wheels sizes welcome”
Age: Adult Ride (21+)
Trip Description
This is a challenging yet very doable bike ride. For this ride, Out Our Front Door guides will give you an in-depth tour of the South Eastern Chicago and Northwestern Indiana region. As the group travels from the heart of Chicago to Indiana Dunes State Park and back, they will learn about the history of steel manufacturing, the regional nature, bridges, beaches and dunes.
The Lake Michigan shoreline of Southern Chicago and Northwestern Indiana reveal the marks of a century-long conflict over land use in the region. Sand dunes, steel mills, power lines, marshland, and a commercial harbor battled for and shared a ten-mile stretch along the lakeshore. The group will learn about the struggle for a National Park and discover the birthplace of ecology, the rise of steel manufacturing, and the geological forces that shaped this land.
Let’s travel back in time to the 1893’s World’s Fair as we cruise along Chicago’s world-class museum campuses, Daniel Burnham Park , Jackson Park and the beginnings of green spaces in Chicago. The group will pop into the famous Calumet Fisheries, one of the last remaining wood-smoked seafood shacks in Illinois for a mouth-watering snack.
And most important of all, spend an evening enjoying that oh so lovely lake and habitats of our region’s only national park.