I have hiked this trail numerous times over the years. When people ask me which trail at the dunes is my favorite, I usually say this one. I believe the best part of living in the upper midwest is that we have four distinct seasons. That is why hiking this trail (or any other trails in our area) always gives you something different on every hike.
One thing that stays the same is my four-legged friends are almost always with me.
It is a beautiful sunshine and blue sky day for a hike.
Yeti waiting while Christy picks up poop.
Instead of taking the raised boardwalk over the ponds, we take the trail over the dunes.
A couple of views from the high point of the trail on the dunes near the Learning Center.
This is the Dune and Swale section of the hike.
Climbing up the next dune with the sun in the southern sky behind us.
This trail also passes through a rare Black Oak Savanna.
The tall grass found near the wetlands along the trail.
As the trail leads toward Lake Michigan, there is water on both sides of the trail.
As usual, the boys have fallen behind the girls.
Resting on the bridge between the Marquette Park Lagoons and the beginning of the Grand Calumet River.
It looks like there is an ice trail on the lagoon.
Looking west from the bridge.
Continuing along the trail toward the beach.
The wind really picked up on this stretch of the hike.
The lagoons are ice-covered but not frozen enough to walk on.
I love this section of the trail between the larger sand dunes and the lagoons.
The last section takes us over the sand dunes to Lake Michigan.
Yeti leading the way to the beach.
There is always something different to see when hiking familiar trails. This is an incredible mix of frozen and loose sand.
Yeti is on the edge of the shelf ice.
Christy & Nola trying to figure out where the shore ends and the water begins.
There are lots of sand-covered chunks of ice on the shoreline.
We hiked east on Lake Street Beach...
...enjoying Mother Nature's beautiful handiwork.
As you can see, most of the snow and ice have been covered by the blowing sand.
There are piles of ice along the shoreline...
...and lots of interesting ice formations covered by sand.
We were the only ones hiking out here today. I love the quiet and solitude on hikes like this one. The refreshing chill of winter and nothing to distract you from the incredible scenery of Lake Michigan in the winter.
If I remember correctly Christy is pointing out some birds flying by us. It looks like Nola is watching them too.
Over the past several winters the shoreline has been battered by storms. This area, where we are walking back to the trail, used to have several foredunes that were flattened by storms.
Heading back on the Paul Douglas trail through the dunes
The battle to be the lead dog never ends.
It looks like Nola let Yeti win.
The bridge is a nice place to stop and enjoy the incredible beauty all around us. The large dunes to the north, the lagoons to the east, the beginning of the Grand Calumet River to the west, and the dune and swales to the south are all visible from here.
The winter sun through the trees.
We took the abandoned railway line back to avoid climbing and descending the ice-covered trail over the dunes near the Douglas Learning Center. This hike is always a good choice. Today it was extra special because it was a last-minute decision to take the dogs for a hike. Then we had to pick where to go. Then choose to turn around at the bridge or continue to the beach. It turned out that we made the right choice each time. There is a beautiful world out there, you just have to go outside and find it.
