Pop Up Lupine Hike at West Beach! Long Lake Trail followed by the Succession

Time 10am-12pm CT

The lupine should be blooming by now and this is one of the best trails at the National park to stand in awe of their purple beauty.

This loop has a lot of variety and is great for bird watching; open sandy paths, an inland lake's edge, deep woods, the beach along lake Michigan, and a high series of stairs over the dunes. The hike will end at the beach.

Difficulty
There are two ways to do this hike. The full hike is moderately challenging
at 4.5 miles. There is a lot of up and down, but the most of that is on stairs on the Succession Trail instead of on loose sand. There are a lot of stairs, about 75 vertical feet.

If preferred, you can skip the Succession Trail and just do the first 2.5 miles on the Long Lake Trail, which ends next to the parking lot. You can take the easy, paved way to the beach from there if you like

Starting Location
We'll meet by the bathrooms at the far end of the parking lot.

West Beach, Portage, IN

Coordinates: 41.62258° N, 87.20811° W

Details
• Dogs are allowed on leash
• Bring some water
• Bathrooms are next to the parking lot

Parking
Ample parking is available.