West Beach: Succession Loop and Long Lake Trail

Time 10am CT, 11pm ET

This loop has a lot of variety-- open sandy country, the edge of a lake, deep woods, the beach along the lake-- 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 thing is a moderately hard hike of 4.5 miles. There is a lot of up and down, but the worst of that is on stairs, instead of loose sand. But there are a lot of stairs, about 75 vertical feet.

If that is a bit much, you can skip the stairs, just do the first 2.5 miles, which ends up next to the parking lot. You can take the easy, paved way to the beach from there if you like.

Don't worry, you don't have to decide which way you want to go until we get to the stairs. There are also a few other easy shortcuts back I can point out if you run out of energy, so this is a great event if you don't know how much you can do.

Starting Location
We'll gather near the far end of the parking lot, near the bathrooms, and the the path to the beach. Basically you want to keep driving until you can't get any closer to the lake.

West Beach, Portage, IN

Coordinates: 41.62258° N, 87.20811° W

>> Make sure your GPS is pointed to the right place. See the map in the photo gallery

Details
• Dogs are allowed on leash
• Bring some water
• Bathrooms are next to the parking lot
• In case of bad weather the hike may be moved.

Parking
This is the first day of National Park Week. No entrance fee.

You can call or text me at 217-717-7860 for last minute questions or details.

Hope to see you there,
Jonathan

Photos from recent hikes here:
https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/34596724/
https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/33821474/
https://www.meetup.com/ricks-hiking-fun-group/photos/34866205/