National parks turn 110: Where Hoosiers can celebrate for free
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An aerial of Indiana Dunes National Park in 2023. Photo: Diane Desobeau/AFP via Getty Images
The National Park Service turns 110 Tuesday, and Indianapolis residents can mark the occasion with free access to outdoor adventure spots on opposite ends of the state.
Why it matters: The celebration recognizes more than a century of protecting America's natural and cultural resources while providing a reminder of what Hoosiers could lose if federal support for public lands continues to shrink.
Flashback: President Wilson signed legislation creating the National Park Service on Aug. 25, 1916. The agency now oversees more than 400 sites.
- Entrance fees are being waived at all national parks, national wildlife refuges and other U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands in honor of the anniversary.
Zoom in: The closest national park to Indy is Indiana Dunes National Park, which stretches 15 miles along Lake Michigan.
- It opened as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 1966. In February 2019, Congress authorized a name change to Indiana Dunes National Park.
- The park's more than 15,000 acres of dunes, wetlands, forests and prairie include more than 50 miles of trails and over 1,100 native plant species.
- Driving there from Indy will take you just under two and a half hours.
Also free is the 50,000-acre Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge near Madison that encompasses forests, wetlands, grasslands and other habitat on the former Jefferson Proving Ground.
- It offers hunting, fishing, birding, wildlife viewing and hiking, but access is tightly controlled because the property was once a military munitions-testing site.
- It's roughly an hour and 45 minutes away from Indianapolis.
State of play: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is negotiating with the military over the refuge's management agreement amid staffing and budget reductions.
- Local conservation groups have warned the refuge could lose public access or close if the agreement is abandoned.
Yes, but: Last month, U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) issued a statement that "Big Oaks is not closing," while acknowledging negotiations could affect how it operates.
- Madison Mayor Bob Courtney said he's working alongside local, state, and federal leaders to develop a plan to keep the refuge open.
Between the lines: Free admission covers entrance fees, not necessarily camping, permits, hunting, fishing, tours or other concession fees.
Go deeper: Outdoor recreation brings in $17.1 billion in Indiana