Paul H. Douglas Trail through Miller Woods
in Indiana · centroid 26 mi from Chicago
Paul H. Douglas Trail through Miller Woods 3.4 miles, 46 feet of elevation gain, 1% average grade, 4% maximum grade Hike time: 2 hours The Paul H. Douglas Trail in Miller Woods winds through several habitats including wetlands, globally rare black oak savanna, open dunes and beach.
The views of the lake and the dunes are incredible. The oak savanna's native grasses and wildflowers, including lupine, thrive in the sunlight and open forest floor. Please stay single file on the narrow trail to protect yourself from the abundant poison ivy along the trail edges as well as the fragile lupine habitat.
This featured hike is essentially an out and back trail. Starting from the Paul H. Douglas Center, take the trail north or counter-clockwise around the wetland complex. Look for wildlife including beavers.
- States
- Indiana
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Chicago, IL · 26 mi · ~45 min drive
- Centroid coords
- 41.6065°, -87.2685°
About Indiana Dunes National Park
This trail is inside Indiana Dunes National Park, a national park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $20 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/paul-h-douglas-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/indu/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Paul H. Douglas Trail through Miller Woods and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
DLT h - N. Lake to Midwest Rd
2 miles from this trail's centroid
Hobart Prairie Grove Trail (East)
6 miles from this trail's centroid
Hobart Prairie Grove Trail (West)
6 miles from this trail's centroid
DLT j - Midwest to Howe
7 miles from this trail's centroid
Cowles Bog Trail (South)
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Cowles Bog Trail (North)
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.