| Notes
from the Northwest Indiana
Traveler <Back
to Traveler Main Page |
| by
Erin Read my
"disclaimer"... |
|
A Day
at Mt. Baldy: What a View! |
Click for larger view. |
Ahhhh. What a terrific early summer
day I had at Mt. Baldy. And
what a view! The day was just spectacular. There was a
bit of haze (surely pollution) on the water's far horizon, but the
overall blue qualified as awesome. Despite the bright sun, I
didn't want to wear my sunglasses; I wanted to soak in all the blue and
view I could get! I even overheard some sun bathers remarking that the area looked like the beaches in Mexico. I had to
agree. |
|
For my visit, I plopped my beach towel at
the pinnacle of Mt. Baldy. I figured, why not? At this point
I was able to see white boats speckling the lake to the northwest, lush
green tree tops to the south, and seagulls flying to the west (and below
since I was up so high). I felt I was nearly on top of the world
(actually 123 feet higher than usual, according to the informant at an
area welcome center). And I was surprised to find that nearly the
whole time I was at the pinnacle of Mt. Baldy, I pretty much had the
place to myself. During my three hours there, probably only six
youngsters ventured to the top, all amazed (like me) at the steep drop
off at the "rear" side of the giant dune. There was
plenty more room for more at this dune's peak. (Try this
web
page for some Mt. Baldy facts and specifics.) |
Click for larger view. |
But when you look around at Mt. Baldy, you
will see that the view isn't absolute bliss in nature. Also in
your view are the cooling tower of Michigan City (east) and the prison
(south). Still, this is one of the most spectacular views in
Northwest Indiana. Whether you've been to Mt. Baldy before or have
never been, please feel encouraged to visit this summer. |
|
In all seriousness, I say, "Thank God
for the efforts of Dorothy Buell and U.S. Senator Paul Douglas" and of course
others who back in the mid-1900s saved Mt. Baldy, other dunes, and 8,000
acres of lakeshore. (See http://www.savedunes.org/
for historical information and more on the value of the dunes.)
Surely today, the view would have looked less like the photos above and
more like an industry infested area that people could not access and
enjoy, if it weren't for the preserving efforts of Buell, Douglas and
many others. |
|
I have just a couple of tips for visiting
Mt. Baldy. 1) Make sure you can carry all your beach gear in
one trip. It is necessary to climb the dune to access the beach,
and you like will not want to climb the dune multiple times simply
because you left your sunscreen or sand pail in the car. 2)
Get to Mt. Baldy early in the day, due to the limited parking. When I left
the dune in the early afternoon, the lot was full and beach-goers were
resorting to parking a good distance away, then walking along Route 12,
which didn't really look safe or ideal. |
|
After your visit to Mt. Baldy, consider some
of these nearby attractions and great places. Michigan
City is a great place for more summer-time fun and locating ice
cream shops. Baily Homestead / Chellberg
Farm is just about a ten minute drive west of
Mt. Baldy and is located on Mineral Springs Road between Routes 12 and
20. |
|
Oh, and consider taking your
camera or binoculars for making the view at Mt. Baldy a bit more
memorable and impressive. |
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Article written June 25, 2001
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