Long Beach, Indiana
The lake that doesn’t act like a lake at all.
In this guide
01 — Why Long Beach
Three generations of one family at one lake in Indiana.
Most people who have never stood on a beach at the southern end of Lake Michigan do not believe what they’re being told about it. There is no Indiana in the picture — no cornfields, no flatness, no landlocked feeling. There is sand. There are dunes, some of them over 100 feet tall. There is water that stretches to a horizon with no visible far shore, waves that build across hundreds of miles of open water, and on a clear day, the Chicago skyline appearing across the lake like something conjured rather than simply there.
Long Beach, Indiana sits at this exact point — a small lakefront community on the southeastern curve of Lake Michigan, in the shadow of the Indiana Dunes, fifteen minutes from downtown Michigan City. My great-grandmother had a house here in the 1950s — on a hill, a long driveway up, steps to climb whether you came in the front or the back, nothing visible below but green dunes and the lake stretching out past the edge of what felt possible for a state most people think of as entirely landlocked.
Great-grandmother’s house in Long Beach, 1950s — when Ed Sullivan had just started on television and the country was a different place entirely.
Grandmother in Indianapolis — the other Indiana anchor, the family’s second home base in the state.
Mother at Saint Mary’s College in South Bend — Notre Dame’s sister school, an hour from the lake.
My mother has traveled the Caribbean, Europe, and a dozen other countries in the decades since. She still talks about this lake — about a place that felt like the ocean before she’d ever seen one.
That’s the actual review. Not a five-star rating. A woman who has seen genuinely extraordinary places choosing to remember this one.
“My grandmother remembered her own grandmother’s swimsuit failing her on the walk down to the beach — sometime in the late 1970s. Three generations of women on the same sand, the lake the same color it’s always been.”
This is not a destination most travel sites cover with any real depth. It’s not trying to be Cape Cod or the Hamptons. It’s an unpretentious lakeside community that happens to sit on one of the most dramatic stretches of shoreline in the Midwest — and the people who know it tend to keep coming back across generations without much need to tell anyone else about it.
02 — Lake Michigan itself
The lake that doesn’t act like a lake at all.
Lake Michigan is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the only one entirely within the United States — 22,000 square miles of fresh water, deep enough and wide enough to generate genuine ocean-scale waves, storms, and weather systems. Standing on the beach at Long Beach or Washington Park in Michigan City, looking north, there is no land visible. The water simply continues to the horizon. The sensation is identical to standing on an Atlantic beach, minus the salt.
The southern shore of Lake Michigan is also home to some of the most significant sand dune formations in the country — the Indiana Dunes, now a National Park, with dunes rising over 100 feet directly from the shoreline. Mount Baldy, the tallest, is an actively migrating dune that moves several feet south every year, slowly burying the forest behind it.
Yes, you can see Chicago
On a clear day, the Chicago skyline is visible across the water from the Indiana shore — roughly 30 miles away across open lake. It appears as a thin silhouette on the northern horizon. It’s one of the more surreal things about this stretch of coastline: a major American skyline appearing to float on the water from a quiet Indiana beach town.
The water is also notably clear in this stretch of the lake — clear enough that the smooth, rounded stones that cover much of the beach are visible through several feet of water. Many visitors collect these stones, some of which contain fossils or natural holes worn through by decades of wave action.
03 — Getting there
An hour from Chicago. A world away.
Long Beach and Michigan City sit in the far northwestern corner of Indiana, close enough to Chicago that the South Shore Line commuter train connects directly to downtown Michigan City from Chicago’s Millennium Station — one of the only beach towns in America reachable by commuter rail from a major city.
From Chicago
About 60 miles, roughly 1 to 1.5 hours by car via I-90/I-94. Or take the South Shore Line commuter train directly from downtown Chicago to Michigan City — a genuinely unique way to reach a Great Lakes beach town without a car.
From South Bend / Notre Dame
About 45 minutes west on the Indiana Toll Road. Saint Mary’s College and Notre Dame are close enough to make this an easy day trip or weekend combination.
From Indianapolis
About 3 hours north via I-65. A popular summer day-trip and weekend destination for central Indiana families.
South Bend Airport (SBN)
The closest regional airport, about 45 minutes away. Chicago O’Hare or Midway are more practical for most travelers flying in from outside the Midwest.
04 — Long Beach & Michigan City
A quiet residential beach next to a real working town.
Long Beach itself is a small, primarily residential lakefront community — houses on the bluffs and along the shore, quiet streets, no commercial strip to speak of. It’s not a resort town in the traditional sense. It’s a place where families have houses, generation after generation, and the appeal is precisely the lack of anything trying too hard.
Michigan City, immediately to the east, is the real town — population around 30,000, founded in 1830, with a genuine downtown, a working harbor, and enough history and infrastructure to support the lakefront communities around it.
Long Beach
Quiet, residential, bluff-top houses overlooking the lake. This is where you stay if you want the lake without the crowds.
Michigan City
The hub for restaurants, shopping, the lighthouse, the harbor, and Washington Park — the city’s main public beach. A genuine small Midwestern city with a real downtown.
Beverly Shores
A small community just west of Michigan City, inside the boundaries of Indiana Dunes National Park. Quiet, historic, with some architecturally significant homes from the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair relocated here.
05 — Where to stay
A house on the bluffs is the whole point.
The right way to experience Long Beach is the way families have experienced it for generations — a house on the bluffs or close to the water, where you can walk down to the beach and watch the lake do what it does across every hour of the day. VRBO has a genuine inventory of Long Beach and Michigan City lakefront properties, several specifically advertising hot tubs, steam rooms, and beachfront access.
Hotels in Michigan City
For travelers who’d rather not manage a rental house, Michigan City has hotel options including the Blue Chip Casino Hotel & Spa right on the lake — full casino, multiple restaurants, spa, and direct beach access.
06 — Things to do
Dunes, lighthouses, and an actual zoo.
Climb Mount Baldy
An actively migrating sand dune at the western edge of Michigan City, part of Indiana Dunes National Park. At over 120 feet, climbing it and looking back at the lake is one of the singular experiences on this shoreline.
Washington Park & the lighthouse
Michigan City’s primary public beach park — miles of sandy shoreline known locally for its “singing sand.” Walk the pier out to the Old Michigan City Light, a lighthouse standing 40 feet above the water and one of the oldest in Indiana.
Indiana Dunes National Park
Over 50 miles of trails across dune, forest, wetland, and prairie ecosystems. Birdwatching is excellent during migration season — the southern Lake Michigan shoreline is a significant flyway.
Washington Park Zoo
A genuinely well-regarded small zoo, set right on the lake. Consistently praised by visitors and a nice family addition to a beach day.
Friendship Botanic Gardens
105 acres of historic gardens inspired by the 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago, with trails that trace land used for centuries by Native American communities. Over 60,000 visitors a year.
Stone collecting on the beach
The beaches around Michigan City and Long Beach are covered in smooth, flat stones — many with natural holes, fossils, or interesting textures, easily visible through the lake’s clear water. A simple, free, genuinely satisfying activity for any age.
Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets
Over 100 stores in Michigan City. Indiana has no sales tax on clothing, adding to the appeal for shoppers coming from Illinois or Michigan.
07 — Where to eat
Lake views, casual Midwest cooking.
This is not a destination known for a sophisticated food scene, and that’s part of its honest charm. The eating here is straightforward — fish, casual American fare, ice cream, the kind of food that fits a day spent on the beach rather than competing with it.
Restaurants at Washington Park Marina
Several casual waterfront restaurants overlook the marina — fresh fish, sandwiches, relaxed lake-view dining that suits a beach day perfectly.
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Blue Chip Casino dining
Multiple restaurants inside the Blue Chip Casino Hotel & Spa — ranging from casual to upscale. A reliable option for a proper dinner without driving far from the lake.
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Local breweries and a winery
Michigan City and the surrounding region have developed a small but genuine craft beverage scene — a pleasant surprise for visitors who didn’t expect serious beer and wine culture in this corner of Indiana.
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Farm stands and orchards
Blueberry farms and apple orchards scattered throughout the region, many open for picking in season. A genuinely lovely way to spend a slower afternoon away from the beach.
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08 — Practical tips
What to know before you go.
Check beach hazard warnings
Lake Michigan can generate genuinely dangerous rip currents and high waves, especially during storms. Check conditions before swimming — this lake is not a calm pond and should not be treated like one.
July is the sweet spot
Water temperatures peak in late July and August. Plan for warm but not crowded — this remains an under-the-radar destination compared to Atlantic beach towns.
Parking fees in season
Washington Park and other main beach access points charge parking fees during peak season. Bring cash or check current rates before arriving.
Combine with South Bend
If anyone in your group has a connection to Notre Dame or Saint Mary’s College — both about 45 minutes away — this makes an easy combination trip.
The South Shore Line train
One of the only Great Lakes beach destinations reachable by direct commuter rail from a major city. If you’re coming from Chicago without a car, this is a genuinely unique way to arrive.
Bring real shoes for the dunes
Mount Baldy and the dune trails involve loose, steep sand that is more physically demanding than it looks. Sandals are fine for the beach but bring proper shoes for any serious dune hiking.
The Indiana beach that nobody believes exists until they see it.
My great-grandmother’s house sat on a hill above this lake in the 1950s, when television was brand new and the country looked nothing like it does now. My grandmother remembered her own grandmother’s swimsuit failing on the walk to the water. My mother went to college an hour away and has spent the decades since traveling to places most people only dream about — and she still talks about this lake.
That’s not a five-star review. That’s just what happens when a place is quietly, genuinely extraordinary and three generations of one family happened to notice. Lake Michigan at Long Beach looks like the ocean because, for every practical purpose that matters when you’re standing on the sand, it is one. Indiana was never supposed to have a beach like this. It has one anyway.