West Beach is the westernmost and largest swimming beach in Indiana Dunes National Park, run by the National Park Service on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. It sits at the Lake and Porter county line between the town of Ogden Dunes and Gary's Miller neighborhood, and on a clear day the Chicago skyline shows across the water. The bath house sits behind the foredune, with a walkway over the sand to the lifeguarded stretch in front of it.

From U.S. 12, turn north on County Line Road and follow it to the West Beach lot (the park lists the address as 376 North County Line Road, Gary, IN 46403). The paved lot has 642 spaces plus room for buses and RVs, and the park says it rarely fills except on holiday weekends. It's roughly a quarter mile to half a mile from the lot to the water on a paved access road. The bath house and walkway are wheelchair accessible; the sand is not. The lot opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m., earlier than most of the park's other beaches, which stay open until 11 p.m.

The beach is wide open sand, but the lake bottom is not even. The park warns about holes and sudden drop-offs between sandbars that can catch small children and weak swimmers. Lake Michigan stays cool well into summer, and the park links to live water temperature and wave forecasts from its beach page. Lifeguards cover the swim area from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend through the Monday of Labor Day weekend, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the bath house has showers, changing rooms, lockers and a seasonal concession in that same window. The park has had trouble filling lifeguard jobs in recent years, so guards may not be on every stand. Call the visitor center at 219-395-1882 if that matters to you.

This is not a free beach. Indiana Dunes National Park charges an entrance fee, and you need a pass to park here. A 7-day private vehicle pass is $25, a motorcycle is $20, and people arriving on foot or by bike pay $15 each if they are 16 or older. The park's own annual pass is $45, and America the Beautiful passes, including the free military, access and fourth grade passes, are honored. Passes are sold by card only at the seasonal West Beach kiosk, and also at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center in Porter and on Recreation.gov. Indiana Dunes State Park passes do not work here.

Rip currents are the main danger. They form where water rushes back out through a break in the offshore sandbar, usually on wavy days with a north wind. Stay out when rip current warnings are posted, and stay out when the park posts signs for high E. coli counts. Glass, beach fires, drones and collecting rocks, shells or fossils are all prohibited. Leashed dogs are allowed on the beach but not in the lifeguarded swim area during the summer season. In winter, keep off the shelf ice that builds along the shore.

Behind the beach, the Dune Succession Trail climbs about 250 boardwalk steps from bare sand to forest, with a view over the lake and Chicago at the top. It links with two longer loops that go past Long Lake to make a hike of about three miles. Twelve covered picnic shelters near the lot have grills, and some can be reserved on Recreation.gov, though a reservation does not cover the entrance fee.