We honestly don’t know much about Indiana, but we heard about it’s National Lakeshore, loved it’s proximity to Chicago, and it’s a convenient stop on the way to the north east. So for those reasons, we added it as a quick stop along our route. While we only had a few days here, we wanted to share our Indiana RV route anyway!

WHERE WE STAYED

Woodland Village RV & Mobile Home Park- Portage, IN

As you can see from its name, Woodland Village RV & Mobile Home Park was primarily a mobile home park. We were in the area during Labor Day weekend and were struggling to find an RV park that wasn’t all booked up. So while this park wasn’t probably our first choice, we were sure glad we found it. It allowed us to be within 40 miles of Chicago, which was the main reason for stopping here. But then we were also 11 miles from Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. So for location, this park gets a high rating from us. However, don’t expect much more. We will say that we had no problems, the staff was friendly, we felt safe, and really have no complaints.

WHAT WE DID

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

We had no idea this even existed!! We did not expect to see Lake Michigan while getting another stamp in our National Parks Passport! Lake Michigan is so huge, it feels more like you are staring at the ocean. We enjoyed walking along the sandy beach, looking out at the Chicago skyline from across the water, and witnessing a beautiful sunset. The national lakeshore is 15,000 acres and has 50 miles of trails through dunes, wetlands, prairies, rivers and forests. This was a very pleasantly surprising destination for us.

Day Trip to Chicago

While we knew one day wouldn’t be enough, we were still amazed by how much we got to see in just about 5 hours in the windy city. We were so happy we brought our bikes because we got to cover so much more ground during our short visit. We rode to Buckingham Fountain, Millennium Park, Grant Park and over every beautiful bridge we could.

After riding along the waterfront path, we took in the views from the Shedd Aquarium. And of course we ate deep dish pizza at the popular Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, then sipped a cocktail while enjoying a view at the Cityscape Bar in the Holiday Inn to finish the day. It is such a unique and vibrant city, we can’t wait to go back! Even if all you do in Chicago is eat pizza, watch the activity along the water, and walk along the busy streets lined with towering skyscrapers and glowing lamp posts, it will be time well spent!

 Be sure to check out our other RV destinations and routes here.