The popular Mt. Baldy sand dune along the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore will remain closed to the general public once again this summer. The National Park Service won’t reopen the site until it’s safe.
The National Park Service closed Mt. Baldy after a section of the dune collapsed in 2013. That hole trapped a 6-year-old boy under 11 feet of sand. The boy survived.
Since then geologists have been studying the dune, trying to determine what caused the hole to form.
National Park Service Ranger Bruce Rowe says the site won’t reopen until they have that question answered.
“We’re waiting on a major study by the Indiana Geological Survey who’s looking at the extent of the holes there and also trying to predict future holes,” Rowe says.
The results of that study are expected this fall.
Rowe says they will offer ranger-led tours this summer on the western edge of Mt. Baldy – an area found to be free of holes.
