Dune Struck: Indiana is home to a gem on the South Shore of Lake Michigan.

• Author: Rassenfoss, Joe
• Position: MY DISTRICT

What has 15 miles of shoreline, more than 1,100 flowering plant species and ferns (including more native orchids than Hawaii), towering sand dunes, forests and more than 350 species of birds?

It's not a remote tropical island. It's Indiana Dunes National Park on the southern tip of Lake Michigan in the heart of the Midwest.

There are four major dune complexes at the park, along with a 50-mile trail system and miles of beach perfect for swimming, strolling and sunning. And that's just for starters.

Work has been afoot since 1899 to preserve this ecological marvel. A portion of today's park became Indiana Dunes State Park in 1926 (a small state park remains), and Congress formally designated the area as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 1966. In the ensuing years, local groups and the National Park Service worked to pass bills that expanded the park to its current 15,000 acres. And in 2019, Congress designated it the 61st national park.

The result of that change has been even more people visiting an already popular destination. In 2018, before designation, the park service reported 1.8 million visitors; in 2021, that number jumped to 3.2 million--with $156.3 million in total spending.

We caught up with Sen. Rodney Pol Jr. (D) and Rep. Patricia Boy (D), whose districts include this national treasure, to ask what the park means to their constituents and learn about other attractions in the area.

Did you grow up near the park? What are your earliest memories of it?

Pol: My earliest memory was my mom taking me for the first time, and it blew my mind. We lived close enough that, when I got older, my friends and I could ride bikes over there. In the winter, it had the best sledding hills. We used to go to the Devil's Slide. After a couple of runs, the snow and ice would melt and you would get a really solid runway. (Sometimes) you could get enough speed to almost go all the way to the water.

Congress authorized the park as a national lakeshore in 1966, then designated it a national park in 2019. Has that made a difference to your districts?

Boy: Attendance has really grown. In part, that's because...