Finding North Dunes
The DNR directs visitors from Sheridan Road east along 17th Street into the north unit of Illinois Beach State Park. Follow current park signs and maps for access to the preserve and lakeshore.
Places to Explore • Illinois
Winter ice sculptures, open-water birds, and a Lake Michigan shoreline that keeps changing.
Brian remembers this stretch of lakeshore for its unusual winter ice formations. Trees wore thick white sleeves, fallen branches carried curtains of icicles, and the same shoreline could look completely different from one visit to the next. These photographs bring together the frozen details, broad lake views, and wildlife that made those visits memorable.
Waves, cold air & changing water
Technically, yes—but they are tiny. NOAA reports that even the Great Lakes’ largest astronomical tides are less than five centimeters, or about two inches. They are usually masked by changes caused by wind and weather. Wind can push water toward shore and set up a seiche: a back-and-forth oscillation in the lake’s water level that can be mistaken for a tide.
The more direct explanation for these frozen shoreline shapes is wave splash and spray meeting freezing air. Repeated wetting and freezing can coat exposed wood and plants in layers of ice. Brian’s ice-covered branches and long icicles are consistent with that process; a photograph alone cannot tell us the precise sequence of conditions that formed each one.
The National Park Service describes a related formation, shelf ice, as ice built by freezing waves and spray along the lake edge. It can contain hidden gaps and unstable sections over water. Enjoy shoreline ice from solid ground and stay off shelf ice.
More than a winter shoreline
The official name is North Dunes Nature Preserve. Managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, it protects a mix of beach, prairie, wetland, and savanna habitats associated with Lake Michigan’s dunes. It was dedicated in September 1988; the state lists 816 acres including its buffer.
The preserve also supports an unusual shoreline wetland habitat called a panne. The DNR highlights the area’s value for migrating hawks and other birds following Lake Michigan in spring and fall. This photo collection concentrates on Brian’s winter visits, when bare vegetation and ice give the landscape a very different character.
For another look at this larger park, visit Brian’s Illinois Beach State Park page.
Frozen roots, coated trunks, rounded ice shapes, and long curtains of icicles show just how varied a winter shoreline can be.
Small details deserve time too: thin icicles, ice-covered stems, colorful beach pebbles, winter reeds, and tracks in the sand.
Open water shifts from turquoise and pale gray to deep blue. These wider views give the ice formations their lakeshore setting.
Snow-dusted paths, dormant grasses, and an inland frozen pool offer a quieter view away from the wave-washed edge.
A Long-tailed Duck on the lake, Canada Geese at the ice edge, a Great Horned Owl, a Bald Eagle in flight, and a perched hawk add wildlife encounters to the winter landscape.
The DNR directs visitors from Sheridan Road east along 17th Street into the north unit of Illinois Beach State Park. Follow current park signs and maps for access to the preserve and lakeshore.
Bring layers for exposed lakeshore wind and footwear suited to winter paths. Take photographs from stable ground; a convincing-looking ice surface is not proof that it can support your weight.
The ice in these photographs records past visits. Its appearance depends on the weather and is never guaranteed. Check current park notices before traveling and respect any shoreline closures.
Bring binoculars for birds on the open water and in shoreline trees. Keep your distance from resting wildlife and stay on established routes through the preserve.