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acre for acre, the Indiana Dunes have the greatest biodiversity in the country.
"The Indiana Dunes has 1,419 species in an area of approximately 15,000 acres and is fourth in Biodiversity, under the Great Smoky Mountains (1,581), the North Cascades (1,567), and the Grand Canyon (1,474), all of which have over half a million acres. "
It is truly an amazing place, and the Dunes can reach up to well over 100 feet tall.
And speaking of the Dunes the suburbs near the Dunes extend almost 50 miles to Michigan City. For people in that area, the far northern suburbs like Kenosha are a a 2 hour drive (without traffic). Chicagoland, especially at it hugs the lake is a monster.
Oh, I certainly admire your biodiversity however real ocean dunes, real sandy beaches are easier to find in NYC metro than Chicago land. Lake is not an ocean.
I do know Chicagoland is big with about 10 mil living there however NYC metro is at least twice as much. At least because if it wasn't for Philly it would be even bigger.
Just think about it: within 50 miles from NYC not one but two cities: Jersey City, Phily plus many smaller ones like White Plains or Hoboken. NYC's burbs are actual cities!!!
Oh, I certainly admire your biodiversity however real ocean dunes, real sandy beaches are easier to find in NYC metro than Chicago land. Lake is not an ocean.
I do know Chicagoland is big with about 10 mil living there however NYC metro is at least twice as much. At least because if it wasn't for Philly it would be even bigger.
Just think about it: within 50 miles from NYC not one but two cities: Jersey City, Phily plus many smaller ones like White Plains or Hoboken. NYC's burbs are actual cities!!!
Interesting that dunes aren't "real" unless they're in the NYC metro. Please share some pics of these "real" dunes.
Interesting that dunes aren't "real" unless they're in the NYC metro. Please share some pics of these "real" dunes.
And 400 foot high sand mountains overlooking a freshwater sea 3 times as large as Jersey could never, just never hope to compare with "real" 20 foot high sand dunes on Long Island.
in Indiana there are ancient dunes inland as the Dunes have been growing for 100,000 some years. Some of my favorite places there are actually inland from the beach. Too bad they aren't real though..
Despite the dunes the areas around Chicago are generally pretty lacking compared to what is around NYC. While NYC is no Seattle, it's got way more stuff going on around it than Chicago in terms of nature. There is just far too much flat farmland around Chicago in many directions. You can basically drive east from there for 100's of miles until you get near Pennsylvania before hitting any decent topography. You can do the same driving south until getting into Kentucky, and the same west all the way to Nebraska while only hitting mild rolling hills in Iowa but again it's mostly littered with farmland. Yeah there is some stuff north in Wisconsin, but even the topography just across by the Northern NJ PA border is more dramatic with giant cliffs and such. Actually the topography in the Bronx and across the Hudson is more scenic. Go about an hour north and you are very nice state parks with lots of topography, or a little over an hour west and you are in the Poconos. You need to get at least 4-5 hours north of Chicago before anything I'd consider decent there and it's still not as good. The lake is definitely no replacement for the ocean either, it has never felt like a real beach to me, the sand is off, the vibe is off, the water isn't the same, etc, but I'm from Florida and grew up in a house literally on the beach, so what can I say. Though I do know people in Chicago that rave and go on about it having a "beach" in the city, it's utterly disappointing to me in terms of the physical beach, though it is fun to go out there, for sure. I still go to Florida when I want *real* beach... The East Coast beaches come far closer to that. I've gone back to back between Chicago and NYC via car the last 2 summers and the difference is very obvious when seeing them one day after the other. I was just in NYC last week, the info is very fresh in my mind. As I have said, the actual built suburbs are nice, nice houses, nice communities around Chicago. I'm not going to agree when it comes to the "scenery" though. NYC metro and surroundings wins by a landslide.
Despite the dunes the areas around Chicago are generally pretty lacking compared to what is around NYC. While NYC is no Seattle, it's got way more stuff going on around it than Chicago in terms of nature. There is just far too much flat farmland around Chicago in many directions. You can basically drive east from there for 100's of miles until you get near Pennsylvania before hitting any decent topography. You can do the same driving south until getting into Kentucky, and the same west all the way to Nebraska while only hitting mild rolling hills in Iowa but again it's mostly littered with farmland. Yeah there is some stuff north in Wisconsin, but even the topography just across by the Northern NJ PA border is more dramatic with giant cliffs and such. Actually the topography in the Bronx and across the Hudson is more scenic. Go about an hour north and you are very nice state parks with lots of topography, or a little over an hour west and you are in the Poconos. You need to get at least 4-5 hours north of Chicago before anything I'd consider decent there and it's still not as good. The lake is definitely no replacement for the ocean either, it has never felt like a real beach to me, the sand is off, the vibe is off, the water isn't the same, etc, but I'm from Florida and grew up in a house literally on the beach, so what can I say. Though I do know people in Chicago that rave and go on about it having a "beach" in the city, it's utterly disappointing to me in terms of the physical beach, though it is fun to go out there, for sure. I still go to Florida when I want *real* beach... The East Coast beaches come far closer to that. I've gone back to back between Chicago and NYC via car the last 2 summers and the difference is very obvious when seeing them one day after the other. I was just in NYC last week, the info is very fresh in my mind. As I have said, the actual built suburbs are nice, nice houses, nice communities around Chicago. I'm not going to agree when it comes to the "scenery" though. NYC metro and surroundings wins by a landslide.
Interesting but I had the same impression. The lake even though I heard so much about it, was not impressive: too calm, too "lakey". I was missing the sound of waves hitting the beach and even the sand felt wrong. on top of that the lake MOST of the year is simply freezing cold. I have seen it where it was 95 outside and the beach was full yet the lake was still way too cold to swim so nobody did. This was in Indiana but still on the lake.
Now, NY and NJ beaches can even pretend to be Florida beaches, after all its the same Atlantic and the same gulf stream. Little Colder but similar vibe and similar marine life.
Like grapico i also drove from NYC to Chicago and back a few times, mostly on i80 and couple of times on i78 and learned to dread the Pennsylvania/Ohio border since from there to Chicago there is not much to look at. Yes. While Poconos are beautiful and offer an exciting drive though the mountains, while del water gap is so impressive that it even justifies a stop (what a view!) then when you cross to Ohio you can literally die of boredom (by falling asleep behind the wheel) and you are just half way to Chicago. No hills and no forests. Flat. Flat. Flat.
Then there are those Chicagoland tourist destinations, like the proverbial Wisconsin Dells - Chicago's historical tourist getaway....What a waste of time!!! 2 hour drive to see an upside down house and an in-door (definitely a good idea in Midwest) water park. Whats the big deal and why is it all so far from Chicago???? In NYC within two hours there are mountains, real beaches, casinos, forests, Philadelphia, Cape May, Montauk. Add one more hour and you can drive to Boston or DC!!!
Midwest is generally disappointing in that department: everything is far and then the closest cities like Detroit, Minneapolis or St. Louis are hardly exciting as tourist destinations...
And 400 foot high sand mountains overlooking a freshwater sea 3 times as large as Jersey could never, just never hope to compare with "real" 20 foot high sand dunes on Long Island.
in Indiana there are ancient dunes inland as the Dunes have been growing for 100,000 some years. Some of my favorite places there are actually inland from the beach. Too bad they aren't real though..
On the other hand, there's nothing in the NYC metro area like the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Which does have prairie, along with natural forests and eight other habitats. IMO it's difficult to compare the two metros on almost every level.
Sandy Hook, NJ is a large national park, the northernmost shore point in NJ bordering NY Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean, with all protected land and wildlife (poison ivy is a big problem on Sandy Hook so there is wooded land too right beside the beach). There are areas of high and low elevation, sand dunes, the bay, small ponds and lakes, public beaches, and more.
Not to mention every other beach in NYC's NJ and Long Island metro area counties (2 large beachfront counties in NJ and all of LI) containing sand dunes and typical beach landscape. And then there's the city itself, which contains beaches as well on Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, most notably Coney Island and the Rockaways. CT also has oceanfront land within NYC's metro region but I prefer NY's and NJ's to that. NJ alone also has the Pine Barrens (dense, empty forest in the middle and southern parts of the state still within NYC's and Philly's metro regions), the Meadowlands saltwater marshes, also not habitable to protect the wildlife, and mountains in NW NJ and upstate NY. On that note, I recommend everyone visit the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on the border of NJ and PA - stunning.
Last edited by JerseyGirl415; 07-28-2013 at 01:57 PM..
Interesting but I had the same impression. The lake even though I heard so much about it, was not impressive: too calm, too "lakey". I was missing the sound of waves hitting the beach and even the sand felt wrong. on top of that the lake MOST of the year is simply freezing cold. I have seen it where it was 95 outside and the beach was full yet the lake was still way too cold to swim so nobody did. This was in Indiana but still on the lake.
Now, NY and NJ beaches can even pretend to be Florida beaches, after all its the same Atlantic and the same gulf stream. Little Colder but similar vibe and similar marine life.
Like grapico i also drove from NYC to Chicago and back a few times, mostly on i80 and couple of times on i78 and learned to dread the Pennsylvania/Ohio border since from there to Chicago there is not much to look at. Yes. While Poconos are beautiful and offer an exciting drive though the mountains, while del water gap is so impressive that it even justifies a stop (what a view!) then when you cross to Ohio you can literally die of boredom (by falling asleep behind the wheel) and you are just half way to Chicago. No hills and no forests. Flat. Flat. Flat.
Then there are those Chicagoland tourist destinations, like the proverbial Wisconsin Dells - Chicago's historical tourist getaway....What a waste of time!!! 2 hour drive to see an upside down house and an in-door (definitely a good idea in Midwest) water park. Whats the big deal and why is it all so far from Chicago???? In NYC within two hours there are mountains, real beaches, casinos, forests, Philadelphia, Cape May, Montauk. Add one more hour and you can drive to Boston or DC!!!
Midwest is generally disappointing in that department: everything is far and then the closest cities like Detroit, Minneapolis or St. Louis are hardly exciting as tourist destinations...
I did the drive from NJ to Chicago, too, a few years back. The best state to drive through was PA. Once I hit Ohio, I was bored to tears. Indiana was by far the worst, but Chicago looked so nice from afar. Easy to see from the flat landscape (not a dig, I'm being serious). Yeah, though, not much going for it out there in all honesty in terms of beauty and landscape compared to the Northeast. I also agree with your assessment about the Lake - impressive, definitely, but still not the same feel as an ocean beach. This topic has been beaten to death here, but as someone who is so used to NJ's beaches, and ocean beaches in general, going to see Chicago's beaches, I wasn't too impressed or excited about them.
Sandy Hook, NJ is a large national park, the northernmost shore point in NJ bordering NY Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean, with all protected land and wildlife (poison ivy is a big problem on Sandy Hook so there is wooded land too right beside the beach). There are areas of high and low elevation, sand dunes, the bay, small ponds and lakes, public beaches, and more.
Not to mention every other beach in NYC's NJ and Long Island metro area counties (2 large beachfront counties in NJ and all of LI) containing sand dunes and typical beach landscape. And then there's the city itself, which contains beaches as well on Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, most notably Coney Island and the Rockaways. CT also has oceanfront land within NYC's metro region but I prefer NY's and NJ's to that.
Absolutely. The entire east coast, from Main to Florida is full of beautiful beaches, dunes etc.
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