Work alongside volunteers and rangers at the Douglas Center this fall for our monarch butterfly educational program! Assist with butterfly arts & crafts, a hike showing butterfly habitats, or a kids’ game to teach about the migration of butterflies.

Dates: September 24, 25, 26 & October 1, 2, 3, and 4

Time: 8:00am to 12:00pm

For more information on this opportunity or to sign up contact ranger Christine Gerlach at 219-395-1885 or christine_gerlach@nps.gov.

The park is developing a paddling program for six 24-ft Voyageur canoes in partnership with Wilderness Inquiry and Northwest Indiana Paddling Association. Volunteer captains will be trained and outfitted to lead programs with National Park staff on local waterways. We will be working with a variety of ages and groups, including under-served communities throughout the region. 

Dates: August 4th, 12:00pm-6pm
August 5th, 9:00am-2:00pm

For more information on this opportunity, contact Kim Swift at kimberly_swift@nps.gov or 219-395-1622. You may sign up for both or either workshop days.  

The Indiana Dunes Visitor Center needs help! Work alongside park rangers at the visitor center, greeting the public and answering helping visitors at the front desk. We currently need volunteers for:
Monday AM shift
Thursday PM shift
Friday PM shift
Saturday AM & PM shifts
Sunday PM shift
(summer AM shifts are 8am-2pm, PM shifts 2pm-6pm with flexibility)

We are also looking for volunteers to help make and assemble Junior Ranger books, which can be done any time of the week. Please let us know if you are interested!

Come show your love for local produce and all things autumn at our annual Apples Festival! Volunteers are needed to manage apple cooking demonstrations, the kids' corner, hay rides, and other fun activities. It just takes a minute to sign up below!

National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is the biggest volunteer day of its kind, and Indiana Dunes is going all-out with a park-wide trash cleanup. We are partnering with Valpo-based Mermaid Straw and other local vendors to promote sustainability and stewardship! Visitors will be able to choose from a handful of sites around the park to collect trash. In the spirit of the event, please remember to bring your own water bottles or cups. Trash bags and other safety gear will be provided.

Indiana Landmarks is happy to be partnering with the Indiana Dunes National Park to be hosting another year of our Century of Progress Tour and we need your help! This year’s tour is on Saturday, September 28, and volunteer opportunities are now open. Volunteers get a free T-shirt and get a free tour of the houses during training the day prior to the event. Volunteer responsibilities and time slots can be found on the sign-up sheet online: https://volunteersignup.org/KBF3Y

If you have any questions or are interested in serving at a specific site, please contact Brad Miller at Indiana Landmarks, 219-947-2657 or bmiller@indianalandmarks.org.

Did you know? Volunteer opportunities are available every day through our Drop-In Program at these locations:

Douglas Center: Join us on August 4 & 11, 10am-noon, for a morning of stewardship with park staff! We will be pulling Yellow and White Clover, Spotted Knapp Weed, and other invasive species. We will also be picking up trash along Lake Street Beach. 

Park Connection Office: Every 3rd Saturday of the month, help us tackle a variety of projects including restoring habitats, identifying and removing invasive plants, and enhancing the shared spaces of our national park. 

Visitor Center: Help restore the park to its natural state through our “Trash Trekkers” program! Grab a friend, check in at the Visitor Center any day of the week, and pick a place in the park to clean up. Every volunteer that fills up a bag of trash receives a free Indiana Dunes water bottle!