Walking the narrow beach in winter brings great views, interesting observations, and something new every day. The setting sun illuminates the NIPSCO cooling tower in the distance, bathing it in warm sunlight - a stark contrast to the cold foreground objects.
The constant erosion of the foredunes brings full grown trees down to the beach, creating obstacles for visitors. In all seasons, these trees block the way, but in cold weather, it's not possible to walk around them. The freezing cold water keeps people from accessing some parts of the beach (unless they don't mind getting wet). In the freezing weather, it's possible to walk around some trees, however, the closer one gets to Kintzele Ditch, the more dangerous this can become. The ditch is a stream flowing between two dunes into Lake Michigan. The constant battering of waves moves the outlet of this stream hundreds of feet some days. If the ice covers the beach, there is no way of knowing where the stream is, and falling through the ice into this stream could be deadly this time of year. If you did manage to get out of the water, the walk back to the parking area is about a mile, in that time, hypothermia can set in, not to mention your clothing would be frozen stiff, preventing you from moving easily.
Knowing the beach in summer, certainly helps keep one safe in winter while viewing the forming ice mounds of Lake Michigan.
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