The popular Logs to Lustrons Tour returns on May 3, featuring 11 northwest Indiana sites spanning over a century of architecture, from rustic log structures of early settlement days, frame homes from the Victorian period, and mid-century homes of glass, stucco, and metal.

Guided tours leave from the Indiana Dunes National Park Visitor Center on timed 3.5-hour guided tours departing from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Central. Participants will travel by shuttle while park rangers provide overviews of the historic sites, including four landmarks open for interior viewing and a stop at the Beverly Shores Depot Museum, where attendees can view a brick-making demonstration and test their building skills in a Lincoln Log contest. Tourgoers will be able to stop inside the early twentieth-century Oscar and Irene Nelson House, the 1880 Burstrom Chapel, the nineteenth-century Gust Lindstrom House, and the 1950 Jacob Lustron. The nearby Chellberg Farm will also be open for self-guided exploration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Central.

Children who join the tour (with an adult) can earn a Junior Ranger badge by picking up a workbook, program, and a bag with sketch book and pencil when they check-in. At the end of the tour, they show the completed workbook to a park ranger at the check-in site to earn a badge.

The night before the tour features a talk about the rich history of northwest Indiana’s Swedish immigrants, still visible today in the farmhouses, barns, and other structures they built beginning in the late nineteenth century. Jack Rogalla and Sarah Hawkinson of Chicago’s Swedish American Museum will present an illustrated talk exploring Swedish heritage and architecture within the park and throughout the Calumet Region.

Indiana Landmarks and Indiana Dunes National Park are hosting the tour and talk.

Logs to Lustrons Tour

WHAT: Logs to Lustrons Tour featuring 11 sites spanning a century of architecture

WHEN: May 3, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central. The tour lasts approximately 3.5 hours.

WHERE: Shuttles depart from the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center, 1215 N. State Road 49, Porter, Ind. No parking is available at the tour sites. All guests must use the shuttles.

COST: $30 per person ($25 for Indiana Landmarks members). Children under 16 are welcome and free but must have a ticket. Tickets available at indianalandmarks.org /logs-to-lustrons-tour-2025.

Swedish Heritage Talk

WHAT: Reception with light snacks, talk and Q&A session

WHEN: May 2, 7-9 p.m. Central

WHERE: Indiana Dunes Visitor Center, 1215 N. State Road 49, Porter, Ind.

COST: $15 per person ($10 for Indiana Landmarks members). Children 16 and under are welcome and free but must have a ticket. Tickets available at indianalandmarks.org/swedish-heritage-in-calumet-region.

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Media contact:

Todd Zeiger, Director, Indiana Landmarks’ Northern Regional Office, 574-232-4534,  tzeiger@indianalandmarks.org