Crusade ends as Indiana Dunes becomes newest national park in US

Redesignation makes Indiana Dunes the US's newest national park, ending a fight for recognition lasting 103 years

Wild and rugged - though the link to Spielberg's similarly-named action hero ends there - Indiana Dunes has been designated America's newest national park, marking the end of a 103-year-long effort instigated by the US National Park Service's first director Stephen Mather.

The first national park in the state of Indiana, the area is already popular with tourists and day trippers from Chicago, with more than two million visitors a year exploring the 50 miles of walking trails through one of the country's most biodiverse protected areas. Covering 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, its vast sand dunes, forests, marshes and prairies are home to over 350 species of bird and 1,100 native plants.