Tourism growing for Indiana Dunes State Park

The numbers are in and show that tourism at the Indiana Dunes State Park has increased.

2014 was the biggest year yet, with thousands coming to visit the park.

Indiana Dunes State Park property manager Brandt Baughman hopes this trend continues throughout 2015.

"Not only do we have more people coming to the park outside the area but we also have a reemergence of locals coming out to the park," Baughman said. 

He attributed this growth to the changes made to the park. 

"There's been about 10 years worth of improvements going on here at Indiana Dunes State Park, the first one is the campground, they invested heavily in reinventing the campground."

Some of the tourists at the park on Saturday were Arrowhead District Boy Scouts from the Chicago area. 

This group has chosen to have their annual Klondike Derby at the park for eight years now. 

Herb Koch, Activities Chairman for the Arrowhead District, says this place is a prime location for their weekend events. 

"We're able to sleep overnight in this campground and they make sure the areas that drive in are plowed away," Koch said.

The Klondike Derby is made up of 10 different stations that test the scouts skills and leadership abilities. 

Some of the stations include: fire building, first aid, and shelter building. 

"What the activities do today are to challenge the scouts in their understanding of survival, first aid, and various other activities," Koch added.