Spotting A City Skyline From The Dunes

On a clear day with the right conditions, you can actually spot the Chicago skyline from the Indiana Dunes – even though it’s roughly 80 kilometers away across Lake Michigan.

The phenomenon is possible thanks to a mix of Chicago’s towering buildings and a bit of atmospheric magic. While Earth’s curvature would normally block a direct view at that distance, something called atmospheric refraction can bend light in just the right way, allowing distant objects to appear slightly higher than they actually are.

This rare visual trick typically happens during temperature inversions, when warm air sits over cooler air near the surface, bending light downward and extending your line of sight. Combine that with the height of buildings like the Willis Tower and you get a surreal glimpse of the Windy City from across the lake.

It’s not visible every day – fog, humidity, and haze can easily ruin the view. But when conditions are just right, it creates a stunning and almost unbelievable scene for anyone standing on the shores of the Indiana Dunes.