"It seems like a relatively small change, but a lot of punch is packed into the word park. People know what a national park is and what experiences to expect at a national park. They have finally aligned our magnificent lakefront to the name it deserves. More people will come visit the dunes, because to the traveling public a national park is more desirable than a national monument or a national heritage site.

"We'll get more recognition of our spectacular assets, because they changed a word. It's a word that has a lot of power."

The Indiana Dunes is already Indiana's top tourist attraction with 3.6 million visitors in 2018, Indiana Dunes Tourism Promotions Director Dustin Ritchea said. Combine attendance at the state and national parks, and Indiana Dunes is expected to be the equivalent of the seventh most visited national park in the country after Yellowstone.

"It flip-flops with Brown County as No. 1 in the state," Ritchea said. "Now it will be in a very elite group nationally."