On August 9, 2025, a catastrophic wind event impacted parts of northern Door county, including Newport State Park. The southern part of the park bore the brunt of the damage; we lost an untold number of trees, trails have been impassable, and some campsites have been offline since then. Where […]
Newport News
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There is something refreshing about starting a brand new year with an outdoor hike – especially at the 45th parallel north! Maybe a way to set a healthy intention for the upcoming year? Maybe a way to connect with like-minded, outdoorsy friends? Maybe a way to work off your New […]
Three new sugar maples have been planted at the Lot 3 picnic area, to replace recently removed dead/dying ash and balsam poplar trees. Our thanks to Tom Wolfe (Wolfe Horticulture) for his gracious pricing and assistance with planting. And our thanks to Peter and Jean Ann Nowak for their generous […]
The Songbird Garden, located adjacent to the Visitors Center, was conceived and designed by NWS volunteers Helen Kenny and Maureen Flatley in Spring, 2022. This was the ‘capstone’ project for their Wisconsin Master Naturalist training. The garden has now blossomed through four summer seasons. Recently, a series of interpretive signs were installed […]
The southern half of Newport State Park has been closed to hiking and camping due to significant damage and unsafe conditions which resulted from an extraordinary wind storm event on Saturday afternoon (August 9, 2025). This annotated map graphic shows the currently affected trails and campsites: Monarch Trail, Poetry Trail, and […]
Text and photo by Beth Bartoli,Newport Park Naturalist When I have a spare moment, one of the things I like to do is wander through the Songbird Garden that is outside the office building entrance to see what is happening out there. There are different things blooming throughout the growing […]
As park visitors head off to the beach and hiking trails from the Lot 3 parking lot, they will see, and hopefully use, a newly installed interpretive boot brush station. (There is a second one that has been installed where the Monarch, Poetry, and Newport trails converge.) NWS volunteers have […]
by Maureen Flatley, Deb Ford, and Rick Foster Our ongoing work to limit the spread of invasive plant species at Newport continues in 2025. Thanks so much to everyone who has answered the call to help with invasive species remediation! It is not very sexy work, but it helps us […]
NWS and Newport State Park were well represented at the Ellison Bay Day parade and festival on Saturday, June 28th. We had a perfect weather-day to celebrate our wonderful northern Door community and to chat with visitors about the work we do in support of the park. Many thanks to all […]
In the fall of 2024, our team of NWS Master Naturalists started on another garden project at Newport. They began transforming an uninteresting patch of grass at the entrance to the park into a much more welcoming native garden. The early stages of their efforts are documented here. Their work […]
Eighty 3rd-graders who attend Sunrise Elementary School in Sturgeon Bay had a class field trip to Newport State Park recently. Split into two groups, they all learned about the forest ecology of northern Door County while hiking the Fern Trail loop. They then learned about the importance of pollinator insects […]
NWS member and volunteer Jim Ryan was hiking in Newport recently and…well…here is his story. “I went for a hike today at Newport. I was on the Europe Bay trail, about half way up to Europe Bay Road from parking lot 3, and I ran into this group of Boy […]
DNR approves Master Plan variancefor proposed improvements to theDark Sky Viewing Area at Newport SP After reviewing public input, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has approved a Master Plan variance which will allow improvements in the day-use area near Parking Lot 3 at Newport SP. These NWS-planned improvements will address concerns that NWS and park staff have with […]
Photos and textDeb Ford April and May are good months to keep watch for Bonaparte’s Gulls along the Lake Michigan shoreline of Door County. They are heading north to their breeding grounds in the boreal and taiga habitats of Canada and Alaska. These gulls tend to migrate in large groups in the […]
On April 6, a day-long chainsaw certification course was held at Newport. Eight NWS volunteers and two Friends of Rock Island volunteers participated. NWS underwrote 75% of the course cost for our NWS volunteers. Most of the 26 miles of trails in Newport are found in forested areas of the […]
Wild Tomato Pizza chose NWS as the beneficiary of their “Donation Creation” pizza sales during the month of February. For each “Gabagool” pizza ordered, $1 was donated to NWS. We are extremely grateful to receive their donation of $123. Several NWS board members and friends enjoyed the Gabagool pizza at […]
In response to feedback received primarily through our social media accounts, NWS hosted a presentation and Q&A for the public regarding our newly proposed plans for improvements to the Dark Sky Viewing Area at the park. It was held at the Visitor Center on Saturday, December 7. Our thanks to […]
NWS has long-recognized the need for improvements to Newport’s dark sky viewing area, located in the day-use venue adjacent to Lot 3. Our concerns with the current condition of the viewing area, especially when we host an educational or night sky viewing program, include: Over the past year, the NWS Long-range Planning Committee […]
Thanks to cooperative late-fall weather, our NWS master naturalists and volunteers have made significant progress on a new native plant garden at the entrance to Newport. A large patch of grass and weeds now supports three serviceberry trees, a variety of native grasses, some low-growing aromatic sumac, and a substantial amount of […]
Annual vehicle admission passes to Wisconsin State Parks and Forests will now be valid for 12 months from the time of purchase. (In other words, they are no longer restricted to ‘calendar year’ dating.) When you purchase a 12-month vehicle admission pass, it will be marked to indicate the month/year it […]
Perhaps you met Ken leading a Newport hike, or an interpretive program, or volunteering on one of our park work projects. His smile was infectious. His knowledge of fire safety and wilderness preparedness was a gift to so many program participants. Our sincere sympathy to Mary and the Foszcz family. Ken […]
A Special Announcement sent via email and newsletter to friends of Newport.(Edited Nov 21, 2024 to include extension of comment period by DNR.) NWS members and friends: Over the past year, the NWS Board of Directors has been developing a plan to enhance the dark sky viewing experience for visitors […]
Photo and text by Maureen Flatley, Master Naturalist As winter approaches and the temperatures gradually decline, it is time to burrow underground for this cold-blooded beauty, the American Toad. Choosing an area of soft ground, these tenacious amphibians dig backwards (using their hardened back feet) and gradually recede under the […]
There is a lot of distance for volunteers to cover at Newport on any given work project. NWS recently purchased a new 4-person UTV to help volunteers reach remote areas of the park more efficiently. Whether it is locating and transporting gear to downed trees on trails or hauling out […]
In the first phase of an ongoing project, members of the NWS invasives team began installing new boot brush stations at several trail intersections in Newport State Park. Invasive species control is an issue for most state parks, especially in high public use areas such as hiking trails and campsites. […]
During 2023 and 2024, Write On, Door County partnered with NWS to host the Four Seasons of Writing program at Newport. The goal of these free workshops was to engage people of all ages in writing about nature and the world around them. Sessions were led by Write On’s writers-in-residence Carlos Reyes […]
Over the course of several workday sessions this season, NWS volunteers have replaced the ‘foggy’ plexiglass windows at the park Picnic Shelter. Visitors will now enjoy a clear view of the lake and beach area.
On September 24, 1964, our beautiful state park was formally established. It was known as Europe Bay State Park for 6 years; its name was changed to Newport State Park in August 1970. The original vision of how the park might be used, including the idea of a naturalist program, […]
NWS recently funded an upgrade to the ten stanchions located along the Poetry Trail. After 14 years of exposure to the elements, the frames in which the poems are displayed were showing their age. They have been replaced. The Poetry Trail was established at Newport during the summer of 2010, a collaborative […]
There are approximately 26 miles of wilderness, silent-sport (hiking, biking, skiing) trails at Newport. This is a significant area of public use in the park that needs to be monitored through all seasons. NWS now has a team of trail stewards who volunteer their time to keep an eye on […]