Helen Kenny and Maureen Flatley, two NWS members who have already given so much of their time and skills in support of Newport, recently completed the Wisconsin Master Naturalist training program held this spring at The Clearing in Ellison Bay. Master Naturalist training is a 40-hour series of sessions and […]
Newport News
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An amazing group of over 40 NWS volunteers came out on Saturday, April 30th to help park staff move forward on some large projects at Newport. The exterior of the Visitors Center and nearby gardens were tidied up; trash was picked up from along the main road and along Newport […]
Newport Wilderness Society participated in the Every Day is Earth Day Festival held on Saturday, April 23rd at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor. It was nice to be back at this event ‘in person’ and to meet so many people interested in the work that we do in support […]
Depending on the amount of winter snow and spring rains we receive in Door County, the park’s Fern Trail is often seasonally-flooded from April into early June. This year, the flooding has been impressive. These photos were taken on April 21. NWS is planning to construct an elevated boardwalk through […]
Newport Wilderness Society will be at the Every Day is Earth Day festival at Kress Pavilion on April 23. Please stop by our booth to meet some of our volunteers and learn more about the work we do in support of Newport State Park. There are so many great events […]
Greetings, my name is Brian Grube, and I am the new Park Manager for Newport and Rock Island State Parks. I am honored to be a new member of the team and I am looking forward to working with Newport Wilderness Society. I moved here from Flagstaff, Arizona where I […]
Our 32nd Annual Candlelight Ski-Hike-Snowshoe is in the history books. It was a cold, beautiful, almost windless evening. As is the tradition, guests enjoyed skiing or hiking the Fern Trail loop, guided by candlelight through the forest and along the lakefront. A roaring fire and yummy hot chocolate waited for […]
We wanted to share this great video filmed by Jiaojiao Tian. She drove 15 hours from Oklahoma to solo camp and welcome the New Year at Newport. We love her spirit! Many thanks to Newport friend Maryanne O’Dowd for giving us a heads-up about this video.
As we have in the past, Newport joined with many other parks around Wisconsin and the nation and hosted a First Day Hike on January 1st. It’s always the perfect way to ring in the New Year! Coordinated by Mark Glasser and led out by Ken Fosczc, over 40 people […]
Photos by Deb Ford, Mark Glasser, & Gene KennyClick on any photo to view in larger format Over the course of several work days in November, NWS volunteers removed all four ground-level segments of boardwalk from the Fern Trail. We need to explain. The Fern Trail was designed to be […]
Carol Ash and her family have a deep connection to Newport State Park. As a child, she lived within biking distance of the park and remembers many family outings for picnics, swimming, baseball games, or just simply exploring. She carried on these traditions when she had children of her own. Fast forward […]
When you start up a conversation with Shannon Mough, owner of the activewear (and so-much-more) shop Twisted Tree at the Pharm, it takes a nanosecond to learn that anything outdoors, especially Newport State Park, is sanctuary. She and Maple, her ridiculously adorable Aussie, have spent many precious off-time hours in the park, reconnecting with everything […]
Photo-diary by Deb Ford, NWS BoardClick on any photo to view in larger format Where We Begin This is where our story starts. The original history kiosk definitely serves a purpose, but it doesn’t necessarily draw visitors in. NWS board member Julia Keepper researches Newport history, collects photos, and keeps the […]
The poems currently featured on the trail are by Mike Orlock, the seventh Poet Laureate of Door County. A former high school teacher and coach, Mike is the author of two poetry collections and has won awards from the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets and the Wisconsin Writers’ Association. The purpose […]
Thanks to all of you who voted and helped Newport win a 2021 Gold Seal Award for the Best State Park System to Learn about Astronomy! We are so proud of our Dark Sky Park and everyone who helps us protect it. Here is Park Naturalist Beth Bartoli with the […]
By Julia Keepper, NWS BoardClick on any photo to view in larger format. In the late 1800s and into the early 1900s, there was a thriving town located near what is now Parking Lot 3 and the Newport Beach area. Hans Johnson and Peter Knudsen started a lumbering business and […]
Text by Beth Bartoli, Newport SP NaturalistPhotos by Deb Ford, NWS BoardClick on any photo to view in larger format Labor Day weekend is seen as the unofficial end of the summer season. Here at Newport, it means it’s time for Newport Wilderness Days. This event was started in 1992 as […]
Text and Media by Carol Ash, NWS Board I find myself being more grateful every year that I was raised In Door County, just a short bike ride away from Newport State Park. Our large family spent Memorial Day and Labor Day picnicking with other local families at the shelter at […]
By Jeanne Rabel and Terry Heidenreiter, NWS Board Newport State Park hosts both Little Brown and Big Brown bats. The Little Brown bat weighs less than one half an ounce, whereas the Big Brown Bat weighs about twice that. Bats can eat about one half of their body weight in […]
By Andy Orf, Northern Door Astronomy Club The Perseid meteor shower is caused by the comet Swift-Tuttle. This comet takes 133 years to make a highly elliptical orbit around the Sun. It returns again in the year 2125. As the Swift-Tuttle comet travels around the Sun, it leaves a trail […]
By Andy Orf, Northern Door Astronomy Cluband Beth Bartoli, Newport SP Naturalist The Newport Wilderness Society (NWS) encourages its members, and the general public, to appreciate the value of Newport State Park being recognized as one of only 76 International Dark Sky areas by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). Newport received this […]
Annual Meetingof the Newport Wilderness SocietySaturday, July 31st, 9:00amPicnic Shelter; Lot 3 The Annual Meeting of the Newport Wilderness Society will be held outdoors at the park Picnic Shelter on Saturday, July 31st at 9:00am. Coffee and baked treats will be provided by Kick Ash. Along with reports from the NWS […]
Despite a morning of fog and drizzle, several NWS members met at Newport on Saturday, June 26 to tackle some work projects in the park. We weeded and tidied up the gardens at the Visitors Center, did some maintenance along the Fern Trail boardwalk, and walked the Upland Trail to […]
By Mark Glasser, NWS Board Recently, I was reminded how slowly time moves for many trees. In doing maintenance on the Poetry Trail at Newport State Park, I had to remove a 6-inch diameter Ash tree that had fallen across the trail. Two simple cuts and I removed the section […]
By Andy Orf, Northern Door Astronomy Club Experienced stargazers use a method called “star hopping” to find their way around the night sky. If you recognize certain stars, you can “hop” from one star to another. Most people can usually locate the Big Dipper – the constellation Ursa Major. Here is a […]
Selected works by the late Phil Hansotia are featured along the Poetry Trail this quarter. Phiroze ‘Phil’ Hansotia emigrated to the U.S. from India as a newly-minted physician in 1962. He sought further training and had an illustrious career at Marshfield Clinic as a neurologist specializing in sleep disorders and […]
By Andy Orf, Northern Door Astronomy Club We experience seasons because the Earth’s axis, anchored by the North and South poles, is tilted. In the summer, as the Earth orbits the Sun, the North Pole tilts toward the Sun; in the winter, the North Pole tilts away from the Sun. On […]
In early May, several NWS volunteers gathered at the park to hand-pull some large areas of Garlic Mustard along the Lynd Point trail. Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is an aggressive invader of wooded areas throughout the eastern and middle United States. Shade tolerance allows this plant to invade high quality, mature woodlands, where it […]
Text and photos by Beth Bartoli, Naturalist, Newport SP Although the recent snow and sleet tells us otherwise, spring is slowly showing its face in northern Door County. Early ephemerals are peeking their heads out of the ground, and wild leeks, also known as ramps, are dotting the forest floor […]
Meet Shannon Mough and Miss Maple. (Miss Maple is the one in the backpack, if there was any confusion.) They own Twisted Tree at the Pharm, an activewear and so-much-more shop located in Sister Bay. And they love to hike and play at Newport State Park. Twisted Tree has been […]