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 […]
Newport News
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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 […]
Coinciding with Earth Day weekend, nearly 30 NWS volunteers gathered at Newport on Saturday, April 24 to work on a variety of spring maintenance projects around the park. Board member Mark Glasser coordinated the work teams and projects, with input and great support from park management. Volunteers tidied up the buildings and gardens around the Visitors Center […]
Text and photos by Sheryl Honig, NWS Board(click on any photo to view in full size/slide show) What do buttery rich caramel, translucent lace, and shiny emeralds have in common? They all describe the leaves of a beech tree, which are breathtaking in all seasons at Newport! This spring, […]
Newport Wilderness Society is proud to be a supporter of the 2021 Every Day is Earth Day celebration. This event celebrates the people, organizations, and businesses that uphold our sustainable culture in Door County and beyond. Every Day is Earth Day comprises an environmentally focused weekend of resource exchange, an […]
Roasted by Kick Ash in Ellison Bay in support of NWS Carol Ash, NWS board member and owner of Kick Ash Products in Ellison Bay, continues her deep-rooted support of Newport Wilderness Society with the launch of Dark Sky Roast Coffee. All profits from your purchase of Dark Sky Roast will go to support the work of NWS. It’s the […]
By Andy Orf, Northern Door Astronomy Club If you already enjoy nighttime viewing, you know how tricky locating objects in the sky can be. Observing is best when there is a new moon (or a couple of nights before or after). The sky will be its darkest on April 12. […]
Eric Hyde joins Peninsula, Newport and Rock Island State Parks from the Washington County Park System Hello Newport Wilderness Society! It’s been a pleasure getting to know and working with the board and all the partners and volunteers since I joined the DNR in November of 2020. I look forward to […]
By Gene Kenny, Office of the President Newport Wilderness Society been discussing improvements to the Fern trail since 2018. This is our wheelchair accessible trail that routinely floods in the spring from snowfall until the ground thaws and then floods at other times with heavy rains. We have had conversations with […]
Marilyn Hansotia submitted these breathtaking sunrise images that she captured on a recent hike along Hotz Trail and Europe Bay. And she shares some wise words that she found in an unlikely place that same morning. Visitor View features images, stories and impressions of a day or overnight adventure to […]
Newport Naturalist Beth Bartoli worked with Brett Kosmider of Peninsula Filmworks to narrate this beautiful video which showcases the magic of the dark sky that we are fortunate to enjoy at the park. The video was a project of Destination Door County, and part of a wider-ranging article about stargazing […]
The Newport Wilderness Society would like to recognize and thank Michelle Hefty for her 32 years of service to Newport State Park. The make up of the Wilderness Society Board of Directors has changed periodically throughout the course of her tenure. But the management of this great park was a […]
Spectacular, magical, wow! Mari-Jo Young Park visitor Mari-Jo Young sent us some stunning photos from her hike in Newport on Monday, January 4th. Fog and sub-freezing temperatures combined to create a frosted winter wonderland at the park. These are some scenes from her hike on the Rowleys Bay Trail. Visitor […]
As Newport Naturalist Beth Bartoli mentions in this video, 2020 has been an atypical year at Newport State Park. We have had a record number of visitors to the park, but we have been unable to offer our always-popular public events and programs. However, the work of the Newport Wilderness […]
The votes are in and Newport State Park has won a 2020 Gold Seal Award in the category Best State Park System to Snowshoe! Annual Gold Seal Awards are conferred by the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks (FWSP). Members of the public vote for their favorite state park in a […]
Text adapted from report prepared for IDA by Beth Bartoli, NSP Naturalist What strange and trying times we live in. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, this annual report from Newport State Park for the International Dark Sky Association contains vastly different information than our reports from previous years. In […]