Newport State Park

Newport State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Outcroppings at Newport State Park approximately 10 feet (3 m; 3 yd) from Lake Michigan.
Location	Door, Wisconsin, United States
Coordinates	45°14′6″N 86°59′39″W
Area	2,373 acres (9.60 km2)
Authorized	by the county board on December 11, 1961
Governing body	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Newport State Park is a 2,373-acre (960 ha) Wisconsin state park at the tip of Door Peninsula near Ellison Bay, Wisconsin. Protecting 11 miles (18 km) of shoreline on Lake Michigan, Newport is Wisconsin's only wilderness-designated state park. In 2017, the International Dark-Sky Association named Newport a Dark-sky preserve. The park is open year-round and can be accessed via WIS 42.

Air pollution monitor

2016 HYSPLIT map

The only public air pollution monitor in the county is located in Newport State Park. Most air pollution reaching the station comes from outside the county. This map shows how air travels to the monitoring station. Because the station is near the shore, only the red lines (which show the lower air currents) meaningfully depict the path of ozone to the monitor. As shown on the map, these lower air currents carry polluted air from major urban areas. Farther inland, however, the air from higher up mixes more, so all color lines are significant when tracing the path of air pollution further inland, and these higher air currents (shown in green and blue) blow in from cleaner, mostly rural areas.

Climate

Further information: Climate of Door County, Wisconsin

Europe Bay
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     66     −4 −9     60     −8 −10     62     0 −4     112     3 0     86     9 3     77     13 10     96     18 16     73     19 16     109     17 14     119     10 7     110     6 5     66     4 1 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source:
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.6     25 16     2.4     18 14     2.4     32 25     4.4     37 32     3.4     48 37     3     55 50     3.8     64 61     2.9     66 61     4.3     63 57     4.7     50 45     4.3     43 41     2.6     39 34 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

The climate of Newport is humid, microthermal with cool summers and with an even monthly precipitation distribution. The climate of the park is modified considerably by its close proximity to Lake Michigan and Green Bay. This is reflected in the fewer number of days with extremely high or low temperatures than are common for that latitude. Spring and early summer are retarded by the surrounding cool water; summers are mild and pleasant. Relatively warm lake water delays the first freeze in fall, and the winters are cold. The lake influence is also seen in higher average cloudiness and lower percentage of sunshine than is found at stations located further away from the lake.

From data compiled in 1974, prevailing winds are from the northwest through the southwest, with the exception of early spring when northeast winds dominate. April and November are the windiest months with averages of 12 miles per hour. Speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour can be expected to occur in seven of ten years. The highest speeds are usually from the west or southwest.

As of figures available in 1974, the percentage of possible sunshine has averaged about 40 percent for November and December and 60 percent or more from May through September. The remaining months average between 50 and 60 percent. The yearly average temperature at Sturgeon Bay is 43.8 °F. The average daily maximum for the month of January is 26.7 °F with the average daily minimum for January at 10.4 °F. The average daily maximum for July is 80.1 °F with an average daily minimum of 57.4 °F.

Gallery

• 
  Near the shore
• 
  Duck Bay along Newport Trail with reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) and orange jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) flowers
• 
  Common club-moss, Spinulum annotinum (synonym: Lycopodium annotinum), August
• 
  Sign
• 
  Looking north at the beach with kayakers
• 
  Looking south at the beach
• 
  Campsite #3; all campsites require hiking to the site. Norbert Blei commented "I like the idea of Newport State Park, where you have to hike back in to your campsite. There should be some places that you have to earn, to deserve; it can't all be watching the sunset in Ephraim from Wilson's. That's too easy."
• 
  Ranger station
• 
  Rainfall over Lake Michigan, seen from Newport State Park in July

External links

• Newport Wilderness Society (Friends Group of Newport State Park)
• Interactive Map of Air Quality, Northeast Wisconsin, Environmental Protection Agency (Has real-time ozone readings from the monitor at Newport State Park.)
• Newport State Park website
• Park map (pdf, Wisconsin DNR)
• Winter Use Map (pdf, Wisconsin DNR)
• Hunting and Trapping Map (pdf, Wisconsin DNR)
• Park map (pdf, huntfishcampwisconsin.com)
• Interactive trail map (Trail Genius)