An engineer’s illustration of Newport Wilderness Society’s proposed changes to the park’s dark sky viewing area. Submitted.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has approved the addition of an outdoor amphitheater and other improvements to the day-use area of Newport State Park. The improvements will be made near parking lot 3.
The amphitheater will allow for educational programming and dark-sky viewing, and other changes will improve accessibility and safety at the park. The variance to the 2018 Northern Lake Michigan Coastal Regional Master Plan was necessary as the area was designated as a Recreation Management Area with an objective to “provide and maintain attractive and safe grounds for intensive outdoor recreation activities.”
Improvements include:
• A ground-level, two-tiered, natural stone seating area that could accommodate up to 100 people and will be nestled into a grassy berm that already exists.
• Paths to the viewing area designed to protect adjacent sand dunes and provide safe access for all visitors.
• Dark sky-compliant, non-white-light pathway illumination, for use in programs only.
• A stacked stone wall along the east edge of the parking lot to screen spillover light from vehicles, but not to impede the view of Lake Michigan.
• Improvements to the size and placement of telescope pads.
• A small, accessible viewing platform overlooking Newport Beach at the end of an already-existing asphalt path.
• A small shed near the picnic shelter to store equipment and provide solar-powered charging for equipment, including a recently-acquired trackchair for visitors with mobility challenges.
The improvements will be funded by the Newport Wilderness Society.
The approved variance can be read here and includes more details about the decision and a summary of public comments. It is also posted on the DNR’s Northern Lake Michigan Coastal Regional Master Plan webpage.