IDA-certified — Wisconsin's only DSP, Lake Michigan shoreline.
Updated:
· Tonight: Friday, August 14, 2026
📍 Door County, WI🌑 Bortle 3🚗 At the northern tip of Door County, WI, reached via WI-42 past Ellison Bay.📅 Designated Wisconsin's first International Dark Sky Park in 2017.
About Newport SP
Newport State Park, at the tip of Wisconsin's Door Peninsula, became the state's first International Dark Sky Park in 2017 — and Wisconsin's only wilderness state park. Sitting on Lake Michigan's shore, it's about as dark as it gets in the upper Midwest.
What you can see in the sky
Milky Way over Lake Michigan, and occasional aurora glow to the north given the lake horizon.
Best time of year
Any clear, moonless night; the park is open year-round and the lake horizon helps in every season.
Why this site is worth the drive
Wisconsin's only wilderness state park and its first Dark Sky Park
2,373 acres of forest, wetland and meadow at the end of the Door Peninsula
Open Lake Michigan horizon at spots like Europe Bay
Practical tips for Newport SP
No car camping — Newport is backpack-in tent camping only, so day visits are the norm for casual stargazers
State park vehicle admission sticker required
Trails to the shoreline are unlit — bring a red-light headlamp
Live 48-hour forecast
Tonight's verdict above is a build-time snapshot. For the full
hourly view — cloud cover, transparency, seeing, smoke, humidity,
moon altitude and a Bortle-aware tonight score by observing mode
(visual, deep-sky, planetary, astrophoto) — open the live forecast:
The live page combines Open-Meteo weather, US-AQI wildfire smoke,
moon math and Bortle-scale darkness into a single tonight score
(0–100), updated continuously.
Frequently asked questions
Is Newport SP good for stargazing tonight?
Tonight's verdict is Excellent (High confidence). 9h of clear sky (≤30% cloud) during tonight's astronomical night, mean cloud 4%.
When is the best time of year to stargaze at Newport SP?
Any clear, moonless night; the park is open year-round and the lake horizon helps in every season.
How long is the drive from Toronto?
At the northern tip of Door County, WI, reached via WI-42 past Ellison Bay.
What can I see in the sky here?
Milky Way over Lake Michigan, and occasional aurora glow to the north given the lake horizon.
How dark is the sky? (Bortle scale)
Newport SP sits at Bortle class 3 on the 1–9 dark-sky scale, where 1 is a pristine wilderness sky and 9 is an inner-city sky.