Newport State Park: Europe Bay Loop and Backpack Sites

Newport State Park, Wisconsin DNR (Door County)

At Newport State Park in Door County, the DNR lists 17 backpack (hike-in) sites, including one group site, and Beyond The Tent describes them spread along the length of the park “with Europe Lake on one side and Lake Michigan on the other.”

The park is a designated Dark Sky Park, according to Beyond The Tent, and Destination Door County says it has some of the darkest skies in the country.

The hike

The DNR lists about a dozen trails in the park, including the Europe Bay Trail loop at 7.0 miles, the Newport Trail loop at 5.0, the Rowley’s Bay loop at 4.0, the Lynd Point loop at 2.5, and the Hotz loop at 2.3, along with 11 miles of shoreline. Destination Door County recommends the Europe Bay loop “for the full experience,” and suggests the Lynd Point Trail for its rock outcroppings, tide pools, and caves.

Matt Johnson’s guide for The Outbound covers the Europe Bay loop, which it measures at 7.6 miles through the northern part of the park. He describes dense tree cover inland, more mixed cover along the coast, and much of the trail running along the bluffs above Lake Michigan. The loop passes three hike-in sites bordering Europe Lake or the Lake Michigan shore, and he says a second lot near Europe Bay Road is closer to sites 14 through 16. His group’s favorite was site 16.

A spring 2025 trip report on This Is Drivel walked 8.3 and 9.7 miles on two days. The writer preferred the narrow, rocky hiker-only trails to the wide, flat paths shared with bikes, and called the Fern Trail boardwalk one of the longest he’d walked in a state park. He found the southern campsites worn and was frustrated by vandalism, including a tree chopped with an axe. Nights dropped into the twenties.

Bugs are a seasonal factor. The Outbound says Europe Lake produces lakeflies two to three weeks before mosquito season and that the park is “relatively bug-free August-April.” The 2025 report describes flies swarming all visit in late April.

The DNR’s conditions page says severe storms in 2025 blew down hundreds of trees along trails and campsites in the southern part of the park. Everything is open, but sites 6 through 13 took the most damage.

For Lake Superior shoreline camping in Wisconsin, see the Apostle Islands’ Lakeshore Trail.

Tips

Reserve early. Destination Door County says reservations open up to 11 months ahead and popular sites fill within days.
Carry your water. Fill at the park office or the seasonal pump near Lot 3.
Hike everything in. The DNR says no carts.
Plan for wind on the beach sites. The 2025 report suggests pitching in the woods behind the dunes.
Pack warm for spring and fall nights.

Camping

Camping is allowed only in designated sites, which can all be reserved at wisconsin.goingtocamp.com (choose the “Backpack” option, per Destination Door County) or by calling 1-888-947-2757. Each site has a pit toilet, a fire ring with a flip-up grill, a food lockbox, and a bench or two, according to the DNR. There are no showers. Firewood isn’t sold at the park; you may gather dead and down wood, but “It is illegal to cut anything from live trees.” Carry out all garbage. Destination Door County says sites 15 and 16 can also be reached by bike or by boat across Europe Lake.

Inside Intel: The This Is Drivel writer recommends site 14 on Europe Lake over the Lake Michigan sites, calling the Europe Lake sites “gorgeous”; he found site 16, between dunes on the Lake Michigan shore, only “okay” and windy. The Outbound’s group liked site 16 best, and Destination Door County suggests sites 14, 15, or 16 for seclusion.

Trail facts

Distance: Europe Bay Trail loop, 7.0 miles (DNR); 7.6 miles (The Outbound)
Route type: Loop, with spurs to campsites
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Campsites: 17 hike-in sites including one group site (DNR park page); the DNR’s statewide backpack page lists 16 reservable sites; regular sites at least 0.9 mile from parking (Destination Door County)
Water: Park office or seasonal pump near Lot 3; none near the sites
Permits: Reservation required
Food storage: Food lockbox at each site
Bikes: Allowed on the Europe Bay, Newport, and Monarch loops
Trailhead: Main beach area (Lot 3) or Europe Bay Road
Last verified: October 17, 2026

The Lowdown

Under a Door County dark sky:

Newport's hike-in sites have fire rings, but firewood isn't sold in the park and live trees are off-limits. A small stove makes dinner simpler. Compare the stoves reviewers recommend.

See what testers chose →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.