NEWPORT BAILEY SCHOOL FOREST PARK
1751 Wild Ridge Trail
Park Amenities:
The Newport Bailey Park serves as a unique function for the City of Newport. It
is both a City park where residents can enjoy a relaxing walk on well maintained
trails, as well as an officially designated school forest that serves as an
environmental learning park for the students in the South Washington County
School District. The 80 acre parkland was originally donated to Newport by
Gordon Bailey Sr. to be used as a passive-use park for the residents of
Newport. The park was approved and designated as a school forest by the City of
Newport and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in 1998.
The area of the School Forest originally served in part as an out-planting area for Bailey Nurseries. It is
mainly forest (e.g. aspen, oak, cherry, basswood) with a smaller, but
significant remnant of oak savanna where species of cedar, juniper, spruce, fir,
and ash were planted or seeded into the area.
Environmental education continues to be an important component of the
education curriculum. As such, the school forest provides a unique "wall-less"
classroom where kids have hands-on opportunities to interact with nature. In 13
years, more than 30,000 South Washington County students have visited and
participated in activities in the school forest.
The Newport Bailey School Forest continues to see improvements for the park.
The City of Newport has provided a parking area for visitors, paved walking
trails in the open area to provide handicapped access for students and
residents, and access control to restrict ATV and OHV activity.
Take the opportunity to visit Newport Bailey Park. The park is a great place
to picnic, walk, reflect, observe, and in the winter, cross country ski or
snowshoe. Click here to view the trail guide and map.
For more information regarding school forests in Minnesota, please click here.
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