The 40-acre Lake Newport Wetlands is a bird watcher’s playground.
Parking & Trailhead Location:
Parking – (41.051420, -80.677695)
Trailhead – (41.051453, -80.677411)
Distance & Type: 0.5 miles (0.8km) Out and Back trail
Elevation change: little to none
Difficulty: Easy – Paved trail and boardwalk
Dog Friendly: Yes, on leash
Hike features:
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Wildlife / birds – I managed to photograph a bald eagle near the wetlands during the summer of 2016.
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A unique bio-filtration parking lot.
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Paved trail leading to the boardwalk making it wheelchair accessible.
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Plenty of picnic tables and grills
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Benches overlooking the wetlands and dozens of birdhouses scattered around the wetlands
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Bathrooms
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Large field for lounging around (if the geese allow it)
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Water trails for kayakers
The Albert Davis wetlands trail is a short, accessible trail that is great for beginner hikers and families with small children. The boardwalk allows access deep within the wetlands marsh where turtles, ducks, fish, frogs and snakes can be found. I saw my first bald eagle near the wetlands trail a few years ago.
Hike walkthrough
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(41.051415, -80.677680) – Proceed from the parking lot towards the east corner of the parking lot to find the paved Albert Davis wetlands trailhead.
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Follow this trail over the foot bridge on to Robert Smythe island.
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Continue to follow the paved trail until you reach the boardwalk.
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Follow the boardwalk through the wetlands. the boardwalk ends at (41.052718, -80.676143) where you can view most of the wetlands and the southern portion of Lake Newport.
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When ready, turn around and follow the trail back to the parking lot where you started.