Newberry Hill Heritage Park
In 2004, Great Peninsula Conservancy worked with Kitsap County and the Mountaineers Foundation to purchase 623 acres of land in the Chico Creek Watershed from Port Blakely Tree Farms. This property is located north of Gold Mountain and Green Mountain, just east of Wildcat Lake, and includes two miles of the highest quality salmon habitat on the Kitsap Peninsula and associated lush stream-side habitat. It protects 7% of the watershed surrounding Chico Creek, and is a crucial north-south wildlife corridor.
News of Port Blakely Tree Farms’ decision to sell the land broke quickly in January 2004, giving Great Peninsula Conservancy and its partners little time to act. In just a few months these partners rallied together to raise the funds to buy the land, and in March 2004 Kitsap County submitted a bid and completed the purchase of this vast stretch of prime forestland.
A few years later, Kitsap County and Washington State Department of Natural Resources traded lands so each could consolidate their boundaries. Kitsap County’s nascent Newberry Hill Heritage Park grew, to its present 1100 acers, with Green Mountain State Forest, encompassing 6,000 acres, on its southern boundary.
Accessibility
Trail map: https://www.kitsap.gov/parks/Documents/NewberryHillParkMap2019.pdf.
Project Partners
Kitsap County
Keta Legacy Foundation
Washington State Department of Natural Resources
