The New Forest is an area of Hampshire in England which was created in 1079 by William the Conqueror for the hunting of (mainly) deer. It gives its name to the New Forest district of Hampshire. Today it includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land and old-growth forest in heavily-populated south east England.

Among the towns lying in or adjacent to the Forest are Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Fordingbridge, Ringwood, Beaulieu and Lymington. It is bounded to the west by Bournemouth and to the east by the city of Southampton.

It is the habitat of the famous New Forest ponies and contains a profusion of other rare wildlife, including the New Forest cicada, the only cicada native to Great Britain. Several species of sundew may be found there, and the Forest is also the habitat of many unusual ant species, including the narrow-headed ant, Formica exsecta, recorded there by Horace Donisthorpe.

Consultations on the possible designation of a National Park in the New Forest were commenced by the Countryside Agency in 1999. In February 2002 they submitted a draft order to the Secretary of State. Following objections from seven local authorities and others, a Public Inquiry was held from October 2002 to April 2003, concluding in the proposals being endorsed with some detailed changes to the boundary of the area to be designated.

On June 28, 2004, Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael confirmed the government's intention to designate the area as a National Park, with further detailed boundary adjustments. An additional 28 days will be allowed for representations relating to these changes.

The proposed area of 571 km² will have a population of approximately 38,000. As well as most of the New Fores district of Hampshire, it will take in a small corner of Test Valley district around the village of Canada, and part of the Salisbury district in Wiltshire south-east of Redlynch.

• New Forest Committee
• The New Forest
• The New Forest (a site run by local hotels)
• DEFRA - Minister says yes to New Forest National Park