Why a million people a year walk Newport’s rocky coast between crashing surf and century-old estates

It’s Rhode Island’s most walked trail

Newport’s Cliff Walk runs 3.5 miles along the eastern shore of Aquidneck Island, and every step puts you between two worlds. The Atlantic crashes against rock on one side.

Gilded Age mansions rise behind manicured lawns on the other.

The trail stretches from Easton’s Beach at the north end to Bailey’s Beach at the south, and it won’t cost you a dime.

Over a million people walk it every year, and once you’re on it, you’ll understand why the crowds keep coming back.

Narragansett Indians walked this path first

The trail’s roots go back centuries. The Narragansett Indians used it long before colonial settlers arrived, and public access to the shoreline became law when Rhode Island wrote it into the state constitution in 1843.

Mansion owners started building and connecting sections of the path around 1880.

By 1975, the U.S. Department of the Interior made it a National Recreation Trail, the first one in all of New England. In 2014, the American Planning Association added it to the list of America’s Great Public Spaces.

The paved stretch starts right at the beach

Your walk begins at Easton’s Beach off Memorial Boulevard, where you can park and find seasonal restrooms.

This northern section is wide, paved, and lined with railings, so wheelchairs, strollers, and anyone with limited mobility can handle it without trouble.

Ocean views hit you right away, with waves rolling against the rocky shoreline below. Within the first few minutes, you pass The Chanler, a historic mansion now operating as a hotel.

The whole stretch eases you into what lies ahead.

Servants danced jigs on the Forty Steps

About three-quarters of a mile in, you reach the Forty Steps at the end of Narragansett Avenue. David Priestly Hall built the original staircase in the 1830s so his children could get down to the shore.

During the Gilded Age, the steps took on a different life.

Servants from the nearby mansions, many of them Irish immigrants, gathered on the rocks below to play instruments, dance, and socialize after long shifts.

Today, a rebuilt granite staircase leads to a rocky lookout where waves slam the cliffs right in front of you.

The Breakers has 70 rooms and a Vanderbilt story

You can see The Breakers from the trail, and it stops you in your tracks.

This 70-room Italian Renaissance-style palazzo went up in 1895 for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt after palaces in Genoa and Turin.

From the Cliff Walk, you get a clear view of the ocean-facing terrace, the formal gardens, and a back lawn that seems to go on forever.

The Preservation Society of Newport County manages the property, and you can tour the inside.

Marble House came with 500,000 cubic feet of stone

Marble House landed in 1892 with 500,000 cubic feet of marble packed inside.

William K. Vanderbilt gave it to his wife Alva as a 39th birthday present, and architect Richard Morris Hunt designed it in the Beaux-Arts style after the Petit Trianon at Versailles.

Near the cliff’s edge, a Chinese Tea House sits in the style of a 12th-century pavilion. Alva Vanderbilt later turned that tea house into a rallying spot for the women’s suffrage movement.

Rosecliff’s ballroom is the biggest in Newport

Stanford White designed Rosecliff after the Grand Trianon at Versailles, and Nevada silver mining heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs had it built between 1899 and 1902.

Inside, a heart-shaped grand staircase leads to the largest ballroom in Newport. Just down the trail, Ochre Court rises as the second-largest mansion in the city.

Richard Morris Hunt designed that one too, commissioned in 1892 by New York real estate figure Ogden Goelet. Salve Regina University now uses it as its main administration building.

Doris Duke’s red sandstone manor and Olmsted’s grounds

Rough Point sits along the trail in red sandstone and granite, built in 1892 in the English manor style. Tobacco heiress Doris Duke called it home until her death in 1993.

The grounds carry the hand of Frederick Law Olmsted, the same landscape architect who designed Central Park. A stone arch bridge along this stretch of the walk reflects his original vision.

The mansion opened for public tours in 2000, and Duke’s personal art collection still fills the rooms inside.

Tidal pools and wildflowers line the cliffs

Beyond the mansions, the coastline takes over. Thousands of years of wind and water carved the rocky coves, tidal pools, and exposed ledges that run along the trail’s edge.

In spring and summer, wildflowers push up along the path and add streaks of color against the gray rock. Bird species move through the area regularly, so you might spot something worth a second look.

The rock formations along this coast rank among the most distinct natural features anywhere in the Northeast.

The rocky southern stretch thins the crowds

Past Marine Avenue, the paved path disappears. The trail turns to natural rock, with scrambles, narrow passages, and uneven footing that demand sturdy shoes.

Cliffs drop more than 70 feet to the surf below, and there are no railings to hold. Fewer people push into this section, so the noise falls off and the space opens up.

The trail ends at Bailey’s Beach, also known as Reject’s Beach, a sandy stretch open to the public where you can sit down and catch your breath.

Hurricanes keep knocking it down, and Newport keeps rebuilding

Storms have hit the Cliff Walk hard over the decades, including major hurricanes in 1938, 1954, and 2012. Hurricane Sandy destroyed large sections in 2012, and a $5.2 million restoration wrapped up two years later.

In March 2022, a section near Narragansett Avenue and Webster Street collapsed straight into the ocean. A 450-foot stretch between those streets remains closed, with a marked inland detour in place.

The city secured an $11 million federal PROTECT grant as part of a $22 million repair and preservation package.

Give yourself three hours and wear real shoes

The full walk takes about 2.5 to 3 hours one way, but most people just tackle a section.

You can park at Easton’s Beach in the paid lot, along Narragansett Avenue at metered spots, or on Bellevue Avenue where space allows. Seasonal restrooms sit at Easton’s Beach and at the Forty Steps entrance.

Leashed dogs can come along.

A seasonal hop-on, hop-off trolley runs nearby routes, so you don’t have to walk back the way you came.

Walk the Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island

You can start your walk at 117 Memorial Boulevard in Newport, Rhode Island. The trail is free and open daily from sunrise to sunset, every day of the year.

First-time visitors do best starting at the northern paved section, where the path is smooth and the views come fast.

Multiple entry points along Bellevue Avenue let you jump in at different spots if you want to skip ahead. Check with the city of Newport or Discover Newport for current detour information before you go.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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