The Cliff Walk along the eastern shore of Newport, RI is world famous as a public access walk that combines the natural beauty of the Newport shoreline with the architectural history of Newport's gilded age. Wildflowers, birds, geology ... all add to this delightful walk.

      In 1975 the walk was designated as a National Recreation Trail ... the 65th in the nation and first in New England. The walk runs 3.5 miles and about two-thirds of the walk is in easy walking condition. What makes Cliff Walk unique is that it is a National Recreation Trail in a National Historic District.

[The Breakers' gates to Cliff Walk are at the left.]

      Parts of the southern half of the walk are a rough trail over the natural and rugged New England rocky shore line. Walkers need to be especially careful and alert in these challenging areas. RI State Law seems to apply to Limit Liability of property owners. [see State Law, Section 32-6]

      You pass at your own risk on the walk, which is a public right-of-way over private property. In spots just a couple of feet from the path are abrupt drops of over 70 feet. Wild bushes and weeds often hide this danger.

     As you walk further south you have to scramble from rock to rock and proper shoes are a must. Even with good shoes, fine sand on some of the rock surfaces can be very slippery.

      One of the main things to watch for is Poison Ivy which grows well in rainy summer weather along some areas of the path.

                              [This aerial overview covers the northern end of Cliff Walk
                              with the forty steps in the middle and the Breakers in the upper left corner.]

      Nevertheless, the walk remains one of the top attractions in Newport and is taken by people of all ages. The walk starts at the western end of Easton's or First Beach at Memorial Blvd. and runs south with major exits at Narragansett Ave., Webster St., Sheppard Ave., Ruggles Ave., Marine Ave., Ledge Rd., and ends at Bellevue Ave. at the east end of Bailey's Beach locally referred to as Rejects Beach.

Click here to see a large map [180K] of the northern end.
Click here to see a large map [180K] of the southern end.

      These city streets theoretically run to the high water line and cross the Walk. The stretch from Ruggles to Ledge Road is the longest and most difficult once you pass the "Gull Rock" tunnel. This section offers no easy exit.

      This site provides general information about the Walk, the mansions and buildings, and the history and background. There are eight breakout sections running from the northern start to southern finish.

     There are up to ten JPEG photos per segment and they are scanned for fast loading with small file sizes. The photos are the best way to understand why Cliff Walk is so important to Newporters. To best view the photos adjust your brightness and contrast so that the background color is dark green.