Happy New Decade folks! I hope your intentions have been set and you’re feeling present in this season of hope. What better way to kick off the roaring twenties, than with a stroll past all those mansions in Newport, Rhode Island?
It may not come as a shock to you if you are a regular reader, but I didn’t do the Cliff Walk for the mansions. I know, I know, mesmerizing architecture abound, and still a lack of appreciation. But have y’all noticed the cliffs themselves? The individually dedicated benches? All the different types of trees? How blue the ocean is, but how green it becomes crashing around the rocks?
The Cliff Walk is 3.5 miles long with mansions along one side and a steep drop to the ocean below on the other. There are signs marking “danger” at breaks in both natural and manmade fencing, but be sure to keep a close eye on little ones and leashes on pups. There are also stairs at different points along the walk, taking you up and down atop the cliffs, as well as stairs marked with caution at a point that lead you down into them. Some people seemed to be in a hurry when I was there, but I suggest allotting a couple of hours to take your time. I was lucky enough to go with one of my closest friends, so our leisurely stroll involved a whole lot of conversation and some cliffside yoga. Highly recommend.
We parked over at Easton’s Beach before beginning our walk, which also posed great views of the cliffs and, eventually, the sunset. It was a good introduction back to a New England mainstay I haven’t committed to since I was in elementary school. Clearly, I went for the ocean and stayed for the ocean, but I was pretty enchanted by all the natural nooks and crannies of the Cliff Walk. Make sure to schedule this one into your off season agenda. Who knows, maybe the Gastby-esque mansions will inspire you to build your decade into one even Fitzgerald couldn’t dream up.
Extra Love: The restrooms along the Cliff Walk are closed for the off season, making this place not inclusive of not only those with mobility aids, but all of us Crohn’s/Colitis folks. Luckily, there is a portable bathroom set up over by the closed restrooms on Easton’s Beach. Don’t visit during a flare.
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