Perfect Summer Day in Newport, RI

I would guess that for most of us that don’t live somewhere along the east coast, the state of Rhode Island doesn’t come to mind as “must see” place to visit, but I beg to differ. Rhode Island in August is beautiful and the town of Newport should definitely be on your bucket list.

Newport is the home of the Bellevue Avenue historic district, also known as Mansion Row, and is an amazing collection of summer “cottages” built by the very wealthy at the end of the 19th century. You can marvel at their architecture up close since most can be toured or you can enjoy them and some fantastic ocean views along the Cliff Walk. The 3.5 mile oceanside path takes you along the rocky shoreline and you can enjoy some of the same views these summer residents did. It is a beautiful walk and in August the wild roses (Rosa rugosa) are still blooming along the shore. If you’ve ever seen the classic 1956 movie High Society then you will recognize the homes on Bellevue Avenue and the drive along Ocean Avenue (and if you’ve never seen the movie starring Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong - I highly recommend it!).

The drive out from town along Ocean Avenue provides beautiful views of the rocky inlets and stately homes. It leads to Brenton Point State Park where we had a nice picnic and had fun climbing on the rocks and checking out all the ocean sea creatures which was a treat for our freshwater family. We continued our drive, looping around the island and heading back into town.

We enjoyed shopping and walking among the colonial architecture. Newport has a fantastically preserved downtown historic district, which has the highest number of colonial-era homes in the country. 

It was an easy walk to the restaurants along the water. You can pick out your lobster right on the pier at the Aquidneck Lobster Co. (named after the original name of the Rhode Island)! We had fantastic clam chowder at the Black Pearl restaurant right overlooking Newport’s harbor and finished the day with a gorgeous sunset that light the sky on fire. We easily could have stayed the night and enjoyed even more time and plan to come again!