Newport Beautiful - Cliff Walk

Cliff Walk

The relations between Newport and South Carolina were always intimate. Need for slaves on plantations in South and Newport’s prosperous slave trade brought both communities closer even long time before the revolution.

In 1805 a line of packet ships was established from Newport to Charleston. In May 1817, the arrival of the steamboat “Fire Fly,” from New York, opened the era of steam navigation from Newport. All of that made Newport accessible. The charm of the summer climate of the “city by the sea” soon attracted number of the richer class, who yearly sought relief from the oppressive heat of the lower latitudes in South Carolina. Soon families from New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore joined them.

It took Newport a long time to recover from British occupation as well as from the War of 1812. Between 1815 and 1828, not a single house was built on Aquidneck Island. In about 1825 the Brinkley House on Catherine Street was opened as a hotel, soon followed by a number of boarding houses, and summer guests started coming.

In 1832 to 1849, a terrible Asiatic cholera appeared in Calcutta, then ravaged France and England, struck Canada and passed to Albany and New York. It spared Newport. In 1849, when the cholera reappeared, not a single death from the disease occurred in Newport and Newport gained even more reputation as having healthy climate.

Ocean House © Richard Konkolski

In 1844 the first Ocean House was built. The hotel burned down next year, but soon was rebuild. By the year 1852 twelve handsome residences had been built. Since 1854 there has been a steady growth. More summer visitor were coming to the city and with them quest for activity. Not everybody could enjoy the beach, tennis or Ocean Drive ride and many summer visitors discovered the pleasure of a healthy walk. There was no more enjoyable place to walk then along the Cliffs on the east side of Aquidneck Island, from Easton’s Beach all the way south up to Boat House at the end of Bellevue Avenue. Even the Handbook of Newport, already published in 1852, describes the beauty of hanging cliffs and Forty Steps.

The Ocean House was located on right hand side of Bath Road, today known as the Memorial Boulevard. The Cliff Walk started not far from the hotel and there was almost no guest, which would fail to enjoy it. The remarkable range of cliffs formed of pudding-stone still is upwards of forty feet in height, and promotes a natural curiosity with its jagged-edged shores.

In the course of centuries the shore has been worn into high bluffs, rounded ledges, and smooth beaches, by the silent but surely progressive actions of wind and wave. A broken wall of rocks overhanging or retreating from its base, but always-rising high above the water, is bordered by a foot-path with pleasant windings. Masses of fallen rocks are grouped along the beach underneath the cliff, around which the rising waves seethe and foam and hiss.

Along the verge of the cliff the dash of the surf frequently tosses a shower of fine spray as high as the shelf itself. As you walk on, these rocks are always presenting new profiles of grotesque resemblances.

Turning away from the sea, you can see a long line of cottages, villas, and country houses. These houses represent the best of what could be build in their time. Builders and many owners passed away but their houses and lands remain, kept in order and beauty by constant changes and renewal, presenting scenery and beauties open to the view and enjoyment of all. No visitor can acquire a true impression of what makes Newport the place it is unless he experiences the walk along the cliff.

Cliff Walk was designated as a National Recreation Trail in 1975 – first in New England and 65^th in the nation. It is 3.5 miles long. Two thirds of it is in a nice, easy walking condition but the rest goes through the rough and rocky shoreline. Wild bushes and weeds often hide the danger. Since 1987, three people have died after falling off the walk, and several others have been seriously hurt.

The right of use of Cliff Walk is protected by “Fisherman’s Rights” granted by the Colonial Charter of Kong Charles II in the past as well as by Rhode Island Constitution which grants the public rights of fishery and shore. Centuries of prior use have granted the right for all people to walk along the cliffs. Cliff Walk is a public right-of-way over private property with RI State Law limiting liability of property owners. You traverse the Cliff Walk at your own risk. Never the less, it is one of the main attraction in Newport for people of all ages.

The walk starts at the western side of Easton’s Beach and ends at the east part of Bailey’s Beach on Bellevue Avenue. There are a few city streets connecting Cliff Walk with Bellevue Avenue. They are Narragansett Avenue, Webster Street, Sheppard Avenue, Ruggles Avenue, Marine Avenue and Ledge Road. The longest and most difficult part of Cliff Walk lies between Ruggles Avenue and Ledge Road.

Lands End

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