15 Best Sights in Newport County and East Bay, Rhode Island

Tennis fans and lovers of history, art, and architecture will enjoy visiting the birthplace of U.S. championship tennis. The museum contains interactive exhibits, a holographic theater that simulates being in a room with Roger Federer, displays of clothing worn by the sport's biggest stars, video highlights of great matches, and memorabilia that includes the 1874 patent from England's Queen Victoria for the game of lawn tennis. The 7-acre site is home to the Bill Talbert Stadium with its manicured grass courts, the historic shingle-style Newport Casino—which opened in 1880 and was designed by architects McKim, Mead & White—and the recently restored Casino Theatre. The 13 grass tennis courts, one clay court, and an indoor tennis facility are open to the public for play. 

Also called Ten-Mile Drive, this is a stunningly scenic route starting from the end of Thames Street and looping around the Newport shoreline by following Harrison Avenue and Ridge Road to Ocean Drive and Bellevue Ave., ending at Memorial Blvd. You'll pass by Fort Adams State Park; Hammersmith Farm, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis' family home and the site of her wedding reception when she married John F. Kennedy in 1953; the 89-acre Brenton Point State Park, famous for kite-flying; the picturesque Castle Hill Inn and lighthouse; and several small beaches, including the public Kings Beach.

Water conditions range from tranquil to harrowing at this park straddling the southern tip of Conanicut Island. In rough weather, waves crash dramatically (and dangerously) on the rocky point. On a clear, calm day, however, the park's craggy shoreline invites sunning, hiking, and climbing. There are portable restrooms open daily, year-round. On about a dozen dates (July–October), the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association (beavertaillight.org) opens the Beavertail Lighthouse, the nation's third-oldest lighthouse (established 1749), letting you climb the 1856 tower's 49 steps (and then a 7-foot ladder) to enjoy the magnificent panorama from the observation catwalk. A museum occupies the lighthouse keeper's former quarters; the lighthouse's last "beehive" Fresnel lens is on display. The old fog signal building has a saltwater aquarium with local species of fish. Both are open seasonally.

Starting with a sea of daffodils in April, this 33-acre estate on Bristol Harbor blooms all the way to fall. Highlights include fragrant pink chestnut roses and one of the largest giant sequoia trees on the East Coast. The gardens are open year-round. The 45-room English-style manor house, opened seasonally, is filled with original antiques and artworks.

A ¾-mile-long ocean beach, Easton's has a boardwalk and playground. Public facilities include restrooms, indoor and outdoor showers, an elevator, and beach wheelchairs. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

The largest coastal fortress in the United States can be found at this park, which hosts Newport's annual folk and jazz festivals and sailing events like the Ocean Race. The nonprofit Ft. Adams Trust offers a varied schedule of guided tours of the fort, where soldiers lived from 1841 to 1950. Tours take in the fort's overlooks and underground tunnels, as well as its impressive walls. The views of Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay are exquisite. The park also includes a 2.5-mile walking path, the Sail Newport marina, where boating lessons and rentals are available, and Eisenhower House, the summer White House of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Fanciful animals and geometric shapes populate this large topiary garden on a Narragansett Bay--side Victorian estate that served as the summer residence of a Fall River, Massachusetts, textile mill owner. In addition to the whimsical topiaries, there are flower and herb gardens, orchards, and winding pathways. Picnicking among the shrubbery is encouraged.

A working 1859 hand pumper and an 1894 horse-drawn steam pump are among the antique equipment at this informal firefighting equipment display in a garage that once housed the fire company. Inquire at the fire station next door if the place is locked; the town fire chief or whoever is on duty is usually happy to show visitors around.

The restored 1762 Brick Market building houses the Museum of Newport History, which explores the city's social and economic influences. Antiques such as the printing press of James Franklin (Ben's brother) inspire the imagination. Designed by Peter Harrison, who was responsible as well for Touro Synagogue and the Redwood Library, this early commercial building also served as a theater and a town hall. Today, besides the museum exhibits, there's a very nice gift shop that serves as a departure point for guided walking tours of Newport.

Stroll through the woods or hike to the top of Hanging Rock for a spectacular view at this 325-acre sanctuary for diverse wildlife including more than 300 species of birds. The sanctuary has about 7 miles of trails traversing ridges, forests, thickets, fields, ponds, streams, salt marsh, and sandy beach. The raucous dawn chorus of birdsong in the spring is one of the great wildlife experiences in Rhode Island.

The tracks for the Old Colony Railroad were laid in the 1860s; Rail Explorers' tandem and quad rail machines are newfangled contraptions that make it easy to glide six miles along Narragansett Bay as long as at least one member of your group is willing to pedal. Guide-led tours of either the Northern Ramble or Southern Circuit offer glimpses of shorebirds, coastal woodlands, and historic sites few travelers get the chance to see. Special outings include Sunday brunch and lantern-lit rides.

Formerly located in tight quarters at Easton’s Beach, the aquarium run by local conservation group Save the Bay is now prominently sited at the Gateway Transportation Center, making it the first stop for many Newport visitors. The aquarium exclusively features marine life found in Narragansett Bay; the residents of touch tanks and created habitats ranging from shorelines to salt marshes and eelgrass are returned to the Bay after their temporary stint educating and entertaining visitors.

This Historic New England--operated farm on Narragansett Bay, in existence since 1789, is still a working farm. The farmers use sustainable practices to raise heritage-breed cows and sheep and to produce wool blankets for local markets. They also host educational programs; for example, during the annual Sheep Shearing Day in May you can visit the baby lambs, see the flock being shorn by local shearers, and watch spinning and weaving demonstrations. You can also stroll more than 2 miles of trails and view seasonal farm activities on this 265-acre property.

Weetamoo Woods takes its name from a formidable female sachem of the Pocasset Wampanoag tribe. There are more than 10 miles of walking trails within this 650-acre town-owned parcel and the adjacent 230-acre Pardon Gray Preserve, which encompass a coastal oak-holly forest, an Atlantic white cedar swamp, two grassland meadows, early-American cellar holes, and the remains of a mid-19th-century village sawmill. The main entrance to Weetamoo Woods, ¼-mile east of Tiverton Four Corners, has a parking area and a kiosk with maps.

This 85-acre hollow with picnic tables and a waterfall is a good place for a casual hike along a marked 1.6-mile loop trail that passes through a rare maritime oak-holly forest and winds along and over Dundery Brook. The trail passes a boulder dedicated to Queen Awashonks, who ruled the local Sakonnet tribe during the early Colonial period.