Newport Cliff Walk

The Newport Cliff Walk is a trail along the edge of the ocean where most of the mansions were built. My friend Dorothy and I set out to walk this 3 1/2 mile trail and view the sea and the mansions. We took the trolley from the Visitors Center and were advised to begin about 1/2 mile in from the start due to the fact that she could get us closer to the trail and there wasn't much to see on the first 1/2 mile.
The day was very warm and muggy but there was a nice sea breeze. The promised views were quite spectacular such as surf on rocks and the mansions such as this one, The Breakers built in 1895 by Cornelius Vanderbilt. ( More on that in the next post.)
The trail began as an asphalt paved path the width of a sidewalk. This is described on my guide as easy terrain and last about a mile.
Suddenly we hit a patch of difficult terrain described as rocks and boulders but it was the breakwater that is pictured here and the walking was fairly easy stepping from one slab
rock to another. We arrived at another access point, Marine Avenue and were greeted by a sign warning that the next access point was 2 miles away and the terrain was moderate to difficult. We were unconcerned. We had already crossed "difficult terrain".
We walked on in the heat grateful for the sun and enjoying the walk. The mansions were described in the guide I had bought but many of the homes were private. The Newport Preservation Society owns many of the old mansions and they are open to tours.
Some of the terrain was dirt path. Some went into dark tunnels with puddles from last night's rain and then we came to the Cliff. No one actually told us that the Cliff Walk was on a cliff. We climbed up rocks as if we were climbing a mountain. We had to step down off rocks where I sometimes sat down on the rock and jumped off. Most of the last 2 1/4 miles of the walk were described as difficult, some easier than the rest. We felt pretty good when we stepped off the walk 2 1/2 hours after we began. We had managed all of the rock climbing without slipping. I would do it again. So would Dorothy!