The Newport Cliff Walk is a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) public path along the shore. It is a National Recreation Trail, the first in New England, and it gives views of mansions such as The Breakers and Marble House.
The right to walk the shore goes back to 1663, when the charter from King Charles II promised Rhode Island colonists the right to fish along the shoreline. Around 1880, mansion owners began building a simple path in sections.
Over the years, wealthy owners sometimes put up fences, boulders or walls to block the path. Storms have also damaged it: in October 2012, Hurricane Sandy washed away large sections, and it did not reopen until June 2014.