Fort Adams Bay Walk

Finishing up my trip to Newport in late August 2024, I took the Fort Adams Bay Walk around Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI after completing the excellent tour of the fort itself. A tall ship, unique signage, a cemetery, a bunker, and a historic mansion were all highlights of this relaxing two-mile loop. For those of you keeping track of how far I walked that day, when combined with my morning hike on the Cliff Walk, the fort tour, and other Newport exploration, this brought my total up to eleven-and-a-half miles.

Docked near the fort was SSV Oliver Hazard Perry. The initials SSV stand for Sailing School Vessel, as this big boat is a floating classroom for teaching people how to operate the vehicle. Up to seventy-five people can work on the boat at a time, and up to forty-nine can stay overnight. Besides its importance in education and looking beautiful in the harbor, Perry was named the “Official Flagship and Tall Ship Ambassador” for the state of Rhode Island. As for its name, the original Oliver Hazard Perry was a commodore from Rhode Island whose father and brother also worked in the Navy; much younger Matthew Calbraith Perry famously opened up trade between the U.S. and Japan. Perry’s career seemed off to a positive start when he won a Congressional Gold Medal for his actions during the War of 1812. Sadly, he died at sea in 1819 at age thirty-four and was buried at Newport’s Island Cemetery.

Regular readers know how much I love signs, and this walk had three unique signs. Besides the colorful and easy-to-read map of Fort Adams Bay Walk and a vintage wooden sign for Fort Adams State Park, I saw a sign warning sailors not to anchor too close to shore, as cables crossed under the seafloor. While I tried to find more information on the purpose of these cables, very little turned up. Maybe the Navy or Coast Guard ran local cables between the fort and the nearby islands.

The next stop on the walk was a cemetery containing the crew of the U.S.S. Bennington CVA-20, an aircraft carrier that had served in World War II and the Korean War. Longtime readers may remember the first U.S.S. Bennington, a gunboat with sails, that appeared during my review of Historic New England’s Merwin House; the young husband of the homeowner was killed when its boiler exploded in 1905. A similar tragedy befell the second Bennington in 1954 when the boat was stationed in Narragansett Bay, and over a hundred sailors died in the incident. A memorial was erected by the ship’s reunion association in their honor in 2004. An unrelated nearby burial site belonged to Rhode Island colonial governor William Brenton and some of his family who lived during the 17^th century when the colony was first formed.

Past the burial grounds were modern mine casemates built around World War II. Less elegant than their older red brick counterparts inside the main fort, these bunkers served as a control center for electronic mines. This system was set up to protect the harbor and bay from German submarines patrolling the coast. No signage was available at this site, which would have improved my learning experience.

On the far end of the loop was Eisenhower House, a three-story mansion built in 1873 and later serving as the Summer White House for President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Originally the quarters of the commanding general for Fort Adams, the state received the property in 1964, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The house was designed by George Champlin Mason, a prolific local architect who helped to found the Newport Historical Society. Mason was part of the same social circle as Oliver Hazard Perry; Perry’s wife Elizabeth Champlin Mason Perry was the older sister of Mason’s father, also named George Champlin Mason.

Much of this trail was accessible to those using a wheelchair or with limited mobility, as the path was wide and paved with several benches along the route. However, the two mile distance might be too far for some visitors. The golf cart tour offered by Fort Adams Trust at $30 per person could be a viable alternative. The path could use more signage with historical information and maps. Overall, this walk is a great opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to get exercise and education.

Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 9/10

Accessibility: 8/10