Eco-Friendly Adventures - Newport & East Bay RI

The Place to Immerse Yourself in On-Water and Seaside Natural Beauty

People love visiting Newport, RI, “the City by the Sea,” for many reasons, including Colonial history and 300-year-old architecture. Around, above, and seeping throughout the place, though, is the presence of Narragansett Bay and the beauty of life on the shore and the sea. This is a sailing capital, of course, home for decades to the America’s Cup yacht races, and sailing still happens regularly, on boats large and small, private and commercial. That is your cue to plan a yacht or boat cruise from the cozy harbor and into the Bay, surrounded by views of rocky shores, compact islands, lighthouses, a majestic bridge, and green lawns sweeping up to dazzling mansions (prepare for salty tales of rumrunners and shipwrecks; they all happened here). Many of the same sea-oriented views are accessible on beach walks or strolls along the famous Cliff Walk, wedged between the rocky shore below and the grounds of mansions, above. Love of nature and the lush New England ecology is present, also, at the nearby Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge, where snowy owls are often seen in winter, and the Norman Bird Sanctuary, a stop for seasonal migratory birds. It is not a stretch also to include under the heading of “ecotourism” an afternoon or evening at the vineyards that also inhabit Aquidneck Island, where Newport is located. Vineyard owners often invite guests to stroll among the grapevines and enjoy peaceful views of the Sakonnet River. If you want to get into your exercise groove and try a very different experience, you can ride a custom-built, pedal-powered rail bike on the old railroad tracks near Portsmouth, RI. Great fun for kids, too!