Wickford is a cute little village in the North Kingstown section...about 30 min south of Providence…read moredowntown. Wickford Village offers a number of unique shopping and dining options. Shop in any of the locally owned boutiques, home décor stores, personal care/gift shops, or even a bookstore and pet supply store....dine at one of the many locally owned restaurants, many on the water or with water view. Wickford is also home to several art galleries that are open to the public daily...if you are into active life.....you can rent a kayak for a portion of the day and get out in the harbor, or you can rent an electric bike and cruise around the village. If you want to just stroll and take it easy, the town is charming and cute....the shops are great, but the location of the village itself is ideal for picnics and walks. The village has a large parking lot that leads to benches and docks. The views are amazing and the benches offer the perfect spot to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee or a snack. No seaside village is complete without a beach. Of course, Wickford doesn't disappoint. Roughly a mile from the main village is the town beach. Now, keep this one quiet because it is small and nestled in the heart of an established Wickford neighborhood. During the season (traditionally Memorial Day to Labor Day), only North Kingstown residents can procure a beach pass at town hall that will cost roughly $10. However, you can still visit if you are not a town resident. If you were to go out of season, near dawn, or after dusk, you can enter the beach for free. The beach is on the small side, but it is perfect for families with children. The beach offers a playground, which was recently renovated, public restrooms, and outdoor showers. Also perfect for young children is the fact that the beach has little or no waves because it is tucked in the harbor. No waves means no undertow. On select Fridays throughout the spring and summer, the harbor is set alight and you can enjoy food, drink, carriage rides, and more. All of the stores remain open later and food trucks from all around the state come and park in town. If you happen to find yourself in Wickford on a Friday night, make sure to check this special event out. Overall, a nice charming town where you can spend a whole day in a beautiful setting.

We made a quick drive through parts of this historic village while on vacation. There were many…read moreinteresting shops waiting to be visited as well numerous historic houses that deserve more of our time than we had available. Perhaps a return will be made later this fall.

Stunning & majestic grandeur at 360 degrees for these historic mansions. Amazed and grateful that…read morethese have been restored for us to view this piece of lavish history. We joined the Historic society for the well worth is discount and toured 3 homes in a day, which is just the right amount. A must in the self guided audio tour via the mansions phone app. It really adds to the history of the mansion and gives great insight to the families and their world. Please explore these fabulous gems when in the area. Can't wait to see the rest!

Visited the Newport Mansions for the first time during the holidays to see all the beautiful lights…read moreand decorations!!! I visited The Breakers and The Marble House (third mansion is The Elms). Each house was lit up with Christmas lights, as well as a Christmas tree in each room. Also bought tickets to see "The Sparkling Lights" outside on the lawn. The mansions are absolutely grand, elegant, and filled with history!! They all cost money to enter, but there is a free audio tour for each one (bring a headset). I loved learning about each one! Short and sweet summaries of each room as you walk through the houses, with the option to listen to extended versions (for you history lovers). Each mansion has parking close-by (although the website claims you can easily walk from one mansion to the next, they are quite far, especially in the winter). I stopped in for a simple day trip, but lots to see and eat in Newport if you have more time! Another tip would be if you're there to see the Sparkling Lights, earliest admission is 4:30 pm, make sure you're in line by 4:15 pm (it gets long FAST)!

I don't wanna use the word Hidden jam because I feel like I've used it a lot especially In Rhode…read moreIsland. There's so many hidden things here and there that are in plain sight but you can't tell because there's trees and other beautiful things surrounding it. Came here with my husband for a tea event, and the grounds alone were breathtaking and relaxing. There is a trail that you can walk. There's also a gift shop and a pond and it's just also peaceful. Very serene view of mother nature I can see anybody being able to paint at this gorgeous peaceful area. You should definitely go online and see upcoming events. They have whiskey tasting gin tasting tea events if you like tea like I do, and even though I am more of a tequila person, I would definitely come for a whiskey tasting event. The pictures I took do not do it any justice as far as how beautiful the scenery is. When you get a chance, you should definitely come down here and might as well buy a family membership if you have a family so that you can come back more than once.

We enjoyed our visit there. There wasn't a tour guide, but we walked through the museum, which was…read morereally interesting and it was cool to see the painting of George Washington and more. The grounds are lovely but small. We looked in the mills and walk around the pond. It was $15 per person and we were there about 30-35 minutes. It was the house he was born in, not where he lived and worked, so it's a bit hard to image him there. But definitely worth spending an hour or so in nice weather.

What an amazing place of history which dates back to the 1600s. History comes alive with a great…read moredocent staff which will bring the entire scope of the grounds alive. Do not miss out

Paine House Museum has seen a lot of history. The present group of volunteers has done much to…read morereorganize the displays and restore the property. First, the barn has been cleared out and lots of tools found within. A lathe found among the detritus has been restored and the original business sign hung-up on the building. You can also view two old fire-apparatus found in the barn that are now stored in the Mruk fire building next door. This building is on property gifted to the Town of Coventry by the last house owner and was recently sold back to the museum to create a Fire museum. Also found in the barn, and now in the house basement, is a huge, working loom! One of the volunteers, a member of the RI Spinners Guild, demonstrates on the loom and sells items produced in the museum gift shop. She has so much knowledge about spinning and weaving. Tours are offered Friday and Saturday, 10:00am - 2:00pm May through October. Public events are hosted through the year including free movies on the lawn in the summer and market days once a month featuring a variety of vendors. Some events include reenactors including the spinners guild, soldiers and bands. Check their website for details.

Bordering Wickford Village and Wilson Park is the tiny but oh-so-charming Bush Hill Nature…read morePreserve, established and maintained by the North Kingstown Land Conservancy. It's trail(s) are short - just a leisurely half mile or so - but they are great for kids and bird-watching ... and who knew such a cute little preserve was nestled right in Wickford? It just goes so well with Wickford's old New England atmosphere and history! There's a pond and marshes, short-cuts to neighborhoods and shops, a charming footbridge - and as you follow the trail over a raised ridge, just be aware that you're traversing an esker, those rare (at least in RI) geologic remnants of glacial rivers. Definitely one of those hidden treasures! Entrance can be found in several spots within Wickford ... the one we used was behind the Baptist Church parking lot on Main St.

No tolls, almost unobstructed views-an almost MUST if you are traveling to Newport. Perfection!read more

A cool bridge with…read moregreat views I love going over bridges, especially really big bridges. I realize that some people think reviewing a bridge is stupid but real cool ones deserve to be reviewed. Here I am actually reviewing two bridges, the old Jamestown Bridge and its replacement the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge. Everyone calls the new one the Jamestown Bridge, just like the older one. The first bridge was built in 1940 and was the very first bridge to Conanicut Island. This opened things up for people living there because they didn't have to rely on just ferries any more. There were plans to keep the old bridge open for bikes and pedestrians but the old bridge was found to be in such lousy condition that they were afraid it would fall and end up killing people. So they finally got around to blowing it in April, 2006. The new bridge was completed and opened in 1992 and is much wider and higher than the previous one. Great fun to drive over and look at down at Plum Beach Lighthouse, Dutch Island, ships and the water. It's such a great view that it's difficult to keep my eyes on the road, so I frequently weave around a bit. Scares the hell out of my wife which is always cool. Unlike the Newport Bridge (Pell), there is no toll to cross the Jamestown Bridge. Unfortunately bikes and people are not allowed on the new bridge which is to bad because it would be a great place for a walk. It can get a bit feisty in the winter, especially during snow or ice storms, but the highway guys do a good job of keeping it passable so there really aren't that many fatal accidents. I've been over both bridges a zillion times and still love it. Crossing into Jamestown over the bridge is something I'll never get tired of. Here's a cool video of the demolition of the old bridge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2nGtVURPlE

I've only visited Newport a couple of times. Whenever I am here, I always seem to find myself…read moredriving Ocean Drive. I love the coastal views, beautiful homes, and the cool sea breeze. I recommend adding Ocean Drive to your itinerary if you are looking to admire the scenery or join the crowd gathering for sunset.

Great drive to see Ocean, rocks mansions, Parks, hotels and nature. Easy drive and fun.read more

I have been trying to get here for 14 years and I finally made it. Every other time I've been in…read moreNewport, it has always been closed. You walk in and my jaw dropped looking at the paintings on the stairs. Like they painted everything. Each room is more and more magnificent and I would argue I find this more breathtaking than the Elms. It's the details in the rooms for me, not the size of it. I didn't go on a guided tour but at some point would love to see more of the rooms, there were a certain number available to us yesterday. I think this actually just became my favorite to visit, honestly. I know a lot of people make comments about how dark it is, buuuut have you heard of how you need that for preservation purposes? I also have an eye condition so for me, it was actually welcome to walk through and not feel like I'm being blinded. The soft lighting I found to be wonderful, personally.

LOVED this home so very much! My sister and I decided to visit three of the mansions on our way…read morehome from Cape Cod last week. They certainly did not disappoint but this home went above and beyond. So very homey and unique for its time period. The husband's bedroom was my absolute favorite with the gold leaf ceiling, lemon wallpaper, and swallow border.

Delightful little historical stop and worth a look at this 230-year old structure from the state's…read moreearly days. Hard to believe this windmill's been around since shortly after the War of Independence - and it looks great for its age! The windmill's got 3 levels (which you wouldn't have guessed from the outside) and you're able to climb up to the very top bonnet where the windmill blades connect with a big gear to run the millstones. Very nice displays on each level as well. Beautiful views of the Newport bridge too! The hours are limited though - so need to check its schedule - and manned by a volunteer docent. The windmill is put into full operation a couple of times a year, demonstrating the corn grinding - per the docent, the next demonstration will be July 21, 2018! Free to the public. Just a note: no restrooms or running water on site.

We stopped by on a drizzly weekday morning, but unfortunately the windmill is only open…read moreFriday-Sunday from 1PM-4PM. Hopefully we will be able to time our next visit to this historic windmill to coincide with its opening.

Beautiful example of Shingle Style architecture. Built in 1881-1883 by the firm of McKim, Mead &…read moreWhite, it was the summer residence for Isaac Bell, Jr. Bell's brother-in-law was James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the publisher of the New York Herald. The house is a blend of English Queen Anne, New England colonial and Oriental design. The name Shingle Style is due to the white cedar shingles that cover the exterior. The firm McKim, Mead and White influenced the work of Fran Lloyd Wright. The open floor plan is perfect for the current use to display art exhibits. This current exhibition, Pictus Porrectus, shows contemporary art based on classic paintings. Parking is available on site. No furniture is displayed in this historic Newport Mansion. A very unique property, but not as elaborate as the other Gilded Newport Mansions.

This was one of the smaller homes of the "Newport Mansions" in Rhode Island, but is one not to be…read moremissed. It was an architectural tour and it didn't contain most of the furnishings as most of them were sold off years ago. They chose not to buy period pieces though instead focused on many of the interesting features. For one, the outside roof is covered in wood shingles in all types of interesting designs which is why the style of the house is classified as shingle style architecture and is one of the few in the country. Because the owners traveled quite extensively, they incorporated many design details from France, Japan and China mostly, but also from other areas of the world. One that that surprised me is that the main floor has a fairly open floor plan with wasn't standard for that time period. This concept was borrowed from Japan. I had also not seen pocket windows before - they disappear into the walls completely to bring in lots of fresh air! Much of the wallpaper was custom designed for them. The designer also was very creative. He framed bed warmers and used them as a feature in the dining room. I now realize that if all the period pieces were in the house, it would almost overshadow all the design features of the house itself.