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.

Lovely village that's walking friendly. Lots of little shops...everything from antiques, home…read moredecor, clothing boutiques and restaurants. Historic area with lots of antique homes and lovely gardens. We spent a couple hours walking around and stopping in shops. All the shops we visited were taking precautions to keep everyone safe from covid, from limiting the amount of people in the stores to providing hand sanitizer. I'm looking forward to visiting again post covid and experiencing the different seasons there.

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)!

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.

Due to COVID the museum and grounds are closed but we took some great photos from the road. There…read moreis a small parking lot directly across the street from the museum building. We didn't encounter another soul the whole time we were here and taking photos. Especially beautiful with the winter snow. Given previous Yelp reviews, I am not sad we missed the tours. We were hoping to find a walkable Main Street in Saunderstown with historic homes similar to Wickford, but we drove around a bit and didn't see anything and ended up driving back to Wickford for a walk.

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

Ohhhhhh, what a beautiful place to visit! I would highly suggest to try and visit during sunrise…read moreand/or sunset. The views are spectacular, the landscape will leave you in awe, the gorgeous homes that surround this area are breath taking, the winding roads to go through this area are so enjoyable, and I'm certain, that you'll enjoy every second spent here. Even though it was cold and windy, I'm glad to have visited, and I highly recommend this experience.

Great drive, take in the coastline, the houses, the wildlife…read more Park at Brenton State Park, cross the road & watch the waves, the boats, the birds. Don't miss this drive!

Chateau-sur-Mer is a different style of Newport mansion. It's beautiful but not in the traditional…read moresense of gilded age mansions. It's more Addams Family gilded age castle, if that makes sense. It's filled with treasures including the beautiful silk wall paper. It's a must see.

Château-sur-Mer was built in 1852, much earlier than the other Newport mansions one can tour. It…read morebegan as an Italianate style year-round home, but was later renovated in the French Second Empire style. The arts and crafts interior is ornate, featuring many natural scenes. The tree of life mural, in particular, weaves its way not only up three flights of stairs, but also through the ceilings in the great hall. It's worth the time to download the audio tour and listen to it throughout the house. We visited in early April right after it re-opened for the season. Château-sur-Mer is not open year-round. Because it was off season, there were few people touring while we were there. The home is gorgeous and can be seen in about an hour or so--more if you walk the grounds. It was raining when we visited, so we skipped the outside.

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.

The past points to…read more the future Windmills are cool, both the old ones and the new ones. Windmill Day is a chance to learn and check out a very old one. The smock windmill on North Road on the island of Jamestown was built way back in 1787 and was constructed to replace the one destroyed by the British in the war of Rhode Island. It operated grinding up corn until 1895 and is now owned by the Jamestown Historical Society. Everyone that visits the island sees the windmill sitting peacefully on it's little hill but once a year the Historical Society has a celebration and puts out the sails and gives lectures about the venerable structure. You get to actually go in the thing and learn about exactly how it operated. Cool stuff, the people in the Historical Society know everything about the windmill and the history of the island and gave some fascinating information about the archeology and geology of the area. Sure it's dark and the stairs are steep. I bonked my head several times climbing up and then wonked it again once I was on top but it was worth it. The views from the top are spectacular and the smell and feel takes you back in time. Rhode Island is a windy place, Narragansett Bay has a nice breeze blowing virtually all the time. The state has erected several modern wind turbines in the last few years and has many more planned in the near future to generate electricity and reduce the state's dependence on oil. Great stuff. This windmill shows that the folks way back in the 18th century knew how to take advantage of the environment. Things the people in the 21st century are just starting to learn. The past points to the future

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.