Cliff Walk

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Newport, Rhode Island

The Park

In the late 1800s wealthy New Yorkers began coming to Newport to escape the suffocating summer heat in the city. They built the most extravagant “cottages” ever seen in America on the rocky bluffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. No matter how impressive the mansion or how rich the owner, however, no one’s property could extend all the way to the shoreline. By virtue of “Fisherman’s Rights” granted by the Colonial Charter of King Charles II and a provision in the Rhode Island Constitution, the public is always guaranteed the legal right to walk along a small sliver of cliff. Not that the powerful residents on the other sides of the gates have always agreed with that right. In the past bushes were planted, walls erected and even bulls grazed to discourage use by the public. Other owners embraced the Cliff Walk and helped develop it from a mere footpath. Some tunnels were built and flagstones placed in muddy stretches. Eventually the federal government stepped in to help rebuild the path after erosion during hurricanes. In 1975, the Cliff Walk was named the first National Recreation Trail in New England.

The Walks

Today the Cliff Walk rambles for about 3.5 miles, about two of which are paved and easy to hike. The first mile calls to mind a stroll in a city park with manicured grass and an abundance of flowers. Your dog will be walking on nailgrinding asphalt and concrete sidewalk. As you move along the path deteriorates into broken asphalt and dirt but the views improve as you reach the jawdropping relics of the Gilded Age - mansions constructed as summer cottages from about 1870 to 1915. Continuing past the paved path, the Cliff Walk turns rustic with some walking on unprotected, open cliff faces and boulder hopping. It requires concentration but any level of canine hiker can negotiate the trip. If you continue to the end of the Cliff Walk you will drop to ocean’s edge and Reject’s Beach where your dog can get a swim. At the end of the Cliff Walk you have the option of returning by the same route along the black Atlantic rocks or exiting into the town and walking back on the sidewalks in front of the mansions whose backyards you have just walked through.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Boulders, sand and sea.

Workout For Your Dog - The full canine hike back to your start point will last about three hours.

Swimming - If the sea is agreeable there is the opportunity for an ocean swim.

Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome all along the Cliff Walk and Poop Bags are even provided at the start on Memorial Boulevard.

Something Extra

Adjacent to the northern end of the Cliff Walk is First Beach, open to dogs in the off-season. There is about 3/4 of a mile of sandy shoreline to hike with your dog here. Also at the beach is the New England Exploration Center with a hands-on touch tank and 1950s-era carousel.

Phone - None

Website - http://www.cliffwalk.com

Admission Fee - None

Directions - The Cliff Walk begins at Memorial Boulevard and ends at the southern end of Bellevue Avenue. In the off-season there may be parking near the northern terminus at First Beach.

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Diamond Hill Park

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Cumberland RI

The Park

Diamond Hill opened in the late 1930s as a hike-up-and-ski operation. There was a 1000-foot toboggan run and night skiing. Later additional ski trails were added and Ski Valley opened on the opposite side of the hill. Tow ropes were installed. The vertical drop reached as high as 300 feet over the next few decades and Diamond Hill is where hundreds of Rhode Islanders learned to ski on the “Big Hill.” The ski operation closed in the 1980s and Rhode Island managed the area as a state park. In 1997 ownership of the property was conveyed to the Town of Cumberland who built athletic fields and altered the feel of the park from passive to active.

The Walks

If you are looking for the steepest canine hike in Rhode Island - you’ve found it! The trail seems to go straight up and, covered in loose rocks, is even nastier coming down. Your dog’s four-wheel drive is a definite asset on Diamond Hill. There are alternative routes to the top, remnants of the old ski runs, but you will no doubt want to test the hardest. Ten minutes of exertion should bring you to the summit. If there are no games being played it is generally quiet enough in the park to poke around with your dog. One trip on Diamond Hill with its paw-grinding rocks will probably be enough. You may come across some trail marked by aluminum disks. This is the southern terminus of the Warner Trail that runs for 30 miles to Canton, Massachusetts. On May 19, 1951, Charlie Warner walked 25 miles on his trail when he was nearly 83 years of age. No word whether he had his dog with him.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: There are no maps and no trail markings that make any sense. Hopefully you will recognize Diamond Hill, accessed across a small stream.

Workout For Your Dog - An hour to completely explore the park, more if you set off towards Massachusetts on the Warner Trail.

Swimming - Silvy’s Brook is a nice place to cool off but not deep enough for an extended swim.

Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are allowed in Diamond Hill Park.

Something Extra

The views at the top of Diamond Hill will not cause you to sink to your knees in awe but it is a nice vista to the east over Pawtucket Reservoir.

Phone - None

Website - None

Admission Fee - None

Directions - The park is located in northeast Rhode Island, on Route 114, just south of the junction with Route 121.

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Brenton Point State Park

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Newport RI

The Park

William Brenton was in his early 30s when he sailed for Boston from England in 1633. In 1637 he was part of the founding band of settlers of Newport. He became Deputy Governor of the towns of Portsmouth and Newport and took possession of some 2000 acres here in 1639. He named it “Hammersmith” after his home in England. Two centuries after the governor’s death in 1674 the property was acquired by Theodore M. Davis, a lawyer and famous Egyptologist. He built a large shingled mansion overlooking the sea called “the Reef ” that became one of the most distinctive residences in Newport, characterized by beautiful formal gardens. The Reef fell victim to messy divorces and World War II when the United

States Army took over the estate and used it as a sight for a Coastal Artillery Battery. Following the war the mansion was never re-occupied and after years of vandalism eventually burned and was razed. In 1969 the State of Rhode Island

took over the property and opened Brenton Point State Park in 1976.

The Walks

Your canine hiking day at Brenton Point is left to your imagination. There is a paved one-mile oceanfront walking path or you can explore the ruins of the old estate on access roads and wide grass paths. The debris from the Reef is buried

under the mound overlooking the Atlantic but still standing are the remains of an elaborate L-shaped stable and a stone tower that your dog can climb to a viewing stand. This is an easy go for any dog although the trails through the reeds at the back of the property can be a tight squeeze if attempted. Based on the places dogs are allowed to hike in Rhode Island it should be called the “Forest State” so this open-air outing for your dog is a real treat.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: There is no map and nothing is marked but none is needed.

Workout For Your Dog - An easy hour of trotting.

Swimming - This is not the place to test the roiling waves of the Atlantic.

Restrictions On Dogs - This is the place to come for dogs to get the feel of the grounds of the fabled Newport estates.

Something Extra

The grassy oceanside expanses at Brenton Point are not merely an awesome setting for a game of fetch but a mecca for kite-flying enthusiasts. In July the Newport Kite Festival brings together elaborate kites from all over the world to fly on the former grounds of the Reef.

Phone - (401) 849-4562 (in season)

Website - www.riparks.com/brenton.htm

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Newport; The park is on Ocean Drive. Take Route 114 South (West Main Road) to 138 South to Broadway in downtown Newport. Follow the signs to Ocean Drive.

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The Greenway

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Block Island RI

The Park

Back in 1972 Block Islanders looked around and noticed houses going up at an alarming rate. Captain John Robinson “Rob” Lewis led a small group to form the Block Island Conservancy with the modest goal to just save Rodman’s Hollow, a precious glacial outwash basin. They were able to raise enough money to preserve this region of maritime scrubland. Hundreds of islanders donated money and the conservation movement flourished. Over the years some land was donated and more made available below market value. Today over 40% of Block Island is protected from future development. So effective were the efforts of the Conservancy that the Nature Conservancy designated Block Island as one of its original “Last Great Places” in the Americas.

The Walks

Take away the ferry ride and the half-hour walk along shoulder-less - and sometimes busy - two lanes road and The Greenway would be the finest place in Rhode Island to hike with your dog. What is your dog interested in? Open fields? Sporty hills? Long vistas? A romp on the beach? A swim in a pond? Unique woodlands? The Greenway has them all. There are about 12 miles of footpaths crisscrossing the southern half of Block Island in the tradition of walking the English countryside. In addition to paw-friendly mown grass and soft dirt trails you will need to go down dirt roads and paved streets to get to some trailheads. To reach the beach use Black Rock Road in Rodman’s Hollow. If you find yourself with your dog walking along Mohegan Trail/Spring Street you can descend a flight of wooden stairs to the beach at the foot of the spectacular Mohegan bluffs from Payne Overlook.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Your first stop on Block Island should be in the Visitor Center on the dock to buy a trail map for a small fee. This will show you the way to the trailheads. Signs are posted at some trailheads and along the trails.

Workout For Your Dog - Allow a full day of canine hiking to explore The Greenway.

Swimming - There are 17 miles of public beaches on Block Island so your dog will get an ocean swim. Crescent Beach, a few pawprints from the ferry landing, is the most convenient but crowded in-season. As the new arrivals fan out from the ferry the beaches offer more room for your dog. One beach that is too small for sun worshippers but ideal for dogs is just south of Old Harbor along Spring Street - as you reach the crest of a hill drop down to the sand in front of a guardrail for great canine swimming along a breakwater.

Restrictions On Dogs - Block Island is a dog-friendly island - don’t come without him!

Something Extra

Block Island supports some 40 rare or endangered species. One that is found only in Rodman’s Hollow, in huge kettleholes gouged by Godzilla-sized chunks of glacial ice that melted, is the Block Island Meadow Vole, first discovered in 1908. It is part of the magic of the island that it is a thrill here to see rodents considered vermin on the mainland. It’s not easy to see a brown-and-black vole but you may see their tunnel-like trails through the grass.

Phone Number - (401) 466-5675

Website 

Admission Fee - None (ferry fee may be necessary; dogs sail for free)

Directions -The Nature Conservancy office on Block Island is on High Street, straight ahead out of Old Harbor.

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Fort Wetherill State Park

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Jamestown RI

The Park

For most of its time in American history these high granite bluffs looking down on the East Passage of Narraganett Bay has led a military life, albeit deactivated for the most part. Colonists built an earthen battery here and when it was known as Dumpling Rock the United States built Fort Dumpling in the early 1800s. As coastal defenses ratcheted up around 1900 the fortifications were beefed up and the fort was renamed in honor of Captain Alexander Wetherill, a local infantryman killed in the Battle of San Juan during the Spanish American War. During World War II the old fort saw its last active duty - as a training center. It closed in 1946; it’s guns hidden in the cliffs never used. In 1972 the State of Rhode Island acquired the property for a park.

The Walks

The canine hiking at Fort Wetherill is mostly on narrow dirt trails out to rocky promontories overlooking the sea. What they lack in distance they more than make up for in aesthetic appeal. At land’s end the short hike is to the remains of the old battery. The only marked trail is a Nature Trail but don’t get excited - it only goes up and down a small hill between parking lots. Don’t neglect it, however, for its views are riveting.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Nothing is available to lead you around the 60-acre park. Park at the first of the three parking lots and make your way to land’s end.

Workout For Your Dog - Less than one hour.

Swimming - Some of the best canine swimming in Rhode Island is available in the cove below the middle parking lot.

Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are free to use the Fort Wetherill trails.

Something Extra

A spur up the hill from the Nature Trail leads to a concealed battery built in the hillside. The guns at Batteries Wheaton and Varnum in Fort Wetherill could launch 1,000-pound shells at a target for over six miles.

Phone - (401) 423-1771

Website

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Jamestown; The park is on the east side of Conanicut Island. From Route 138 travel to and through Jamestown to Canonicus Avenue. Take Walcott Avenue to Fort Wetherill Road and the park.

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