A Perfect Excuse to Do Nothing Productive

Mark and I have a rule, mostly unspoken, that any forecast above 78 degrees and clear skies is not to be wasted on errands. Last Saturday hit that mark before 9 a.m., and by 9:15 we were in the car with no plan beyond "east, and see what happens." Two hours later, "what happened" was Newport.

Thames St doing what it does best -- boutiques, boats and zero regrets

Why Newport, Specifically

I've been to Newport more times than I can count and I still don't entirely trust myself to describe it without sounding like a brochure. It's the kind of place that's genuinely earned its reputation — Gilded Age mansions the size of small hotels, a coastline that looks staged even though it isn't, and just enough salt in the air to make you feel like you've actually gone somewhere, even though it's under two hours from home.

We started, as everyone should, at The Breakers — the Vanderbilt family's idea of a modest summer cottage, which is to say it has 70 rooms and a marble staircase that makes you want to apologize for your own house. If you only have time for one mansion tour in a day, this is the one. Give yourself an hour, minimum, and prepare to feel a complicated way about how "summer home" used to be defined.

The Walk That Explains the Whole Town

From there, we picked up the Cliff Walk — 3.5 miles of coastal path with the Atlantic on one side and those same mansions' back lawns on the other. Quick heads-up if you're planning your own trip: there's currently a detour between Narragansett Avenue and Webster Street from some structural damage, so don't map out a clean start-to-finish walk without checking that first. We picked it up past the closure and it didn't take anything away from the experience — if anything, the crowds thin out right where the detour starts, which Mark, ever the strategist, considered a feature.

For pure drama with less walking involved, Ocean Drive is the move — a ten-mile loop hugging the coastline, with Brenton Point State Park as the obvious place to stop, get out, and stand there doing nothing in particular for longer than you meant to.

The Part Where I Talk About Food, As Usual

No trip to Newport is complete without a lobster roll eaten somewhere with a view, and we did not break tradition. We landed at The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar, right on Sayer's Wharf, where the roll comes dressed in a lemon-chive aioli on a toasted brioche bun, with the actual harbor sitting about fifteen feet from your table. I won't pretend I've done the full lobster roll crawl this town clearly deserves — Newport Lobster Shack has its own loyal following for a more purist, butter-and-nothing-else version, and I fully intend to compare notes eventually — but between the view and the aioli, The Mooring earned its reputation with us in one sitting.

Worth Knowing If You Go

Parking is the one real obstacle, especially on a summer weekend — arrive early or accept that you'll be circling for a bit. And if mansions and cliffside walking aren't your thing, the International Tennis Hall of Fame is a genuinely fun stop we've wandered into more than once, mostly by accident, and never regretted.

Why I'm Telling You This

I don't need much of an excuse to talk about a good day trip, but this one felt worth sharing for a simple reason: sometimes the best plan is barely a plan at all. We didn't book anything, didn't research restaurants in advance, just pointed the car east and let the day happen. Given how good last weekend's weather was around here too, I have a feeling a few of you did something similarly unplanned. I'd love to hear where you ended up.

Where did you escape to on that gorgeous weekend? Tell us about your own spontaneous day trip in the comments.

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Looking for Your Next Getaway? 🧳

If a spontaneous drive to Newport has you already plotting your next escape, you don't have to go far for the one after that — our culinary tour continues with Polynesian Night at Shining Rock on Aug 22. Feast on an island-inspired buffet (think spare ribs, salt & pepper shrimp, and General Tso's chicken) paired with tiki drinks like our Pineapple Mai Tai and Macadamia Chi Chi. No passport required — just an appetite. Learn More & Buy Tickets...

Book a Tee Time at Shining Rock

Whatever brought you here today, the course is in fantastic shape right now. Soak up the summer sun and book your tee time this week — the fairways are calling.