Fort Adams State Park

Northeast > Rhode Island > Newport > Fort Adams State Park

How to Get There

From Newport, RI: Follow Route 138 south across the causeway onto the island and follow signs for Fort Adams State Park; the entrance is located at the end of Fort Adams Drive overlooking Newport Harbor.

Overview

Fort Adams State Park is a public recreation and historic area preserving Fort Adams, a large coastal fortification located at the harbor mouth in Newport, Rhode Island, that was active from 1841 through the first half of the 20th century. The state park hosts the annual Newport Jazz Festival and Newpo and is the home of Sail Newport and Eisenhower House.

History

The area was originally owned by William Brenton, who called the region "Hammersmith," a name that survives in the name of the adjacent Hammersmith Farm. Following its long tenure as a military installation, the State of Rhode Island took possession of Fort Adams for use as a state park in 1965.

Activities and amenities

In addition to panoramic views of the harbor and Narragansett Bay, the park offers swimming, boating, picnicking, and athletic fields.

The Fort Adams Trust offers guided tours of Fort Adams, the Fort Adams Advanced Southern Redoubt, and the Eisenhower “Summer White House."

Fort Adams State Beach is small, with a shallow-roped off area for swimming, with slightly rocky sand. The adjacent Dr. Fred Alofsin Special Events Building has bathrooms, showers, picnic tables, and a small parking lot.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Fort Adams State Park", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0