Cliff Walk - Newport, Rhode Island

Many visitors to Newport go there for the magnificent mansions, the great restaurants, and active boating and sailing. It is a very popular destination during the non-winter months and can attract large crowds. My favorite thing to do when I go there is to take a pre-dawn walk along the 3.5-mile Cliff Walk.  This public access trail leaves from Bailey's Beach and gives a terrific view of the surrounding water. A bonus is that the walk goes along the back of many of the huge mansions, showing a different perspective of them. The first half of the walk is paved and the second half is uneven and rocky. I captured this photo soon after I started from the beach. It pictures McAuley Hall on the campus of Salve Regina University. I can just imagine the students lying on the grass taking in the beautiful scenery.