Brenton Point State Park
Kites, stone walls, open grass, fishing water, and the ruins of a grand estate create Newport’s broadest public pause on Ocean Drive.
Artwork inspired by John La Farge
Brenton Point occupies a strategic bend where Narragansett Bay meets the Atlantic. The landscape’s social life—kite flying, picnicking, fishing, and watching weather—is inseparable from remnants of The Reef estate and the severe coastal exposure that ultimately doomed it.
Use marked overlooks and stay off wet rock. The park has little shade, traffic on Ocean Drive can be heavy, and wind suitable for kites can make a picnic cold. Sunset is popular, so arrive early enough to park legally and leave before visibility deteriorates. Surviving walls and foundation traces give the seemingly open lawn a more complicated history of private ownership and loss.
- Road
- Ocean Drive
- Former estate
- The Reef
- Best-known activity
- Kite flying
Quick guide
- Face both waters
- Read bay entrance and open ocean.
- Find estate traces
- Look for walls and surviving landscape structure.
Know before you go
- Face both waters
- Read bay entrance and open ocean.
- Find estate traces
- Look for walls and surviving landscape structure.
- Fly responsibly
- Keep lines clear of roads, people, and power.
- Respect the ledges
- Do not chase a view onto wet rock.
Good to know
There is no protected swimming beach here, and waves can overtop rocks. Wind, fog, and limited shade make conditions more important than the forecast for downtown Newport.
Notice these
- Kite lawn
- Ocean ledges
- Stone estate ruins