FAQ

Fort Adams is located at the north end of the peninsula that is home to Fort Adams State Park. The Park has ample free parking and may be accessed by both car and boat. For more detailed information visit our page: Directions to Fort Adams.

Park Visitor Center/ Ticket Office Address:

80 Fort Adams Drive
Fort Adams State Park
Newport, RI 02840

Fort Adams Trust Office Address:

90 Fort Adams Drive
Fort Adams State Park
Newport, RI 02840

Fort Adams State Park is open daily sunrise to sunset.

Historic Fort Adams Hours of Operation

Tour schedules change seasonally. Tours, tour routes, and availability are weather and event dependent. Same-day schedule changes will be posted at the bottom of the homepage.

Peak Season

Memorial Day Weekend through Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples’ Day Weekend

Visitor Center Open: Daily, 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Guided Tours: Daily at 9:30 AM, 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM & 3:30 PM
Self-Guided Tours: Daily, 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM (last ticket sold at 3:00 PM)
Underground Tunnels Open: Daily, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Off-Peak Season

April 1 through Memorial Day Weekend
Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples’ Day Weekend through Thanksgiving

Visitor Center Open: Daily, 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Guided Tours: Daily at 9:30 AM & 2:15 PM
Self-Guided Tours: Daily, 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM (last ticket sold at 3:00 PM)
Underground Tunnels Open: Daily, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Off-Season

Thanksgiving through April 1

Historic Fort Adams is closed for regular tours during the off-season. Private guided tours are available by request.

Ticketing Information

From April through October, tour tickets may be purchased at the Visitor Center (80 Fort Adams Drive) inside Fort Adams State Park.

In addition, tickets can be pre-purchased online at https://fortadams.org/book-a-tour/

If you would like to guarantee a spot on one of our guided tours, we recommend booking in advance. Walk-up ticket purchases are also available at the Visitor Center ticket window at Fort Adams State Park, subject to availability.

Tour tickets may be canceled or rescheduled with 24 hours advance notice. If Historic Fort Adams cancels a tour due to severe weather, safety concerns, or unforeseen operational issues, guests will be offered the option to reschedule or receive a full refund.

For assistance with changes to an existing reservation, please contact the team at Fort Adams Trust prior to your scheduled tour time at

Our Guided Tours offer the most complete Fort Adams experience. Led by knowledgeable staff, these tours take visitors from the top of the Fort walls to the depths of the underground tunnels while sharing the history, architecture, and stories that bring the Fort to life. Guided Tours also include access to areas not otherwise open during self-guided visits.

Our Self-Guided Tours allow guests to explore at their own pace. Visitors can access the Parade Field, select restored and unrestored interior spaces, scenic overlooks, and seasonal access to the underground tunnels during posted open hours. Self-guided tours are ideal for those looking for a flexible visit or shorter experience.

If you want the full story and greatest access, we recommend a Guided Tour

All our guided tours involve nearly one mile of walking in a mostly outdoor environment. Our hourly overview tours last approx. 75minutes while, our specialty tours can last as long as 90 minutes.
Self-Guided tours allow visitors to explore Fort Adams at their own pace.  For most visitors, a self guided tour takes about an hour.

We recommend comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing. Tours include outdoor areas, uneven historic surfaces, stairs, and seasonal wind exposure near the harbor. Layers are often a good idea.

Guided tours involve a moderate amount of walking and may include stairs, ramps, uneven surfaces, and standing for portions of the experience. Self-guided tours allow guests to explore at their own pace and choose routes that best fit their comfort level.

Yes. Fort Adams is a great destination for families. Children often enjoy the open spaces, tunnels, cannons, and large-scale architecture. Guided tours are typically best for school-age children and older, while younger children often enjoy self-guided exploration of the grounds.

Strollers are welcome in many outdoor areas of the park and Parade Field. However, portions of the historic Fort include uneven surfaces, stairs, narrow passageways, and tunnels that may limit stroller access. Self-guided visits are generally the easiest option for families with strollers.

Parts of the Fort and grounds are accessible, including portions of the Visitor Center, Parade Field, and select public areas. However, because Fort Adams is a historic military structure with stairs, uneven surfaces, and narrow passageways, some tour routes have limited accessibility. We recommend contacting us in advance so we can help determine the best experience for your visit.

he underground tunnels are historic passageways with enclosed spaces, lower light levels, and uneven flooring. Guests with claustrophobia, balance concerns, or mobility limitations may find them challenging. Participation is optional, and other above-ground areas of the Fort offer excellent alternatives.

There is more than one way to experience Fort Adams State Park.

Guided Tours take visitors from the top of the Fort walls to the depths of the underground tunnels, providing access to many of the site’s most significant spaces that are not available on self-guided visits.

Self-Guided Tours provide access to the 6½-acre Parade Field, the restored North Overlook (weather permitting) with panoramic views from the top of the Fort walls, and several unrestored areas that showcase the scale and history of the Fort. Visitors can also explore the restored North Casemates, featuring one of the original cannons and an exhibit on loan from the U.S. Naval War College. Self-guided tours do not include access to the underground tunnels.

For exterior views, we encourage guests to enjoy the Fort Adams Bay Walk—a scenic 2.25-mile walk around the entire park, open year-round.

No matter how you choose to explore, there is more than one way to tour the Fort.

For nearly 200 years this Fortress has proudly stood guard at the mouth of the Narragansett Bay. Nevertheless time, weather and the elements have taken their toll on many of the superficial (and some structural) elements of the Fort. Efforts have been made to fence off and guard you from entering many areas deemed unsafe for public access.

While on guided tours you may enter some of these spaces. You are not permitted to bypass any of the gates or fences to enter these areas by yourself. Areas inaccessible without a guided tour include: The East Wall officers quarters, the south wall casemates the outworks, the West Wall and underground listening tunnels.

From handcrafted hot and iced coffee to fresh breakfast and lunch offerings, pastries, candy, and snacks, Hidden Gem Coffee Bar is your go-to stop for refreshments while visiting the Fort. Located inside the Fort Adams State Park Visitor Center, Hidden Gem serves quality coffee and convenient grab-and-go options perfect before or after your tour. Be sure to stop in and enjoy one of Newport’s favorite local coffee experiences.

If you’d prefer to bring your own food, Fort Adams State Park offers acres of beautiful picnic areas with incredible views of Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay.

Please note: Fort Adams State Park is Carry In–Carry Out.

Yes. Guests are welcome to bring their own food and enjoy the many scenic picnic areas throughout Fort Adams State Park. Please note the park follows a Carry In / Carry Out policy.

Yes, parking is free for most daily visits. Visitors should park in the main public parking areas near the Visitor Center for easiest access to tours, tickets, restrooms, and park amenities. Parking availability may vary during major events and festivals.

Yes. Public restrooms are available at the Visitor Center, with additional seasonal facilities available throughout the park during peak visitation periods and events.

There is a courtesy dock in front of the park visitor center available for pickups and drop offs. For mooring and dock space please contact Sail Newport.

(401) 846-1983

Yes, leashed dogs are permitted on self-guided tours. Leashed dogs are allowed on guided tours, however, there are steep stairs going up to the overlook and confined areas in the tunnels which may be uncomfortable for dogs. Please use your discretion when bringing dogs on a guided tour. All owners must clean up after their dogs.

The current Fort Adams built between 1824 and 1857, replaced the previous fort built in 1799. Most of the work on this second fort was completed by 1841 when it was first garrisoned.

Additions, like the second floor brick barracks continued through the 1920’s. The previous Fort Adams was built between 1798 and 1800. The old fort was dismantled when the new fort was built.

Fort Adams was designed by Simon Bernard, a French military engineer, who served under Napoleon. Bernard came to the United States in 1819 to help the Army plan the nation’s coast defenses.

Colonel Joseph Totten, a graduate of West Point, personally supervised the construction of the Fort from 1825 until 1838. Later Totten was promoted to general and became the Chief Engineer of the Army.

Alexander MacGregor, a master stone mason from Scotland, was in charge of the extensive masonry construction of the Fort. The labor force consisted of up to 500 Irish immigrants who were the first permanent group of Irish Catholics to settle in Rhode Island.

Off and on for about 150 years. The first Fort was manned from 1799 to 1802 and from 1814 to 1821. Construction on the fort standing today started in 1824. This Fort was garrisoned from 1841- 1952.

During the Revolution, before Fort Adams was built there was a small battery of six guns on this site. They engaged British warships on two occasions in May of 1776 and both times drove the ships away. The existing Fort Adams was never attacked, in part because the Fort was so powerful that no one ever dared attack it.

The Fort Adams Trust has seven original 24 pound cannons in the collection. These cannons are called 24 pounders because that was the weight of the cannon ball they fired. Statistics for a navy 24 pound cannon:

Length: 9 ft. 6 in.
Weight: 5,488 pounds
Caliber of gun: 5.83 in
Caliber of projectile: 5.54 in.
Weight of charge: 4 to 6 pounds
Types of projectiles: 24 pound round shot, grape shot, chain shot, and case or canister shot
Range: 300 – 400 yards.

Six cannon barrels have been laid next to the West Wall, while a seventh has been mounted on a recreated carriage on display in the North Casemates Exhibit space. It is believed that most were sold for scrap when they became obsolete.

There are two surviving 20th Century guns known to have come from Fort Adams. One is in Newport’s Equality Park on Broadway. The second was transferred to Fort Moultrie, South Carolina.

The guns, 4.72 inch Armstrong Rifles, were installed at Battery Talbot, to the South of the main Fort, in 1899. In 1917 they were sent to Sachuest Point in Middletown to defend the Sakonnet River during the First World War.

In 1923 one was emplaced at Equality Park and the other at the Westerly Armory. In the 1960’s the gun at the Westerly Armory was traded for an 8-inch Parrott rifle from Fort Moultrie.

In 2010, under the direction of Ann Beha Architects of Boston, the Fort Adams Trust created a new Master Plan for the Fort’s restoration.

In lieu of total restoration, this plan envisions restoring the Fort in phases which will be selected based upon the availability of funds for restoration.

The first phase, dubbed “Open the Fort,” was the stabilization and restoration of the Fort’s Parade Field for self guided tours. Learn more at our restoration photo gallery.

Not likely. While there may exist (or may have existed) tunnels that are not known to us today, somewhere between .5 miles and 1 mile of tunnels is closer to the truth. You can enter some of this tunnel system on tour.

No evidence has been found to support a theory of a tunnel to Jamestown. This is a rumor which has persisted for over 60 years.

There was a communications cable gallery which led under water so that the two forts could communicate. This is possibly the origin of the tunnel rumor.

The East Passage is about 150 feet deep. To build a tunnel under it would be extremely expensive and would not have likely justified its expense.

Brigadier General Robert Anderson, commander and hero of the defense of Fort Sumter at the beginning of the Civil War was stationed here. He remained for only two months prior to the end of the Civil War.

Major General Ambrose Burnside, senior officer from Rhode Island, was here as a lieutenant prior to the Civil War. He later became the Governor for and Senator from Rhode Island

Major General Henry Jackson Hunt – Commanded the artillery of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. Commanded the fort after the war.

General Lyman Lemnitzer was station here as his first assignment after graduating from West Point in 1922. He went on to become Chief of Staff of the Army, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Supreme Allied Commander for NATO. He is the only person in history to have held all three positions.

Confirmed

• James Monroe – 1817
• John Quincy Adams – 1826
• Andrew Jackson – 1833
• Martin VanBuren – Visited with
• Jackson while Vice-President in 1833.
• Franklin Pierce – While a general during the Mexican War in 1845.
• Chester A. Arthur – 1882
• Dwight Eisenhower – Vacationed at Fort Adams consistently during his Presidency. It was a favored Summer White House from 1958 – 1960. He actually resided at the Eisenhower House.
• Bill Clinton – December 3rd, 1998

 Possible

• Ulysses Grant
• John F. Kennedy