St. John Ferry Schedules Changed Due to Gas Prices

Just a head's up that a couple of the normal ferry runs between St. Thomas to St. John have been eliminated for a while. Due to gas prices and fewer riders during the summer, some usually scheduled ferries aren't running. So make sure you ask before you expect to get on a certain ferry!

St. John Beaches and Snorkeling

A day on St. John wouldn't be complete without visiting at least one of our beautiful beaches. Each are spectacular in their very different ways.

The very best way to capture the true essence of St. John’s beaches is to rent a car or jeep and go “beach hopping” up North Shore Road. The beaches are just spectacular along this route: Hawksnest, Jumby, world renowned Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Maho Bay and Francis Bay beaches are all on this (hilly!) five mile stretch of St. John, all within National Park Boundaries.

You can also take a taxi to any of the North Shore Beaches as well. If you want a quick peek at all of the beaches on North Shore, take a taxi to the furthest beach on the taxi route, Maho Beach.

Hurricane Alley, Cruz Bay Watersports and Low Key Watersports all rent snorkel gear right in Cruz Bay.

My Favorite Hike On St. John

The most popular trail on St. John is worthy of its stature - Reef Bay Trail is by far a great hike. Just remember: what goes easily down, must come back up!

The trail can take anywhere from 3 to 5 hours or more, depending on your fitness as well as your sense of adventure, so take plenty of water (not just a small bottle from the store) and some trail mix, fruit or other munchies to enjoy at the bottom on the beach.

The easiest way to get to the Reef Bay Trail Head is to take the bus.All the drivers know where to let you off, and then you can wait for the bus to take you back to Cruz Bay(or Coral Bay).

For those who want to hike this beautiful trail but might not have the guts or muscle to get back up, the National Park offers a hike down the trail, and then a boat picks you up at the bottom and takes you back around to the National Park Visitors Center once a week. Obviously, advanced reservations are recommended, but they sometimes have last minute cancellations.

The Petroglyphs are down one finger trail, and there's a cemetery behind the mill that has a path that leads to Reef Bay. Another little trail takes to you Genti Beach. Lameshur Trail is also towards the end of Reef Bay Trail, which has a whole set of cool ruins and finds. Lots to see and do on this one.

This is one of the only trails on St. John that has a bathroom at the end of the trail, and is one of my favorite trivia notes. The story goes that when Lady Bird Johnson visited St. John and hiked down Reef Bay Trail, she asked where the bathroom was. Enough said.

There are numerous descriptions of this trail all over the Internet.

(Good, trained trail runners do this trail in under 2 hours! Don't try this unless you are very fit.)

My Favorite Short Day Hiking Trail

All hiking trails on St. John can easily be done in a half or whole day; feeling comfortable on where you going when you only have one day is a different story!

After the easy hikes behind the National Park Center, My next favorite for first (or maybe only) timer hikers on St. John is the Cinnamon Bay Self Guided Trail.

Note: This is NOT the trail that starts/finishes on North Shore Roads and finishes/starts on Centerline. That trail starts on the same side of the road, but at the Trail Head sign where North Shore road takes a pretty sharp left hand turn, and it basically goes straight up (or down, whichever way you start).

The self guided trail is great for just about any age over 4, because it's always shady from the old, huge trees that weren't cut during plantation years; and the trail itself is relatively flat. (once again, I never recommend hiking in flip flops, but if it's all you have, then try it! This trail is behind the ruins, across the street from the campgrounds and visible from the road. Just going to the ruins on the raod is a treat. But if you step behind the building in back of the old horse mill, you will see a trail that goes into the woods. The trail has markers along the way, identifying trees, animals, bugs and other "trail things." It wanders along side of a ravine (called a "ghut" here), for less than a half mile, then crosses over and then follows the ravine back (with more markers, one that identifies a small cemetery) to the same starting point at the ruins.

Note: my friends tease me about my version of "relatively flat" and the rest of the world's version of "relatively flat." When hiking on St. John, it's never absolutely flat; there are rocks, tree trunks, tree stumps, riverlets and ravines to continually step over!

Nearby Hiking and Beaches

Lind Point Trail to Honeymoon and Solomon Beaches

The trail head for Lind Point Trail is just behind the National Park Visitor’s Center. This is one of my favorite trails because of its convenient location in Cruz Bay, as well as the AWESOME overlook over Cruz Bay Town when you take the “high trail,” I’ve seen many visitors heading along this trail to the beaches in flip flops, but it’s not recommended – there are some areas that you will….

Also, since the only way to get to Solomon Beach is by this trail, it is usually quite private. It used to be where locals went to sunbathe in the nude, but the National Park put a halt to that a few years back; so don’t let old posts get you a ticket!

Honeymoon Beach is also a very convenient reach from the trail, and just gorgeous. Sometimes many of the uber-luxury resort guests of Caneel Bay Resort wander down to this beach from the resort; and since many newlyweds honeymoon there, thus the name.

Day Tour of St. John Walking In and Around Cruz Bay

Of course, just walking around Cruz Bay can be an adventure in itself! I’ll be posting a Historical Walking Tour of Cruz Bay soon, courtesy of the St. John Historical Society, very soon.

As I mentioned previously, the whole village is barely 3 football fields long and for day trippers’ purposes, no wider. Just start at one end of the beach and head for the other end, and you will see it all!
Not to miss:
National Park Visitors Center
The first place I recommend any first time visitor to St. John is the USVI National Park Visitors Center. They have wonderful displays, books, seminars and maps; and since more than ½ of St. John is a National Park, this is a good place to get a good feel of what St. John is all about.

There are many little stores and restaurants between Mongoose Junction and Wharfside Village.

Mongoose Junction, which is at the very end of the main little road, just before it heads up into the National Park.

St. John Artists Association has a great gallery in the Lumberyard (as is Bajo El Sol in Mongoose Junction)

Wharfside Village is just off the ferry dock on your right.

A little off the beaten path: just up from Connections is “world famous” Woody’s Seafood Saloon (more on restaurants to follow)

St John Maps & Directions

There are basically four maps of St. John,and the best one for a day trip is the St. John Guide Book's Map. It's a bit large, but it has pretty good detail of Cruz Bay and Coral Bay. You can pick them up in numerous places, especially at Connections and any of the little concierge booths around town. The map has been produced for many, many years by long time St. John residents, with local businesses buying ads and putting their store location on the map. The second best map is the Trail Bandit's map for hiking (it is so much better than the current National Park Hiking Map)and a for a detailed map of St. John