Monday, June 30, 2008

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.)

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