Virgin Islands National Park Beaches

By Jacob

Virgin Islands National Park is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Each with its own unique character and features. This article will discuss five of those beaches, these are the ones we visited while we were on St. John.

Salt Pond

Salt Pond is located on the southeast corner of the island. From the parking lot there is a short downhill hike down to the beach. I would recommend bringing some sort of tennis shoes. The trail down to the beach is not difficult, unless you are trying to hike down in flip flops. The beach is long and wide so there is plenty of space to spread out. Into the water, a bed of seagrass covers nearly all the bay. This is a great place for snorkeling and looking for sea turtles. We saw a sea turtle while we were on snorkeling. To the left of the beach, when facing the water, a long narrow reef goes out into the ocean. This is the most accessible of the beaches.

Hawksnest

On the north side of the islands, where the most popular beaches are located, is Hawksnest Beach. It is located between Trunk Bay and Caneel Bay. The beach is somewhat narrow, but is longer. You may have to walk through a lot of sand to find an open side to set up a place to sit.Right in the center of the beach is a large and shallow reef. In my opinion, this is the best looking reef. The massive coral is a sight to see. We also saw a sea turtle at this beach. Hawksnest Bay is a pretty open bay so the current and waves can be strong. This was somewhat of a challenge. Be very careful when swimming or snorkeling at this beach.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon Bay is the largest of the beaches on St. John. It is long and wide with plenty of room to get away from fellow beach goers. To the left of this beach is Peter Bay, home to the biggest houses on St. John, worth millions of dollars. There is a small reef on the left side of the beach. The other reef is out by Cinnamon Cay. This reef is much larger and more beautiful. There were no sea turtle sightings at this beach. Like Hawksnest, waves and current are strong here making it very tiring and more difficult to snorkel for long periods of time. Across the street from Cinnamon Beach is the Cinnamon Bay ruins. Be sure to take the short half mile trail around the ruins and up into the islands. There are several interpretive signs pointing out the plants and animals of the Virgin Islands.

Tunk

Trunk Bay is to Virgin Islands National Park as Old Faithful is to Yellowstone. This is considered the premier attraction of the park. This is a good size long and wide beach. The coolest thing in the park is that it is home to one of the most unique trails in the National Parks Service. This is not a hiking trail, it is an underwater snorkeling trail. The trail follows underwater signs by the reef in a self guided tour around the reef. The signs talk about the fish and plants that call the reef home. The trail is right along Trunk Cay on the right side of the beach. Trunk Bay is also very pristine. The white beach is spectacular.

Maho

Our favorite beach however is Maho Bay. This is the easternmost beach easily access by Highway 20 before the Annaberg School Ruins. This narrow and long beach is the best place for sea turtle spotting. We spent the most time on the beach watching the majestic turtles graze on the seagrass and swim up to poke their heads out of the water. It is one of the most incredible sites anywhere. While we were there, on the left side of the beach was a massive school of fish, hundreds of thousands strong. It was like being in a David Attenborough Documentary. Birds would dive into the water, large six foot long tarpins would patrol the floor trying to get a meal of their own. It was perhaps the coolest things I have ever seen.