Managing Editor:
James Perry

Encompassing 9,458 acres of land and 5,650 acres of water, Virgin Islands National Park covers nearly three-quarters of the island of St. John, plus Hassel Island in St. Thomas Harbor. Secluded coves, blue-green waters, and white sandy beaches fringed by lush green hills create real-life postcards. Carib Indian relics and the remains of Danish colonial sugar plantations are also found in the park, which was established in 1956.

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General Information

Visitation

Highest from December through April; lowest from May through November

Location

St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Address

Headquarters: Virgin Islands National Park
6310 Estate Nazareth
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802

Telephone

Cruz Bay, St. John Visitor's Center: (340) 776-6201
Headquarters, St. Thomas: (340) 775-6238

Operating Hours & Seasons

The park's visitor center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Atlantic Time

Climate & Recommended Clothing

The tropical weather changes little throughout the year. Light cotton clothes are recommended. Lightweight trousers help protect against insect bites. Casual clothes are sufficient for the majority of dining establishments throughout the island.

SPECIAL ADVISORIES: Hurricane season extends from June through November. The park provides ongoing information for visitors including where to go in the event of a serious storm.

Transportation

Airport

The Cyril E. King Airport on the west end of St. Thomas provides connections to New York (1,630 miles), Miami (1,115 miles), and other destinations on the mainland United States.

Ferry

The national park on St. John is accessible only by private boat or ferry from St. Thomas. Ferries depart hourly from Red Hook, St. Thomas, and run from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. The trip takes 20 minutes. From downtown Charlotte Amalie, which is closer to the St. Thomas airport, ferries operate infrequently from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and the trip lasts 45 minutes. Call 340-776-6282 for updated ferry schedules.

Directions

The visitor center is located in Cruz Bay, St. John, a five-minute walk north of the ferry dock. Nearly two-thirds of the island is National Park, which can be accessed via the North Shore or Centerline roads. Cars and Jeeps can be rented in Cruz Bay.

Most park areas are easily accessed by taxi, otherwise known as safari buses. Two-hour, guided island tours begin and end at the ferry dock making stops at overlooks, historic sites, and beaches. Rental vehicles are needed to travel to remote parts of the island. To visit some of the park's bays that do not have road access, you will need to rent or charter a boat. Private property exists within the boundary of the park. Please respect property owners rights; do not trespass.

Fees & Rates

Virgin Islands National Park is the 100th park to be included in the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program. The funds from recreational-use fees will be used to upgrade shower and restroom facilities, improve beach access, provide additional lifeguards and maintenance workers, install a back-up system for the water plant, expand ranger-led, historic-interpretation programs, and restore cultural-heritage demonstrations. An annual pass will be available. Fees not currently available. Contact the park for further details.

Golden Eagle Passport

The Golden Eagle Passport is an entrance pass to any national park, monument, historical site, recreation area, and national wildlife refuge that charges an entrance fee. It is a great convenience for those who plan on visiting several different areas that charge special fees. It is valid for one year from the purchase date. A Golden Eagle Passport may be purchased for $50 at any National Park Service entrance fee area or by mail. To order by mail, send check or money order (no cash, please) to:

National Park Service
1100 Ohio Drive, SW
Room 138
Washington, DC 20242
Attention: Golden Eagle Passport

Where entry is by private vehicle, the Golden Eagle Passport will admit the passholder as well as any passengers. Where entry by private vehicle is not possible, the pass will admit the passholder, spouse, children and parents.

The Golden Eagle Passport will not reduce use fees, such as those for camping, swimming, parking, boat launching, or cave tours. It covers entrance fees only.

Golden Age Passport

The Golden Age Passport is a lifetime entrance pass for those United States residents 62 years or older. These may be purchased at any National Park Service entrance fee area for a one-time processing fee of $10. The Golden Age Passport cannot be purchased by mail or telephone. Proof of age and citizenship or permanent residence must be shown at the time of purchase.

The Golden Age Passport will admit the passholder and any passengers in a private vehicle. When entrance is not via private vehicle, the pass will admit the passholder as well as children, spouse, and parents.

The Golden Age Pass grants a 50% discount to the holder on any federal use fees charged for things such as camping, swimming, parking, boat launching, or tours. It does not, however, reduce the price of special recreation permit fees or fees for concessions.

Golden Access Passport

The Golden Access Passport is a free entrance pass to any national park, monument, historic site, recreation area, and national wildlife refuge for those who are blind or permanently disabled. The Golden Access passport may be obtained at any National Park Service entrance fee area. Proof of a medically determined disability and eligibility for receiving benefits under federal law is necessary at purchase.

The Golden Access Passport will admit the passholder and any passengers in a private vehicle. Where entrance is not by vehicle, the pass will admit the passholder, spouse, children and parents.

The Golden Access Passport also provides a 50% discount on any federal use fees charged for services and facilities. It does not cover special recreation permit fees or fees charged for concessions.

All passes described above are non-transferable.

Facilities & Opportunities

Visitor Center & Exhibits

The Cruz Bay Visitor Center is only a five-minute walk from the public ferry dock. An ideal place to start your park explorations, the center contains exhibits, a park video, brochures, maps, and books. There is also a kiosk at Trunk Bay where volunteers offer park information. There are also a number of bulletin boards throughout the park.

Programs & Activities

Park rangers at the visitor center are available to help plan your visit, which may include guided island hikes, historical tours, snorkeling trips, cultural and crafts demonstrations, and evening campground programs. Advanced registration and transportation fees are required in some cases.

Lodging & Camping

Camping on park land is restricted to Cinnamon Bay Campground. Accommodations include bare tent sites, platforms with tents, and cottages. Prepared sites and cottages are equipped with cooking supplies and linens. There is also a camp store with food, other supplies, and a cafeteria.

Food & Supplies

There are a wide variety of restaurants and small grocery stores in the Cruz Bay area and in some of the outlying parts of the island.

Accessibility

Virgin Islands National Park has very steep and rocky terrain. Some picnic areas are accessible. Trunk Bay Beach is accessible with assistance. Cinnamon Bay Campground has several sites that are accessible. Call the park for further information.

Recommended Activities & Park Use

Activities guided by park rangers include hikes, evening programs, snorkel trips, and historical tours. Trunk Bay has a unique, self-guiding underwater trail in front of a beach protected by lifeguards. Other self-guiding trails introduce visitors to the islands sugar plantations and natural history. Bird watching is popular during winter months.

An island tour via safari bus requires two hours plus any travel time to and from St. Thomas. Frequent taxi service is available to popular beach areas; allow three to five hours. Renting a vehicle for the day permits more extensive tours to areas that are less visited. An island courtesy includes greeting others with a cheerful, "Good day."

Reservation Information

Reservations for special tours for school groups and others are necessary. At least two weeks notice is preferable. Campground reservations during the winter should be made four to six months in advance. Special reservations for large groups for use of pavilions and picnic areas are required. Filming permits are arranged on an individual basis, depending on the size of the project and whether its a movie, commercial, or major production. Direct all permit queries to (340) 775-6238.

Special Events & Programs

An annual two- to three-day event commemorates Black History Month and is held at Annaberg Sugar Plantation during the latter part of February. It includes crafts, storytelling, and cooking demonstrations.

Virtually a month-long celebration of cultural activities, St. John Carnival culminates with a week of entertainment, a food fair and special events, ending on July 4 with a parade and fireworks.

The park presents interpretive theater during the winter season at Cinnamon Bay campground. Productions are free and include a puppet program on the coral reef, as well as an historical rendition of St. John's slave revolt.

Nearby Attractions

Located in a popular tourist destination in the Caribbean, Virgin Islands National Park is adjacent to numerous attractions, beaches, and preferred cruising grounds for boaters, fishermen, and scuba divers. Charter operations provide excursions lasting from a half-day to many weeks. If you plan to visit the British Virgin Islands, youll need a passport or birth certificate to pass through customs.

St. Johns sister island to the south, St. Croix, is home to three landmark attractions: the Christiansted National Historic Site, the Buck Island Reef National Monument, and the Salt River Bay National Historical Park & Ecological Preserve. The latter is believed to be where Christopher Columbus landed on his second voyage to the New World in 1493.

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History

For more than a thousand years before Christopher Columbus discovered and named the Virgin Islands in 1493, groups of South American Indians called Arawaks farmed and fished on St. John and the surrounding Caribbean islands. Evidence of their village life, dating from about A.D. 200, has been found by archaeologists throughout St. John.

The relatively peaceful Arawaks appear to have been displaced or absorbed by northward migrating Carib Indians, a warlike group who entered this area during the 14th century. The Caribs, in turn, neared extinction by 1700 at the hands of exploring, colonizing Europeans.

Despite British, Dutch and Spanish claims throughout the late 17th century, St. John was permanently colonized by the Danish West India & Guinea Company in March 1717, about 45 years after the Danish settled on St. Thomas.

For nearly a century and a half, crude brown sugar (muscavado), molasses, rum, cotton, tobacco, and indigo was grown and harvested by slave labor, which provided wealth for the plantation owners. Emancipation of the slaves on July 3, 1848, in the Danish West Indies (St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix) virtually ended the plantation days on St. John. Despite declining economic conditions, paid labor thereafter kept several sugar factories operating into the 20th century. A disastrous hurricane in 1916 closed the last operating factory at Reef Bay, St. John, ending the sugar ventures for good.

Rimmed with rocky headlands and white coral sand beaches, this mountainous island gradually reforested old cane fields and crumbling sugar estates. The dwindling native population turned to a subsistence economy. Small farming, livestock raising, fishing, bay-oil production, and charcoal making provided a living for most people of St. John until the 1950s and the advent of tourism.

In 1867, Denmark offered to sell the three islands to the United States. Not until March 31, 1917, and the exchange of $25 million, would the American flag fly over the newly acquired Virgin Islands of the United States. From 1917 to 1931, the U.S. Navy administered the islands, which then came under the management of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Today, the Virgin Islands are an unincorporated territory of the United States, with an elected governor and a unicameral senate of 15 representatives setting local policies.

The Park

As a result of Congressional legislation, Virgin Islands National Park on St. John was dedicated December 1, 1956. The park has since served to preserve a major portion of this 19-square-mile island, noted for its rugged, natural beauty and the traces of its Indian and colonial past.

Virgin Islands National Parks boundary covers nearly three-quarters of St. John, plus Hassel Island in St. Thomas Harbor. It encompasses 9,458 acres of land and 5,650 acres of water. The undersea areas contain some of the most significant natural features within the park, including coral reefs, mangrove shorelines, and sea grass beds.

When the park was established, most of St. Johns roads were unpaved. During the parks first full year of operation in 1957, fewer than 20,000 persons visited. There were less than 10 vehicles on the island at that time. Camping facilities were not available in the park until 1959.

As facilities for visitors were built on the island, visitation to St. John increased. The total number of park visitors rose to 250,000 in 1971, and by 1986 visitation was over a million. The increase in visitor use has left its impact on the natural resources, especially in the marine areas of the park.

In 1976, Virgin Islands National Park became part of the biosphere reserve network designated by the United Nations. The goals of the project are to "establish a network of representative ecosystems, conserve genetic diversity, monitor changes, develop techniques to restore the land, and study traditional use and conduct experimental research."

Virgin Islands National Park is the only United Nations biosphere reserve in the Lesser Antilles and the only U.S. National Park in the Caribbean. Three other units of the National Park System are located on St. Croix: the Christiansted National Historic Site, the Buck Island Reef National Monument, and the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve. The latter is believed to be where Christopher Columbus landed on his second voyage to the New World in 1493.

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Reservation Information

Reservations for tours for school groups and other large groups are necessary at least two weeks prior to arrival. Special reservations for large groups to use pavilions and picnic areas are also required.

Campground reservations during the winter should be made four to six months in advance. Write Cinnamon Bay Campground, P.O. Box 720, St. John, VI 00831; or call, 340-776-6330 or 800-539-9998.

The privately run Maho Bay Campground features "tent-cabins" that contain cooking supplies. Facilities include a camp store and central dining area where meals are served. For more information, write to Maho Bay Campground, P.O. Box 310, St. John, VI 00831; or call 340-776-6226 or 800-392-9004.

Filming permits are arranged on an individual basis, depending on the size of the project and whether it's a movie, commercial, or major production.

Direct all permit queries to (340) 775-6238.

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