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I run adventure trips for a summer camp in Northern Michigan and was looking into leading a trip of about 6 to 8 youth 13-18 to St John, and was wondering if we would be able to simply hike St john. I really don't want to bother with car rental on St John, so I was wondering if after we got of the ferry we could just hike to the national park, or a campground. How easy would this be? How close are Cruz Bay and the Park? We would be camping the whole time. Any tips or comments? Thanks!
Get yourself a copy of Feet, Fins & 4-Wheel Drive and/or St. John Off the Beaten Path. Indispensable for what you want to do. You should be able to order them both from this site, plus a National Geo map that’s virtually indestructible.
One thing you need to know upfront: Much of St. John is vertical, not horizontal. And to get to the more remote (and some believe) interesting spots, you will need transportation.
Hello Blake,
Hiking around St. John is simple enough. There are 20+ trails. They are spread out though so taking a taxi or renting a vehicle would be necessary to get to some of them.
The National Park covers about 3/4ths of the island; so it is basically close to everywhere. When you get off the ferry you can walk to the National Park Visitors Center which is in Cruz Bay, and there is a trail starting right behind the visitor center.
Camping in the National Park is only allowed in designated areas. You can find more information at http://www.nps.gov/viis/camping.htm. There is also VIERS http://www.islands.org/virgin/viers/, which does youth educational programs. You would need to take a taxi to get to these camping areas from Cruz Bay.
Depending on which place you were staying you could plan hikes that are close by.
The books mentioned are a good option. Also get the small Trail Bandit Hiking Guide, in the map section. You can the books & maps at http://www.vitraders.com under the planning section.
--Islander
My husband & I decided to save some money on our last trip to st. john, so instead of taking a taxi to the beach we decided to hike. Oh my! that is the last time we'll do that! I don't really know how long it took us to get to honeymoon beach from cruz bay but it seemed like an hour. The trek wouldn't have been so bad but add the heat & it was terrible! We stopped 5 or 6 times to rest, dump water on ourselves and reapply sunscreen. We almost turned back a few times but finally made it to the beach.
Keep in mind that my husband & I are in our early 30's and I exercise at least 3 times a week, so we are in fairly good shape but the sun makes hiking unbearable!
