Beaches on STX

Autumn,

I’ve wanted to type up an off-the-beaten-path list of things for St. Croix for some time. This is admittedly a short list, as I’ve only lived here half a year.

When you get here, get the “Pocket Map: St. Croix” from the travel bureau or Scale House in Christiansted or the Customs House in Frederiksted. Some hotels have it, also.

The following places, listed by estate, should have few or no people. Starting at the northwest corner of the island and going counterclockwise:

Hams Bay/Hams Bluff: Beach with quarter-mile-long coral flat with lots of small pools and one Jacuzzi-sized pool

Prospect Hill (Northside?): Malta Baths, two swimable pools (just north of Butler Bay)

Campo Rico/Stony Ground: Sandy Point Beach, longest beach in the V.I.; beautiful with a desolate feel (open only on weekends)

Carlton/Cane Estate/Einfield Green/Betty’s Hope: Limestone sea cliffs with sea arches and blow holes; unlike any other place I’ve seen on St. Croix

Diamond/Granard: Manchenil Bay, beautiful, almost-mile-long beach (enter at the four pink posts on the Southside Road; walk all the way to the far west end and climb up the isthmus for a good view of the beach, East End, and the HOVENSA refinery)

Turner’s Hole: Grass Point, an interesting isthmus

Jack Bay/Isaac Bay/Et Stykke Land: Jack Bay, Isaac Bay, and East End Bay beaches (access by foot via the dirt road just east of the big white telescope by Cramer’s Park or a road just west of the Point Udall Monument; if you start near the telescope, you can also climb up Sugarloaf Hill for a view of the whole East End Marine Park; from the monument, you can hike down to Point Udall via a sort-of-hidden path that starts just outside the eastern wall)

Southgate Pond (Saltpond) Beach, just west of the Chenay hotel (a nice beach with shoreline coral reefs)

Grotto (Beauregard) Bay Beach, just west of the Buccaneer hotel (looks much like the beach above)

Judith’s Fancy: Salt River Bay (tell the woman at the gate house that you want to see the national park; don’t say the Columbus landing site, or she’ll send you over to the west end of the bay where there is less to see; go to the beautiful isthmus at the northernmost point for a great view of Christiansted and the East End; you can climb up the tower of the abandoned hotel for a good view of the bay)

Clairmont: Michael Hill, a small extinct volcano (from the North Shore Road, watch for the dirt road that goes southward up the hill; go about a quarter mile up, park, and walk northward on the path to the crater at the top; there‘s a good view)

Wills Bay/Annaly: The Furnel Ridge Trail goes east-west through the center of these estates (you can start from behind the Carambola hotel at Davis Beach or from a spur of the Western Scenic Road [Route 78]; take Creque Dam Road [Route 58] east all the way up to the end at Route 78, then go northwest on the dirt road about a mile; bear right at the Y-fork and go another 100 feet; a dirt road on the right goes down into Annaly while the dirt road continues up into the ridge, where there’s an excellent view of the forest and coast; you should walk, not drive, up there [too steep; and don‘t even think about driving down into Annaly, unless you have a four-wheel-drive jeep and are an experienced bush-country driver] Wills Bay Beach has two swimable pools at the northwest end, while Annaly Bay and Annaly Cove have shallow pools and coral flats; I think the hotel provides a map of the area)

Mount Eagle: Mt. Eagle itself, the island‘s tallest mountain (climb up it if you’re crazy; at Cane Bay Beach, look for the decaying zigzag dirt road up the mountain; drive west about half a mile and turn up the road where the sign says Willie’s Wish and drive up a couple hundred feet; park outside the gate and hike up; there are lots of rare orchids at the top if you can reach it)

Getting to some of this is trial and error. If you have trouble finding anything, ask a local in the area.

Thank you for all of the valuable info..it is greatly appreciated ;0)

Hello Autumn,

The times I have visited St. Croix I have always found the beaches scarcely populated to empty.... even the popular ones like Cane Bay. The two that had maybe a dozen people were Buccaneer (there is a resort there) and Chenay Beach (there is a hotel there). Then on the weekend there were quite a number of people at Cramers Park and another beach (I forget the name) that is popular with locals.

Don't miss the Lawaetz family museum; its completely intact with pictures and furnishings and the tour guide is part of the family. Gives a wonderful look at west indian architecture, furnishings, St. Croix history. Very neat & interesting.

--Islander

Islander,

I think you may mean Shoys Beach. And you've convinced me to go to the Lawaetz Museum this weekend. I think Hans Lawaetz, if he is still living, is one of the few people left on St. Croix who as a child lived under Danish rule in the early 1900s.

Autumn,

Two other things. I don't know if you've been on St. Croix before, but if you end of driving on some of the dirt back roads, watch out for thorny casha bushes that sometimes grow out over the road. They can puncture a tire.

Also, as you drive around, you'll see lots of plantation ruins on private property. You can pull over and go onto these properties (assuming there isn't a No Trespassing sign) and ask for permission to walk around. Usually, the owners will let you.

Hello Former OhioGuy,

The Lawaetz Museum is worth visiting. Did you go? Hans knows a great deal about St. Croix; history, politics, people, the land, cattle... you might swing by his office/store and see if he's available to chat with. His aunt gives the tours of the Lawaetz Museum.

--Islander