Paved Roads?

The main roads are paved, but there can be pot holes, cracks and ruts. There also can be some rough sections

Some of the side roads in residentail areas are not paved and are basically rocky Jeep trails. Also access roads to many less well known beaches are just sandy ruts.

Do you need a four wheel drive vehicle. No but they are nice to have for the extra ground clearance and better traction on wet roads. I would not drive a car with low profile tires

Jim

Hi KathyC.

You ask what "exactly" paved roads means. Some roads here are paved with concrete, some with asphalt, some paved roads are in good repair, some are in poor repair, and some roads are not paved at all. To which roads "exactly" might you be referring? You say you've heard that the roads "aren't so good." What, for you, distinguishes a good road from a bad road? In order to obtain a useful answer your question a bit more information from you will be necessary.

Kathy,

We rought our 2001 Saturn SC1 3 door coupe down to STX when we moved two years ago, and have done just fine with it. We travel primarily on the paved main roads-- you learn pretty quickly where the bad spots and chuckholes are. The sideroads into our neighborhood are also paved, and we stick to the more mainstream beaches (not because we drive a car, but because I use a wheelchair to get around).

That said, we've been on some unpaved side roads leading into residential areas on both the east and west side of the island that I'd never attempt in a regular car when it's dry, let alone in a pouring rain because of their dramatic inclines and tight curves. Even if you travel on primarily paved roads to get to and from your home, there can be mudslides after heavy rain that sometimes end up turning small sections of the paved roads into rocky dirt roads until someone clears them.

We discovered the reality of this in 2004 when going along the north shore to get to Cane Bay after tropical storm Jeanne passed by the island -- there were 3 or 4 places along the narrow, curvy paved road that were covered with several inches of muddy dirt and rocks that made the road only passable in one makeshift lane. If we lived near there, ir anywhere in the mlore mountainous areas of the island, I'd probably insist that we have a vehicle with high road clearance and four wheel drive.

--HC