As I’ve mentioned before, our Freshwater church women’s group did a hike, snorkel and devotion about once a week. Some of these were difficult hikes like the Reef Bay Trail hike (*see one of my previous blogs for details on that misery) which I will not ever do again!!🤣 and others were very simple short hikes to the beach. Then there were the hikes that were moderately difficult. We like the easy to moderate ones, ha!
I thought I’d show you a few of these trails with descriptions and some photos of my friends. I will start with some on the east end of St. John, close to Coral Bay.
Leinster is a favorite of mine. It’s a nice long hike but mostly flat and some shade along the way. You always have to watch your step when hiking any trail on St. John but you can momentarily stop along the way and take in the view since it runs right along the water. There’s even a small beach halfway to Waterlemon Cay to jump in and refresh before continuing on. Many of us like this particular trail so we hiked it often.
At the end of Leinster, by Waterlemon Beach, a couple of times we took a strenuous 1.8 hike up Johny Horn Trail.
I can’t tell you how breathtaking the view is from this spot but I think this picture does capture the unbelievable colors of the water. It doesn’t look real!
Next, Francis Bay also on the east side of the island, is another flat, easy and very short hike. But this area is known for birdwatching. There is a wooden walkway for wheelchair and stroller access to the lookout platform. It’s been estimated that up to 144 different species can be seen throughout the year! (but only 35 species are year round residents). There are 90 minute guided tours put on by the USVI Parks Department if you really want to get informed.
Also on the east end is Haulover Beaches….north and south.
The north side tends to be more turbulent but is one of the BEST snorkeling spots on island!! Beautiful coral, large sea fans and lots of tropical fish makes this my absolute favorite!
Haulover is named from the history of sailors hauling small boats from one side to the other so they would not have to sail around the point. The red that map shows you all over his location and you can see what a difference it would make versus sailing around the point.
Next up, Salt Pond.
Salt Pond Beach is a bit of a hike down to the beach but coming back up is the hard part. I always take a last dip in the ocean before making my way back up to the parking lot. Once you get down to Salt Pond Bay , you make your way towards Drunk Bay and you will pass an actual salt pond. We happen to be there during a very dry season and collected salt!
Moving along the south shore, one day we took Yawzi Trail to Lameshur Bay.
The legend of the name Yawzi is that there was a ‘sick house’ on the estate housing people who had contracted Yaws disease. Yaws disease is thought to be of Caribbean origin which is a chronic, infectious disease exhibiting open sores caused by bacteria entering a cut which then went on to attack joints and bones. (Now treatable with penicillin). The word ‘yaw’ is a derivative of the Carib “yaya” which means sore.
Next, I’ll include Brown Bay, also on the east end.
Probably my least favorite hikes since it’s in the full sun and pretty rocky. Yet the bay itself is quite different than most. It’s very shallow and FILLED with conch shells!!! I mean when I was snorkeling, I tried to start counting how many I saw but stopped after 50!
And I do have to share a funny story that happened one day while snorkeling Brown Bay. There was only 3 of us that could make it for the hike and I was the only one snorkeling while the other two sat on the beach. As I was getting out of the water, I felt something tickling the back of my leg. I looked down and a remora fish was trying to attach itself to the back of my leg! They have these little suction cups on their heads and I thought I had brushed it away. But it kept following me. I started running out of the water brushing the back of my leg and my friends on the beach were laughing hysterically wondering what was happening as I could NOT get it to let go!!! 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
Well, that’s it for the east end. Next week, I’ll finish up the rest of the trails we experienced.
Hope you enjoyed the hikes!😀
Traveling Rose in St. John 