Salt Pond Bay & Drunk Bay Trail
It’s sad, really. Unless I have someone come to town to visit, I never go to St. John. And it’s SO close! And visiting a beach with hundreds of rock sculptures? Epic. This is our trip to Salt Pond Bay, St John Virgin Islands.
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St John is a quick passenger or car ferry ride away from St Thomas. St. John, the smallest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, is known for its stunning natural beauty and pristine beaches. Two-thirds of the island is protected as Virgin Islands National Park, offering visitors hiking trails, lush forests, and historic ruins. Popular beaches like Trunk Bay (voted one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world) and Cinnamon Bay are perfect for snorkeling with their crystal-clear waters and vibrant marine life. Its main downtown area, Cruz Bay, offers restaurants, shops, and local culture. So whether you’re visiting the Virgin Islands or live nearby, St John is the perfect day trip escape!
While my dad was visiting, we decided to explore a little “off the beaten path”. If you are traveling with kids and have the day to explore in St John, I would say this is a must-do!
Salt Pond Bay offers a day of relaxation, beautiful snorkeling, a little adventure, and hundreds of rock sculptures.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves – let’s start the day off right.
Traveling to St John from St Thomas
To get from St Thomas to St John with a car, you have to take a car ferry. I would recommend this if you have a car as taxis in St John can be pretty pricey. They charge per person, each way, and unless pre-arranged, you may have a hard time finding a taxi back to Cruz Bay.
The car ferry is $65 round trip and there are two ferries that run: The Big Red Barge and Love City Car Ferries. They alternate trips from St Thomas to Cruz Bay every hour. Be sure to check the schedules on their websites that i’ve linked above (especially in off season) as they may have special hours.
We wanted to catch the 8:30 car ferry so we arrived to the terminal by 7:30. Why so early? There is only so much room on the barge and if you don’t make it, the next one doesn’t leave for an hour. Once the barge arrives from Cruz Bay, it’s loaded up and headed out.
While you can purchase a one way ticket (maybe you don’t know when you want to come back) it will be a more expensive trip as it is $50 for a one way. I would commit to one barge company schedule and buy a round trip ticket.
What to Expect on the Drive to Salt Pond Bay
Salt Pond Bay is located on the South-western side of the island. There is one road that runs from Cruz Bay (where the ferry docks), through the middle of the island (conveniently called Centerline Road) that you have to take all the way around to get to the west and south western side. On our drive, we saw donkeys, goats, and sheep, especially running around Coral Bay.
Passing Coral Bay, you take a right and keep going on Coral Bay Road to head to Salt Pond Bay. It got to the point where we thought we had missed our turn off, but keep going. Keep in mind, cell phone service is not so great in this area, so make sure you go with a tourist map or a screen shot of a map. Thankfully, locals have made signs that say, “keep going for Salt Pond Bay”. Finally, after many turns and hills, we found a dirt parking lot on the left. We had arrived. There is limited parking, but people were parking along the side of the road.
Salt Pond Bay
After arriving, there is a rocky path down to the beach. It is doable in flip flops, we just watched our steps. It’s about a ten minute walk down. At the bottom of the path are bathrooms.
The path opens up to a beautiful, white sand beach with clear, turquoise waters.
For many, this is the final destination. However, if you’re up for a little more adventure, at the end of the beach, there are two trails that lead off: Ram Head Trail & Drunk Bay Trail. Drunk Bay Trail is a family friendly, easy path that can be done round trip in about 30 minutes (depending if you stay for rock sculptures). Ram Head Trail is more challenging, requiring a few hours round trip and is recommended for early morning or early evening.
From the beach, we took the path over and to a brown smelly salt pond. On rare occasions, flamingos have been found visiting this spot. We weren’t so lucky and didn’t see any. We took a left and walked along the edge towards a ridge. The path is lined with cacti and other island flora so it was important to watch our step and keep kids hands inside the path.
There is no shade cover on this hike so I would recommend wearing hats, sun protection, and bringing water. (For a list of my “must have” check out this page here!)
We walked along the path until we came to a ridge, and before us was a completely different scene than the one we just left! Blue sea, crashing waves, and a giant rocky formations along the coastline. It felt like we had been transported to Scotland!
Everywhere we looked, we saw hundreds of rock sculptures made from rocks, dried coral, seaweed, dried wood, and other pieces that had washed up on the beach. The kids loved looking at all the different creations.
We walked along the beach until we found a spot we could create our own masterpiece.
We enjoyed a picnic lunch on a log and then packed up to head back to Salt Pond Bay Beach. There is no food vendors at Salt Pond Bay. We packed plenty of snacks and water for the car ride and the hike.
Salt Pond Beach
After our hike back through the cacti, back along the salt pond, and over the ridge to the beach, we rewarded ourselves with a swim in the sea. The water at Salt Pond is very calm and clear. Even though there are trees and bushes along the back of the beach, we found out the hard way that there are burrs as well. Tread carefully!
Salt Pond Beach is a great place for snorkeling. Along the edges of the bay, groups of snorkels moved around the rocks. Since I have two little kids, we stuck to the shallow water, but were still able to enjoy many turtle sitings.
Keeping the car ferry schedule in mind, we ended our day at Salt Pond. On our way out, we spotted deer! Deer were brought over from the Europeans in the 19th century for hunting. They continue to thrive but still considered a non-native species.
What goes down, must come back up?? While the hike down to the beach seemed leisurely, the hike back up to the parking lot at the end of our day seemed much longer, especially in the early afternoon sun. I was glad that we did not carry much.
N. Shore Road back to Cruz Bay
Driving back to Cruz Bay took about a half hour. We had thought to stop in Coral Bay for food, but there was no parking anywhere. So we continued along Centerline Road, turning right at N Shore Road. This road takes you past Maho Beach, Cinnamon Bay, Trunk Bay, and Hawksnest Beach with some nice lookout points along the way. N Shore Road brings you into Cruz Bay from the north side and right into Mongoose Junction. In Mongoose Junction, you will find a nice variety of shops and restaurants including St John Brewers, Northshore Deli, and my favorite, Greengos.
While there is a Greengos in St Thomas, I love to visit the one in St John. There is just something different about it; the food tastes better, and the margaritas are awesome after a day in the sun. And the kids love the fresh chips!
We ended the day with ice cream from St John Scoops for the kids, and then headed to the ferry lot to wait for our barge to come in. We were a little bit early for our barge, but were able to get in line. And luckily, there were clean bathrooms to use while we waited. Once the barge arrived, we loaded on and headed back to St Thomas!
Final Thoughts
- Arrive early to the ferry docks to catch the one you want
- Keep a paper map with you and watch for local wildlife on your drive
- Make sure you have plenty of water and sun protection
- Travel with food and snacks as vendors can be limited
- Keep travel time and ferry schedules in mind
- Get off the beaten path, and enjoy St John, US Virgin Islands!
