St. Croix East End Marine Park
Parks and historic sitesSt. CroixEast EndLast verified October 31, 2026
Around East End
Photo: Aaron Cortina, CC BY 3.0
Photo: Dartrider, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Jason P. Heym, CC BY-SA 3.0
The St. Croix East End Marine Park protects about 60 square miles of sea along the East End, from Green Cay on the north shore around to Great Pond on the south, including what GoToStCroix calls the territory's longest fringing reef. Set up in 2003, it was the first marine protected area designated and managed by the Virgin Islands government; the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) runs it through its Coastal Zone Management division. Four zones set the rules. Recreation Zones allow snorkeling, diving, boating and fishing from shore, but not spearfishing, traps or fishing from boats; No Take Zones ban all fishing and collecting; the Sea Turtle Preserve reaches 1.25 miles off East End, Isaac and Jack bays; Open Zones follow the territory's usual fishing rules. DPNR's StoryMap maps the zones. The free visitor center at Great Pond has touchscreen exhibits and on-site parking.
Services
- Free visitor center with interactive exhibits and on-site parking
- Zoned marine protected area (Recreation, No Take, Sea Turtle Preserve and Open zones)
- Snorkel tours, seagrass patrols, clean-ups and volunteer programs
- Demonstration coral nursery at Sweeper's Knoll, off Cramer's Park
How we checked
Last verified on October 31, 2026. We checked it against the sources below.
Source: DPNR Coastal Zone Management, https://dpnr.vi.gov/coastal-zone-management/what-we-do/marine-protected-areas/ (established 2003, first territorially designated and managed MPA, four zones and their rules: Recreation Zone allows snorkeling, diving, boating and shoreline recreational fishing but bans spearfishing, traps, gillnets and fishing from boats; No Take Zone bans all fishing and extraction; Sea Turtle Preserve extends 1.25 miles off East End, Isaac and Jack bays; Open Zone follows the territory's fishing rules; StoryMap of the zones, free visitor center with touchscreen exhibits and its hours, coral nursery at Sweeper's Knoll since 2019, outreach activities, outreach phone); Friends of the St. Croix East End Marine Park, https://eastendmarineparkfriends.org/about-eemp/ and https://eastendmarineparkfriends.org/ (managed by DPNR's Coastal Zone Management division, visitor center open Thursdays, Fridays and the first Saturday of the month, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., park phone 340-718-3367); National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/chri/planyourvisit/nearbyattractions.htm (updated December 5, 2023; headquarters in the historic buildings at Estate Great Pond, about 60 square miles, from Green Cay to Great Pond); GoToStCroix, https://www.gotostcroix.com/discover/points-interest/st-croix-east-end-marine-park-visitor-center/ (copyright 2026; address Great Pond, longest fringing reef in the USVI, on-site parking, snorkel tours, Seagrass Patrol, volunteer programs; it lists Wednesday to Friday hours, and the DPNR hours are given instead); all accessed 2026-10-31. Map point: GNIS feature 1613979, 'Great Pond' (Populated Place), where the park has its headquarters and visitor center.
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