Brown Bay
Around St. John
Photo: Navin75, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Photo: Fred Hsu, CC BY-SA 3.0
Brown Bay is a remote beach in Virgin Islands National Park on St. John's northeast shore, reached only on foot or by boat. The shorter walk is the Brown Bay Trail from East End Road. For a longer hike, climb the Johnny Horn Trail, which the park rates strenuous, steep and sunny, from the east end of the beach at Leinster Bay; the Brown Bay Trail branches off at 0.7 mile. The narrow beach slopes gently into shallow water. Conch live in the wide seagrass bed mid-bay, gorgonians grow to the east, and on the reef toward Leinster Bay snorkelers may see rare staghorn coral and plenty of fish. No facilities are listed, so carry water, and trailhead parking is limited. There is no fee and no lifeguard is listed. Boats may not anchor, commercial boats may not land groups, and pets and glass are not allowed.
Services
- No fee
- Brown Bay Trail from East End Road (the shorter route)
- Longer route from Leinster Bay by way of the Johnny Horn Trail, rated strenuous
- Snorkeling over the seagrass bed and along the fringing reef toward Leinster Bay
- No facilities listed
- No anchoring; closed to groups landed by commercial boats
- Drones allowed only with the park superintendent's written approval
How we checked
Last verified on October 30, 2026. We checked it against the sources below.
Source: National Park Service pages https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/snorkeling.htm (updated June 6, 2022; trail or boat access with no anchoring, the Brown Bay Trail off East End Road, the longer route from Leinster Bay, the beach, seagrass, gorgonians and staghorn coral), https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/johnny-horn-trail.htm (updated April 2, 2021; a strenuous, steep trail exposed to the sun, starting at the east end of the Waterlemon Bay beach at Leinster Bay and passing the start of the Brown Bay Trail at 0.7 mile), https://home.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/frequently-asked-questions.htm (updated December 5, 2024; limited parking at beaches and trailheads), https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/fees.htm (updated September 29, 2026; no entrance fee, only Trunk Bay charges), https://www.nps.gov/viis/learn/management/compendium.htm (updated October 6, 2026; Brown Bay closed to commercial vessel groups, pets and glass banned on beaches, drones only with the superintendent's written approval) and the park alerts feed https://www.nps.gov/viis/park-alerts-viis.json (no closures posted); St. John Source, April 16, 2025, https://stjohnsource.com/2025/04/16/earth-day-events-with-friends-of-virgin-islands-national/ (a marine-debris cleanup at Brown Bay starting from the Brown Bay trailhead); all accessed 2026-10-30. No source gives the length of the Brown Bay Trail, so none is stated, and none lists lifeguards or facilities. Map point: GNIS feature 1993372 (Beach, 'Brown Bay Beach'), U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, Virgin Islands file published September 29, 2026, https://prd-tnm.s3.amazonaws.com/StagedProducts/GeographicNames/DomesticNames/DomesticNames_VI_Text.zip, accessed 2026-10-30.
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