Trunk Bay
Photo: Navin75, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Fred Hsu, CC BY-SA 3.0
Trunk Bay is a beach on St. John's North Shore in Virgin Islands National Park and the only beach on the island with an amenity fee: $5 per person aged 16 and older from sunrise to sunset, or $2.50 for holders of Interagency Senior and Access passes. The fee applies even on fee-free days. Since October 1, 2026, the fee booth takes only cards and mobile payments, and day passes are also sold on Recreation.gov. Facilities are open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and include restrooms, showers, a foot rinse, a snack bar, a beach shop, and snorkel and chair rentals. No lifeguards are on duty. A signed underwater snorkel trail along Trunk Cay suits beginners who swim confidently. Scuba diving is banned inside the buoyed swim area, the cay is closed to foot traffic, pets and glass are not allowed, and North Shore lots can fill by 10 a.m.
Services
- Amenity fee: $5 per person aged 16 and older; $2.50 with an Interagency Senior or Access pass
- Card or mobile payment only at the fee booth; day passes also sold on Recreation.gov
- Restrooms, showers and foot rinse
- Snack Shack and Bar, and a beach shop
- Snorkel gear and beach chair rentals
- Underwater snorkel trail with signs, along Trunk Cay
- Beach wheelchairs, plus accessible parking, restrooms, changing rooms and paths to the water
- No lifeguards on duty
How we checked
Last verified on October 30, 2026. The business has not reviewed this listing.
Source: National Park Service pages https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/fees.htm (updated September 29, 2026), https://www.nps.gov/viis/learn/management/compendium.htm (updated October 6, 2026), https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/accessibility.htm (updated January 21, 2026), https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/hours.htm (updated December 6, 2024), https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/gettingaround.htm (updated December 10, 2024), https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/snorkeling.htm, https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/trunk-bay-underwater-snorkel-trail.htm, https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm, https://www.nps.gov/places/trunk-bay.htm and the park alerts feed https://www.nps.gov/viis/park-alerts-viis.json (no beach closures posted), plus USVI Department of Tourism https://www.visitusvi.com/experience/explore-trunk-bay-beach-st-john/, all accessed 2026-10-30. One tourism page, https://www.visitusvi.com/experience/top-st-john-beaches/, lists daytime lifeguards, but the park's hours page and the tourism department's Trunk Bay page say none are on duty, so the park is followed.
USVI Realty does not rank, rate or endorse the places and services in this directory. Hours, fees and rules change, so check the official source before you go.
Around St. John
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Photo: Fred Hsu, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Eoghanacht, CC0
