Leinster Bay Trail

Hiking trails St. JohnLast verified October 31, 2026

Around St. John

The white beach of Trunk Bay and the small, wooded Trunk Cay seen from the hillside above — Trunk Bay, St. John

Sailboats moored in Cruz Bay below red-roofed buildings on the hillside of St. John — Cruz Bay, St. John

Boats anchored off a palm-lined beach in Cruz Bay, St. John, beneath tall white clouds — Cruz Bay, St. John

The Leinster Bay Trail follows the shore of Leinster Bay in Virgin Islands National Park from the Annaberg Sugar Plantation parking lot, at the end of a spur road off North Shore Road, to the bay's main beach facing Waterlemon Cay. The park times it at about 10 minutes to a narrow sandy entry over shallow coral heads, then another 10 minutes to the main beach, where snorkelers set out for the cay. Watch for long-spined urchins and rocks when entering, and stay south of the cay: a strong current runs on its Tortola (north) side. The waterfront is part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom: enslaved people escaped from here to Tortola. The strenuous Johnny Horn Trail begins at the east end of the beach. There is no fee. Dogs must be leashed and stay off the beach, where glass is also banned.

Services

About 20 minutes on foot from the Annaberg lot to the main beach (NPS)
Snorkel entries along the way and at the main beach
Restrooms and picnic tables at the Annaberg parking lot
No fee

How we checked

Last verified on October 31, 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; Leinster Bay Trail from the Annaberg parking lot, 10 minutes to the first entry and 10 more to the main beach; long-spine urchins and rocks at the entry; strong current on the Tortola (north) side of the cay, best to stay on the southern side), https://www.nps.gov/places/annaburg-sugar-plantation.htm (updated April 2, 2021; parking, restrooms, picnic tables and trailhead at Annaberg), https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/annaberg-sugar-plantation.htm (spur road off North Shore Road), https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/johnny-horn-trail.htm (updated April 2, 2021; Johnny Horn Trail starts at the east end of the beach), https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm (updated June 6, 2022; Leinster Bay waterfront in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, escapes to Tortola), https://www.nps.gov/viis/learn/management/compendium.htm (updated October 6, 2026; pets and glass prohibited on beaches) and the park alerts feed https://www.nps.gov/viis/park-alerts-viis.json (no closure posted); Friends of Virgin Islands National Park FY26 Terrestrial Programs Report, https://friendsvinp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/FY_26-Trails-Terrestrial-Report.pdf (Leinster Bay Trail maintained); all accessed 2026-10-31. NPS gives walking times, not a length. Map point: NPS Public POIs dataset, parking lot 'Annaberg Sugar Mill Parking - RT 912' (OBJECTID 31142), where the trail starts, https://mapservices.nps.gov/arcgis/rest/services/NationalDatasets/NPS_Public_POIs_Geographic/FeatureServer/0, accessed 2026-10-31.

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