Reef Bay Trail
Hiking trailsSt. JohnLast verified October 31, 2026
Around St. John
Photo: Navin75, CC BY-SA 2.0
.jpg){kind=link}
Photo: Fred Hsu, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Reef Bay Trail descends about 3 miles one way in Virgin Islands National Park, from Centerline Road near mile marker 5 to Reef Bay, under some of the island's oldest and tallest trees and past four ruined sugar estates. A side trail at mile 1.6 leads to a waterfall, strongest in the rainy season, beside rock carvings attributed to the Taino. At the bottom stands the Reef Bay sugar factory, St. John's last working mill until a fatal accident in 1908, its steam engine largely intact. The park rates the hike strenuous, steep, rocky and slippery even when dry; bring sturdy shoes, water, lunch and insect repellent. The park's time estimates vary: two to three and a half hours down to the valley floor, and longer for the 900-foot climb out. In season, a paid guided hike with Friends of Virgin Islands National Park returns by boat, weather permitting.
Services
- About 3 miles one way, 900 feet of elevation (NPS)
- Spurs to the petroglyphs and the Reef Bay great house ruins
- Reef Bay sugar factory ruins at the bottom
- Trailhead parking and VITRAN bus stop on Centerline Road
- Seasonal guided hike with boat return (fee; 2026-27 dates expected from Friends of Virgin Islands National Park in December or January)
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/thingstodo/reef-bay-trail.htm (updated September 21, 2023; strenuous, oldest and tallest trees, sugar ruins, stone cattle walls, Taino rock carvings, rainy-season waterfall, steep, rocky and slippery even when dry, about three miles one way, 900-foot climb out, duration two to four hours; the same page says to plan on about three and one half hours from trailhead to valley floor in one passage and about two hours in another; trailhead near mile marker 5 on Centerline Road, leashed dogs on trails but not beaches), https://www.nps.gov/places/reef-bay-trail-and-sugar-plantation.htm (updated August 10, 2023; four sugar estates, side trail at mile 1.6 to the waterfall and petroglyphs, steam machinery, parking, bus stop and hiker register at the trailhead), https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm (updated June 6, 2022; the factory was the last operating sugar mill on St. John, closed after a fatal accident in 1908, converted to steam after 1861, engine largely intact, reached only on foot or by boat), https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/rangerguidedtours.htm (updated December 28, 2025; guided hike just under 3 miles, check-in at the visitor center, 40-minute boat return to Cruz Bay, fee and reservations, about 6 miles round trip if the boat cannot come), https://www.nps.gov/viis/learn/management/compendium.htm (updated October 6, 2026; White Cliffs closure east of the Reef Bay Trail and sugar mill) and the park alerts feed https://www.nps.gov/viis/park-alerts-viis.json (no closure posted); Friends of Virgin Islands National Park, https://friendsvinp.org/seminars-and-more/ (2026-27 Reef Bay Hike schedule expected in December or January; boat pickup weather permitting), https://friendsvinp.org/archaeology/ (petroglyphs at the base of the valley's highest waterfall, beside a spring-fed pool) and the FY26 Terrestrial Programs Report, https://friendsvinp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/FY_26-Trails-Terrestrial-Report.pdf (Reef Bay Trail, Petroglyphs Spur and Reef Bay Greathouse Spur maintained); all accessed 2026-10-31. Map point: NPS Public POIs dataset, trailhead 'Reef Bay Trail' (OBJECTID 25647), https://mapservices.nps.gov/arcgis/rest/services/NationalDatasets/NPS_Public_POIs_Geographic/FeatureServer/0, accessed 2026-10-31.
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.