Snorkel· Buck Island (St Croix)· Virgin Islands (BVI, USVI and Spanish Virgins)
Buck Island Underwater Trail
17° 47.3′ N · 64° 36.8′ W · approximate
The original marked snorkel trail of the national park system: a route through elkhorn and brain-coral grottoes in the east-end lagoon, with sea turtles, parrotfish and French angelfish, and underwater interpretive signs.
Practical
Position approximate, placed just inside the reef southwest of the NPS Boat Cut and SCUBA Cut moorings (Compendium Appendix A), where the brochure and NPS pages place the trail in the east-end lagoon; the NPS gives no published trail coordinate. Maximum depth in the grottoes is 12 ft. Closed sunset to sunrise (park hours 7 am to 5 pm). No scuba on the trail; no anchoring or maneuvering boats over the marked trail. Concession guides take groups of six. Do not stand on or touch coral; the reef is critical habitat for threatened elkhorn and staghorn corals. Watch for fire coral, urchins and boat traffic; currents and surge can build quickly (NPS).
Best for
The best guided-style snorkel in the USVI
Season
Year-round, 7 am to 5 pm; calmest in settled trades
Nearby
- Buck Island Lagoon Moorings0.1 NM away
- Buck Island SCUBA Cut Mooring0.1 NM away
- Buck Island Reef National Monument0.3 NM away
- Buck Island Overlook Trail0.4 NM away
- Turtle Beach (Buck Island)0.8 NM away
- Buck Island West Beach Anchorage0.9 NM away
- Duggan's Reef (Teague Bay)1.8 NM away
- Goat, Soup and Whiskey (Coakley Bay)1.9 NM away