CC0, Wikimedia Commons (Smallbones)Landmark· Hassel Island· Virgin Islands (BVI, USVI and Spanish Virgins)
Hassel Island (Virgin Islands National Park)
18° 19.7′ N · 64° 56.0′ W
The wooded island that forms the west side of Charlotte Amalie harbor, a peninsula until the Danes cut Haulover channel in the 1860s. It is layered with British Napoleonic-era forts (Fort Willoughby, Shipley's and Cowell's batteries), the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company's old West Indies hub and the 1840s Creque Marine Railway; most of it has been part of Virgin Islands National Park since 1978.
Practical
Coordinates from Wikipedia (Hassel Island Historic District). Access is by boat only. Important: hasselisland.org (2023 update) says the National Park Service part of the island is closed to visitors until further notice, because 2017 hurricane damage and lack of maintenance have left trails overgrown and impassable; the part owned by the Virgin Islands government is maintained by the St. Thomas Historical Trust and can be visited on tours arranged through the Trust (email execdirector@stthistoricaltrust.org). Coast Pilot: foul ground with less than 6 ft extends up to 300 yards off Hassel and Water islands; Careening Cove and Cay Bay are seaplane areas. The island is about 136 acres and has fewer than five homes (Wikipedia).
Best for
History buffs; the best view of the harbor approach
Nearby
- Hassel Island Historic Trails0.1 NM away
- Creque Marine Railway (Hassel Island)0.5 NM away
- Charlotte Amalie Harbor Anchorage (Long Bay)0.6 NM away
- Hurricane Season (St Thomas)0.6 NM away
- Pacquereau Bay Anchorage0.6 NM away
- CBP Charlotte Amalie (Edward Wilmoth Blyden Marine Terminal)0.7 NM away
- Charlotte Amalie Waterfront Dinghy Landing (Coast Guard Station)0.7 NM away
- Fort Christian & 99 Steps0.7 NM away