Public domain (HABS), Wikimedia CommonsHike· St John· Virgin Islands (BVI, USVI and Spanish Virgins)
Reef Bay Trail & Petroglyphs
18° 19.3′ N · 64° 44.7′ W
St John's classic hike: 2.2 miles down through tall forest from Centerline Road past estate ruins to Taíno petroglyphs beside a seasonal waterfall pool, and the Reef Bay sugar factory near the beach.
Practical
Position is the GNIS point for Reef Bay Beach (the bottom of the trail). Trailhead on Centerline Road at about mile marker 5; about 2.2 miles each way and roughly 800 to 900 ft of descent; the Petroglyph Spur is 0.22 mile; the waterfall may be dry (island guide). Ranger-guided Reef Bay hike (strenuous, just under 3 miles one way, fee, booked through Friends of VINP) checks in at the Cruz Bay visitor center at 7:45 am and returns by a roughly 40-minute boat ride to Cruz Bay; if sea conditions stop the boat you must hike back up (NPS, 2025). Cruising crews can drop hikers at the top by taxi and collect them from the Reef Bay day moorings. The Reef Bay Sugar Factory was the island's longest-operating sugar factory in the 20th century (NRHP 1981).
Best for
A one-way hike with a boat pick-up
Nearby
- Reef Bay Day Moorings0.3 NM away
- Europa Bay & White Cliffs0.8 NM away
- Hurricane season & storm planning (St John)1.1 NM away
- Little Lameshur Bay Moorings1.1 NM away
- Yawzi Point & Tektite Trail1.1 NM away
- Bordeaux Mountain1.2 NM away
- VIERS & Tektite Museum (Lameshur)1.2 NM away
- Great Lameshur Bay Moorings1.3 NM away