Anchorage· St John· Virgin Islands (BVI, USVI and Spanish Virgins)
Salt Pond Bay Moorings
18° 18.5′ N · 64° 42.6′ W
A horseshoe of white sand near St John's southern tip, with park moorings over seagrass where turtles and stingrays feed, and the Ram Head and Drunk Bay trails starting from the beach.
Practical
Position is the GNIS point for Saltpond Bay. Anchoring is not permitted anywhere in the park along St John's south side (except dinghies under 16 ft): use the NPS moorings (Coast Pilot 5, Compendium). The land-based pay station is at Salt Pond Beach, and NPS vessel-trash bins are provided at Salt Pond. NPS: green sea turtles and southern stingrays live in the seagrass below the mooring field; snorkel the rocky shorelines and the rocks in the middle of the bay. Open to the south: uncomfortable or untenable in southerly swell and in tropical systems. Ashore: restrooms and picnic tables, no food; the parking lot is a rocky quarter-mile walk up the hill (island guide). VITRAN buses run between Cruz Bay and Salt Pond on weekdays (Wikipedia). Park mooring rules (NPS marine page and 2026 Superintendent's Compendium): no anchoring while on a mooring; never secure to a mooring with stern cleats; catamarans run a bridle with one line from each bow cleat through the pennant thimble; no fishing from moorings; 5 mph / no wake in and near mooring fields; vacate park moorings when tropical-storm conditions (winds of 40 mph or more) are forecast. Overnight fee US$26/night (US$13 with Senior/Access pass; NPS fee table labelled 2024, page updated Sept 2026; a 2024 proposal would raise it to US$40 for boats up to 60 ft and charge 24 hours a day, so verify locally), payable before spending the night (5 pm to 7 am) via the Recreation.gov app (scan the QR code on the pay station, site 10214380) or envelope; limit 7 consecutive nights per bay and 30 nights per year. First come, first served; no reservations.
Best for
Overnight on the south shore with the Ram Head hike
Season
Best in normal east/northeast trades; avoid in southerly swell