The Reef Bay Trail is the most rewarding hike in Virgin Islands National Park, and also the hardest. In a little over two miles down to the sea, it strings together a steep jungle descent, the ruins of multiple sugar estates, ancient petroglyphs carved into rock beside a pool, a well-preserved sugar mill, and a quiet beach at the bottom. It also makes you earn every bit of it on the climb back out.
I hiked it after Hurricane Maria reshaped parts of the island, and it remains one of the most worthwhile days you can have on St. John. Here is how to do it right.
Reef Bay Trail at a Glance
| Length | About 4.4 miles round trip (with the petroglyph spur) |
| Elevation change | Roughly 1,184 feet |
| Time needed | 3 to 4 hours |
| Difficulty | Moderate to difficult |
| Trailhead | Top of Highway 10, about 15 minutes from Cruz Bay |
Getting to St. John, Then to the Trailhead
St. John is reached by ferry from St. Thomas. Fly into Cyril E. King Airport (STT), about 13 miles from the ferry, then take the Red Hook to Cruz Bay passenger ferry. It runs about hourly and costs roughly $13 per adult each way as of 2026, with a roughly 20-minute crossing. From Cruz Bay you will want a rental vehicle.
The Reef Bay Trailhead sits at the top of Highway 10, about 15 minutes from Cruz Bay. Parking is scarce, just a small roadside gravel pullout, and the trailhead is not well-marked from the road. Watch for the pedestrian crossing signs. Because it is a down-and-back hike, you finish with the hard climb, so start early while it is cool.
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Note that the National Park Service and concessioners have at times run a guided Reef Bay hike that ends with a boat pickup at the bottom, which spares you the climb out. Availability changes year to year, so check current park offerings before you count on it.
The Hike
The first mile or so is the steep part, dropping quickly into the jungle. After that the trail levels out and winds through tropical forest and past the ruins toward the bay. Most people find the descent easy and the return climb genuinely tough in the heat.
- Pack more water than you think you need. This is one of the hotter, tougher trails on the island, and there is no water along it.
- Wear real shoes. Much of the trail is hard-packed and rocky, not sand. Hiking shoes or boots beat flip-flops here.
- Bring snacks or a picnic. The beach at the bottom is a fine place to rest before the climb out.
The Petroglyphs
About 1.6 miles from the trailhead, a marked turnoff leads to the Petroglyph Trail, a short, flat spur that adds roughly 0.4 miles round trip. It ends at a pool of water where carvings are cut into the rock face above the surface. If it has rained recently, there is often a small waterfall here too.
These petroglyphs are the oldest human marks on the trail by far. The leading view among archaeologists is that they were carved by the Taino, the Indigenous, Arawakan-speaking people who lived across these islands long before Europeans arrived, with the carvings dating somewhere across the centuries before 1500 AD. They are widely interpreted as depicting ancestral or spirit faces, and their placement above a reflecting pool appears to be deliberate. Look, photograph, and do not touch or wet the carvings.
The Ruins and the Sugar Mill
There are several estate ruins along the trail, some far more extensive than others. The best-preserved is saved for last: the Reef Bay Sugar Factory, near the bottom of the trail. You can walk through much of it, and interpretive signs explain how the mill turned cane into sugar and rum. One practical warning carried over from our visit: a large bees nest has lived inside one of the buildings, so give it room.
These mills are beautiful, and they are also hard history. Every estate on St. John was built and worked by enslaved Africans under Danish colonial rule, which ran from 1718 until the United States bought the islands in 1917. Enslaved people cut the cane, fed the mills, and tended the boiling houses on this very ground. The 1733 rebellion, one of the earliest and longest slave revolts in the Americas, began on the other side of the island when enslaved Akwamu people, taken from what is now Ghana, seized the fort at Coral Bay and held St. John for months before the uprising was crushed in 1734. The Reef Bay estates belong to that same world. The ruins are preserved as evidence, not decoration.
The Beach at the Bottom
From the sugar factory it is a short walk to the water. Reef Bay itself is quiet, with blue water, coral, and white sand. A dip here is the reward before the climb back up, and on most days you will share it with very few people.
Best Time to Hike
Morning, without question. It is cooler for the climb out, quieter on the trail, and you will want the daylight buffer since the round trip takes several hours. Start early and you can be back at the trailhead before the heat of the afternoon.
Know Before You Go
- Getting there: Ferry from St. Thomas (Red Hook to Cruz Bay, about $13 per adult each way in 2026), then a 15-minute drive to the top of Highway 10.
- Trail: About 4.4 miles round trip with the petroglyph spur, 1,184 feet of elevation change, 3 to 4 hours, moderate to difficult.
- Parking: A small gravel pullout, easy to miss. Watch for pedestrian crossing signs.
- Fees: No general park entrance fee and no fee for the trail.
- Bring: Plenty of water, real shoes, snacks, and sun protection. No facilities on the trail.
- Respect: Stay off fragile ruins and never touch the petroglyphs. Steer clear of the bees nest in the sugar factory.
Plan the Rest of Your St. John Trip
Reef Bay pairs well with the island’s other historic sites, including the Catherineberg Ruins, the Annaberg Ruins, and the America Hill Ruins. For the full park, with maps and history, start at our Virgin Islands National Park guide, then browse things to do in the park.
