Best Hiking on St John: Reef Bay Trail
Descending into the jungle between the shoulders of two mountain ridgelines, sunshine filtered down through the green of the leaves, making euphoria stutter to life in my chest and making the Reef Bay Trail my favorite on the island.
Looking out towards the ocean from the Reef Bay trailhead
My cousin and I walked almost all of the way along the winding mountain road to the trailhead, hitching a ride with a friendly worker for the last quarter of a mile. The trailhead begins at a set of stone steps leading into the jungle below.
Standing there, looking down between the ridgelines, I knew that this was going to be a good day. The trail looked beautiful from above, and a trail like that ending in a sand beach is a wondrous thing.
Reef Bay Trail
The trail began to drop steeply into the jungle, winding in slow arcs along the mountainside. The vegetation was thick, and at certain interesting trees, signs gave informative descriptions of what they were and the history surrounding them.
Even starting out early in the day, it was hot out, high in the 80's in early January. The humidity, like it had been our whole trip, was pushing 80%. In our school backpacks, carrying our snorkel gear under our arms, we were dripping in sweat even on the way down.
Hiking down the Reef Bay Trail on St. John USVI
The trail itself is 2.5 miles one way, so it is important to carry lots of water with you, especially if you are going to be spending time at the beach.
When the trail get's to the bottom of the slope, it washes out for a moment before becoming a fresh cut path through the jungle. After the hurricanes, the trail had been wiped out by floodwater pouring down the mountainsides.
Information about the biodiversity on the Reef Bay Trail
A crew from South Carolina, working for the National Park Service, were hard at work creating a new trail. In the week that they had been working they did an amazing job, moving fallen trees, breaking new ground, and creating stone steps for the hike down. After a long chat with a few of the guys, I knew I would have to visit their park in SC one day.
On the final stretch of trail nearing the beach, a steep slope to the right of you would constantly clatter with what sounded like rocks tumbling down the slope. They weren't rocks, they were hermit crabs pulling in their feet and rolling down the hill when they heard the sounds of our feet!
Reef Bay Trail Waterfall
A short side trail takes you to a waterfall that plunges down into a shallow pool. After sweating our way down the mountain, it was a perfect place to stop and cool off.
Not only was this the first time I had seen natural, running water on the island, but there were were also signs from the indigenous inhabitants of the islands, hundreds if not thousands of years before.
Below the waterfall on the rocks of the pools, shapes had been carved into the rock. It was astounding to see that the carvings had survived all of those years.
Petroglyphs on the Reef Bay Trail
It was a glimpse into a mysterious culture I knew nothing else about. It added to the excitement in my veins to get to the end of the trail, to feel sun and salt on my skin.
Reef Bay Ruins
I have a love of lost and forgotten places, so finding multiple sets of ruins along this trail made it all the more fascinating to me.
The first set of ruins was still along the mountainside, and the jungle had come knocking to reclaim its land back. The sun was low above the mountains when I decided to snap photos at this spot, and the lighting was pure and golden.
Visiting ruins on the Reef Bay Trail
The second spot was just a dozen yards from the beach, a thick grove of trees that was all that was separating it from the ocean.
It was an old plantation mill that was now ruled by hundreds of hermit crabs crawling over each other in the basement. Walking through the ruins, the sun streaming through the wooden slats in the ceiling and the open windows, I felt as if I were in an ancient, Roman ruin.
The light was pristine, and I was hoping to find a secret passageway like I was in an Indian Jones movie, leading into the depths of some treasure trove.
Feeling like Indiana Jones exploring ruins on the Reef Bay Trail
Reef Bay Beach
Stumbling out from beneath low hanging branches, I washed up onto a something out of a James Bond movie. The surf crashed over the remains of a reef a few dozen yards off the beach, and sand stretched out to either side of me. Cut off from the rest of the world by jungle, mountains and ocean, I felt exhilarated and at peace.
Cooling off in Reef Bay on St. John
To the east the shore turned brittle from all of the washed up coral that had been shattered during the storm. Beyond the coral littered beach were massive cliffs towering over the ocean.
Reef Bay facing White Cliffs on St. John
To the west were smaller boulders and cliffs that blocked easy access from an almost hidden beach. Climbing over the rock and short cliffs, I scrambled to the other beach. Wading through the surf to get to the long stretch of sand beneath the jungle, I felt completely alone.
It was the perfect place to let myself swim and relax without worrying about the outside world.
Exploring hidden beaches in Reef Bay on St. John
Finishing the Hike
Going back up was exhausting and we were tired and covered in sweat from spending the day hiking and swimming, but it was well worth the trouble. Even having to walk the few miles back to our Air Bnb did not bother me.
All I had to do was close my eyes and see the sunlight in the canopy of the jungle, hear the crashing surf as I lay on the warm sand, feel my lungs burn as I dove beneath the surface of the water.
This trail is one that will stick in my memory for a long time to come.
Looking out to sea in Reef Bay while exploring a few cliffs