A 3 Minute Vacation to Virgin Islands National Park (+ Tips for Visiting)

The tropical paradise of Virgin Islands National Park is calling and we should go

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the best national parks to visit in winter. High on this list is the 15th least visited national park in the country, Virgin Islands National Park (see the video we made below). I had long wanted to visit this park before I finally found the right flight deal (less than $400 RT from Portland, Oregon - hello) to pull the trigger. It was amazing and while a lot of it was expected several things caught me by surprise.

Groceries were wildly expensive to the point that it made sense to just eat out all the time. The stunning leaning palms you see in lots of the photos hovering over the ocean were nearly all obliterated by hurricanes except a few I found at Honeymoon Beach. And the rental car situation was weird because you have to rent on St. Thomas (where the airport is) and drive (via ferry) to St. John and some of the rental companies don’t want you to do that (so you of course don’t…).

Beyond that, the park and island were incredible. The layout reminded me of Acadia in that there are plenty of private cut outs throughout the island and vice versa where you’re driving and all of a sudden there’s a site that’s included within the park. There were a handful of times I found myself wondering whether I was in the park or not. In terms of dining options, our favorites spots were Cruz Bay Landing for breakfast/lunch and The Longboard for lunch/dinner. Camping is limited to one great option – Cinnamon Bay. But personally I don’t do well sleeping out in the heat so in terms of hotels so if you can afford the splurge (and splurge it is) I recommend finding a hotel with AC. It’s honestly difficult for me to recommend hotels at the moment. because the prices have gone so wild. When I last visited they were much cheaper – like 70% less. Here’s a wonderful hotel that I recommend in terms of great quality but be prepared for sticker shock these days. Airbnb is probably the best route currently.

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How About A Little Virgin Islands National Park History?

I grew up in a household with a history teacher for a dad and his interest in the subject has definitely rubbed off on all three of his sons (myself included). This seems to be the case increasingly so the older I get. I recently found myself really nerding out about the exquisite exhibits at an amazing museum I found in Bend, Oregon and realized I was now one of those people. I’m not fighting it. Plus there’s at least two of my former teachers that are subscribers (history + english – thank you!). All that said, I like to sprinkle in a little history where I can.

Prehistoric Times

Virgin Islands National Park has prehistoric artifacts dating back to 840 BC, making it one of the few national parks with such ancient history. According to the National Park Service, nearly every beach and bay in the park holds significant prehistoric sites—proof that people have been enjoying these stunning islands for thousands of years.

Native Peoples and the Arrival of Columbus

During the Archaic period, the island was home to nomadic hunter-gatherers. By 1493, the Taino people had settled here and were thriving when none other than Christopher Columbus showed up—and let’s just say things went downhill from there (thanks a lot, Columbus).

After Columbus’s arrival, the island’s history took a dark turn. Enslaved people were brought to work for Europeans eager to exploit the island’s resources for military and financial gain. To this day, you can still explore ruins from that era—a stark reminder of the past, but also an incredible window into history.

The Birth of Virgin Islands National Park

Fast forward a few centuries to the mid-20th century, when a young philanthropist cruising the Caribbean stumbled across “one of the most beautiful places” he’d ever seen.

That philanthropist was Laurance Rockefeller, son of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller. Lucky for us, Rockefeller decided this place was too special not to protect. With the help of the Jackson Hole Preserve (founded by his brother), he purchased 5,000 acres and eventually donated it to the federal government, creating Virgin Islands National Park.

Thanks to his vision, today we get to enjoy this incredible slice of paradise—minus the colonial baggage, of course.

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My Favorite Virgin Islands National Park Activities

To make the film we spent a couple weeks on the island basically doing every single thing you can in the national park (and some things multiple times). Of all the things in the park, there were definitely standout activities.

Trunk Bay

Everyone’s journey usually starts with Trunk Bay because that is *the* quintessential photo you see of the park, the virgin islands, and practically the entire Caribbean. It is breathtaking. But a couple of caveats here. For starters, that photo you see here –

is actually located off a tiny sliver of a pull out at the top of a winding road that I’m pretty certain is not an actual parking spot and there’s no real way to hike there safely so it’s kind of a dicey operation to pause here at all. That being said, I visited during a really slow time of year and this was my brief setup to get a time lapse of the sunset:

Driving to Trunk Bay itself is quite lovely as the bay is gorgeous and there’s even a one-of-a-kind national parks bucket list item to check off there – the underwater trail. We saw sea turtles in the bay during our visit which is very common.

Maho Bay

While Trunk Bay gets all the glory I actually prefer its chiller sister down the road, Maho. The beach is long and thin which allows you to have your own secluded spot if you want. There’s kayaking if you’re looking for something more active (more on that below), snorkeling, and wonderful all around beach vibes.

See the little island beyond the boat in the photo above? That’s called Whistling Cay. I felt it calling my name on my visit so my wife and I rented kayaks at the beach and took off. Things are always more distant than you imagine (story of my life) but we eventually got there and it was worth it.

The snorkeling there was quite different as there’s a shelf with a steep drop off into the blue depths that for me is a bit eerie (my mind always races to what could pop out of said blue depths). There’s also a little ruin on the beach that was fun to check out. Even if you don’t make it all the way to the cay just cruising over the shallow waters of the bay and looking down at the aquatic life below was totally worth it.

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Reef Bay Trail

Easily the best hike in the park, the Reef Bay Trail connects some of the park’s most popular and beautiful sites including several spectacular ruin sites, ancient petroglyphs, a waterfall, and a stunning beach. The first mile or so of the trail is quite steep as it descends into the jungle but eventually levels out winding its way through ruins and marvelous tropical foliage headed toward its terminus at Reef Bay. It really feels like jungle exploration as along the way you continue to find more ruins that are being retaken by the forest.

When you’re nearly to the ocean you come across the ruins of an old sugar mill. When we hiked the trail we had it entirely to ourselves so we got the run of the ruins which is a rare opportunity in the national parks world.

America Hill Ruins

While we’re on the topic of hikes, another great one that’s totally worthwhile is America Hill. The trail is a bit steep at times but takes you to an amazing overlook of Maho Bay that is worth the effort. At the top you’ll find the ruins of an old great house that adds to the hike but even if they weren’t there the viewpoint is worth it.

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Dive Deeper: If you’re looking for more great activities I recommend checking out the in-depth guide I wrote to USVI National Park & this detailed USVI activities post.

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A couple of updates

Based on the feedback and generous subscriptions we’ve been getting (thank you!) we plan to spend even more time writing here on substack this year. Wahoo! We plan to add some more in-depth pieces into our rotation (like this one I did last week on the EXPLORE Act & Jim’s upcoming series where he’ll dissect the threats looming over our public lands in the coming administration and explore what can be done to help prevent the worst) for paid subscribers who make it possible for us to dedicate the time we do to our writing.

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Have you been / are you planning to go to Virgin Islands National Park?

Making friends with some locals

That’s a wrap! If you’ve been to Virgin Islands National Park I’d love to hear how you’re experience stacks up to mine. Drop me a comment!

Look forward to catching up with you next time :)

Will