Cruz Bay Visitor Center

Not one of the best national park visitor centers I have been to, but it is still four stars. Basically anything national park related is great. Okay not great displays and gift shop. Despite size of the building, visitor center not that big. Also I was there right after shutdown ended, and they didn't have a ranger there to answer questions/provide advice. I get it, bt still. Cool location, and we actually found some parking right behind the VC. Now Virgin Islands NP is quite epic. Lots of different and amazing sites of all types: beaches, hiking, history, and snorkeling.

Parking is easy here, though limited. Super beautiful location for a visitor center. You can strike out from here (although keep in mind the limited parking duration) on several trails, or pick up some souvenirs in the shop. There is also clean drinking water available here, which seems to be in short supply on this island.

I’m currently on a journey to explore all the U.S. National Parks, and that’s what brought me to the beautiful island of St. John for a weekend getaway! Virgin Islands National Park is number 57 out of 63 for me, and honestly, it’s one of the best I’ve visited so far. We flew into STT (St. Thomas) on May 19, 2025, and took the ferry from Red Hook. It cost a $3 port fee, but we weren’t told about the additional $65 round-trip cash fee until we were already on the ferry to St. John. Once on the island, we drove all around and hiked five different trails—some moderately challenging. I highly recommend: • Lind Point Trail to Honeymoon Beach – very quiet and peaceful in the early morning, with stunning water colors. • Salomon Beach – great for snorkeling. • Ram Head Trail – incredible ocean views from up high and rich historical significance; you can go from white sandy beaches to coral reefs in just a few minutes’ walk. • Trunk Bay Underwater Snorkel Trail – hands down the most beautiful ocean water I’ve ever seen; the sand feels like butter, and the color of the ocean shifts from vibrant turquoise to deep blue. Entry is $5 per person. • Reef Bay Trail & Petroglyph Trail – fun and a bit challenging. About 13,000 steps round trip, including stops at the Petroglyphs and Sugar Mill ruins. Well-marked and easy to follow. Be sure to stop by the Visitor Center—the rangers and volunteers are friendly and incredibly knowledgeable. We learned a lot about the park’s history and got up-to-date weather info. We lucked out with sunny skies, but the mosquitoes and sand fleas definitely treated us like an all-you-can-eat buffet! We stocked up on food, drinks, and supplies in Cruz Bay—there’s not much available between there and the trailheads. It made for a perfect day trip in the park. St. John is incredibly charming, especially downtown, with its colorful shops, bars, jewelry stores, and gift shops. My favorite part? The ice cream! We ended our day with a late dinner at The Morgan’s Mango—pricey as hell, but totally worth it. We’re so happy to have explored this stunning national park. It truly is picturesque. I was so sad to leave. Saying goodbye was tough—but I’m excited to see where my next adventure takes me!

Limited parking, if you stay longer and hike the trail, don't forget to get a permit at the gift shop. They have great merchandise including rash guards, postcards and license plates. Informative little museum.

Very clean and interesting interpretive center and park store that really only occupies about 1/8 of the building. There are bathroom facilities and a few picnic tables near the entrance. Staff was very helpful and friendly. There are two Junior Ranger badges to get here: the VI NP and Underwater Explorer. Each take about 30-40 min to complete and most all the information is available at the store. Shout out to Ranger Courtney for her helpfulness and great attitude.

Must stop and get your parks stamp! Great selection of gifts as well!

It's a beautiful and inviting space with great info highlighting the history or St. John and the National Park. Check out the Jr Ranger program for littles!

We visited on a weekday at end of March 2024 as a excursion from a cruise ship that docked over in St. Thomas. It was with Carnival and we did the "St. John on your own". The ferry drops you off in Cruz Bay just right out front of the Visitor Center. Like 1 block away. I think the Red Hook Ferry might drop people off further south in the Bay. The visitor center is currently under renovations on the outside so lots of construction vehicles and scrim up. We took picture with NPS sign and walked on in. There are also a number of picnic tables outside which is under a shelter and shaded from the sun. We got the junior ranger books and got our National Park Passport Stamps and merch. They do close early (1:30PM when we visited) but they gave us the badges ahead of time incase we couldn't finish before they closed or we had to leave. The bathrooms are located outside the visitor center in 2 structures and we didn't run into any bathrooms while we were on the trails. We spent maybe 15 mins in the visitor center (not very big at least the public area) and rushed out back and crossed the tiny parking lot to the Lind Point Trailhead. This is the cheapest way to go to some of the beaches. There are some stairs going up which takes you to an access road and then continues up again some more rustic steps. We were ready with Keens and other closed toe hiking/water sandals and had no problems with the trail. I would not recommend flipflops at all. We took the lower trail on the way to the beach. Elevation wasn't terrible (you can check on alltrails). While the trail was maintained it was pretty rocky. Also multiple splits in the trail which aren't all posted on google or the park maps. Because St. John is US territory, you can turn on your phone and get GPS location. This worked great for us. We stopped by solomons beach first. It has multiple entrances and multiple trails from Lind Point to the beach. We got a little confused but they all get you there. We then hiked over to Honeymoon beach. In total we got about 45 mins of beach time between the two beaches because we had to pack up and head back (12:45 and our cruise excursion ferry leaves at 1:30). On the way back we hiked the upper Lind Point trail and stopped by the overlook for a couple mins. Great view. We made it back with about 5-10 mins to spare. Time for a quick bathroom trip if you needed it. We were concerned we couldn't do it in time but we did it. We had a 8, 11 and 14 yr old with us but we're also very outdoorsy and do lots of hiking. We went in with 3 backpacks with our towels, water, beach blankets and snorkel gear. Both beaches were amazing and even through we reached them around noon time, it wasn't SUPER crowded at the beach. We found spot to set up in the shade of some trees. Next time we would probably consider paying the extra to try and get to trunk bay to do the underwater trail but super happy we got to do what we did for the price we paid. We would definitely visit the park again but could probably pass on the visitor center unless you wanted trail info etc.

While definitely smaller than other NP visitor centers I've been to, it's still a really nice visitor center stationed right in Cruz Bay - a quick walk from where you get off the ferry from St. Thomas. There's some good information on the park there, and everyone there is super knowledgeable and can give you some great tips about the park. The souvenir selection, while small, is good quality. If this is somewhere you want to stop, make sure to plan it accordingly. Their hours are very limited, and they are only open Monday-Friday. So check their hours before showing up so you don't miss out!

Don't miss this place. It has the most beautiful water I have seen world wide. Tourquoise blue and very Inviting. My pics from St Johns are some of my best. The National Park is just a few steps from Where my cruise ship excursion landed on the dock. Don't miss this place.

Oh my goodness the minute you get to St Johns don't wait run and head straight to this office. They will give you the best information if you are in St Johns for the day or for a week plus! We have traveled to many National Parks over the years and all of them have been great but these volunteers take true pride in their knowledge of the island. If you are a National Park stamp collector they have a nice station right across from the information counter. Their gift shop is also like most a great place to get a few local souvenirs and information about the area and all the profits go to a great cause!!! The two women at the information desk asked us how long we were on the island for and what we wanted to see and the suggested an itinerary that most people would pay good money for!!! Since we really wanted to see sea turtles they sent us up Hwy 20 to Maho bay/beach where we parked for free and swam with sea turtles, sting ray, a few very small baby sharks (they were harmless), and schools of other fish. Check them out and take whatever advise they give you:)