Klein Bay
Excerpted from St. John Off The Beaten Track © 2006 Gerald Singer

Klein Bay, St John South Shore

Select a Beach: Snorkeling ------ North Shore Beaches ------ Salomon Bay Honeymoon Bay Caneel Bay Scott Bay Turtle Bay Caneel Hawksnest Hawksnest Bay Little Hawksnest Bay Gibney Beach Very Little Hawksnest Denis Bay Jumbie Beach Trunk Bay Cinnamon Bay Little Cinnamon Bay Maho Bay Little Maho Bay Francis Bay Leinster Bay / Waterlemon ------ East End Beaches ------ Brown Bay Haulover (North) Hansen Bay/Vie's Haulover (South) ------ South Shore Beaches ------ Salt Pond Kiddel Bay Grootpan Great Lameshur Bay Lameshur Bay Europa Bay Reef Bay Genti Bay Little Reef Bay Parrot Bay ------ Cruz Bay Area Beaches ------ Ditleff Point Klein Bay Monte Bay Hart Bay Chocolate Hole Great Cruz Bay Frank Bay Cruz Bay

Klein Bay is a cobblestone beach, where one can delight in the colorful polished stones and beautiful pieces of bleached white coral that make up the beach. and extend into the water along the shoreline for about twenty feet and up to a depth of about three feet. The bottom then changes to one of larger rocks and reef for about another twenty feet before becoming the sand and grass bottom which characterizes the majority of the bay.

Listen to musical sound of the cobble rolling about in the Klein Bay surf. See Klein Bay video

Getting There
Starting from the Texaco Station take Route 104 east 1.6 miles. When the road forks, bear right and continue following the south shore coastline. Make the first right turn onto the road which leads to Klein Bay. Make the second right turn and park at the end of the road, where a short path leads to the beach. Although the access road is private, no attempts have been made to restrict public access to the beach.

Klein Bay

The Name
The name Klein Bay comes from the Dutch and German word klein meaning small.

Swimming
Although the entrance into the water is a bit difficult, the swimming is good. Enter between the center and eastern portion of the beach. It is safe to walk on the pebble bottom. When that ends, swim or snorkel over the area of larger rocks to avoid the sea urchins.

Snorkeling
There is good snorkeling along the rocks on both sides of the bay. The underwater grasslands may also hold pleasant surprises for patient snorkelers - look for conch, turtles and spotted eagle rays.