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Maho Bay
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 Maho Bay St John USVI |
Why Maho Bay?
Maho is the only beach on St. John's north shore that you can
drive right up to. It's the very informality of this beautiful
and often-photographed beach that makes it so special. It's
right there by the side of the road, no parking lots or signs,
just the beach. Stately groves of coconut palms line both sides
of the road. Just pull over under a maho tree and there you
are!
In addition to its convenience, Maho Bay is calm and shallow, making it a great place to bring the kids, get them used to the water or teach them how to swim.
See Video of kids palying at Maho Bay
Getting There
Maho Bay is located about 1.25 miles past Cinnamon Bay or 5.2
miles past Mongoose Junction going east on Route 20. Park off
the side of the road.
Facilities
There is a Virgin Islands National Park pavilion on the extreme
western portion of the beach. A permit must be obtained from
the park in order to use this facility. This permit will also
entitle you to use the bathrooms to the west of the pavilion,
which are otherwise locked and not available to the general
public. The park will explain the rules and conditions pertaining
to the use of the pavilion. (Call the National Park at 776-6201.)
At the eastern part of the beach there is a trail, called the Goat Trail, which leads to the Maho Bay Campground at Little Maho Bay.
 Maho Bay Morning |
 Beach Maho Flower |
About
Maho Bay
Maho Bay was named after the Hibiscus tilaceus or beach
maho, a tree commonly found on the St. John shoreline and
throughout the tropics. The beach Maho has a distinctive heart-shaped
leaf and produces attractive yellow flowers that later turn purple.
The small green fruit of the maho is not edible, but a bush tea
can be made from the leaf.
Interestingly, Maho Bay, now a relatively narrow beach, was once one of the widest beaches in St. John. The "horse kids" of St. John took advantage of this characteristic, as well as the great length of the beach, to have horse races on the sand. The narrowing of the beach came as a result of the removal of sand by the government to construct Cruz Bay roads and the Julius Sprauve School. This was done at a time when the dynamics of sand production and sand loss were not yet understood.
In the summer, the genip tree by the side of the road produces some of the sweetest genips on St. John.
Snorkeling
Maho Bay
The waters off Maho Bay are calm and shallow. The bay is well
sheltered and is a popular anchorage for yachts from the Virgin
Islands and Puerto Rico, especially on long weekends. The sea
bottom is a mixture of soft sand and seagrass, although there
has been a proliferation of algae lately. In the past, Maho Bay
was a great source of conch and sea turtles. The stresses of
sand removal, anchor damage and over-fishing have all but eliminated
the conch population, but sea turtles, now protected by law,
can still often be found here.
The shoreline on the southern coast of the bay provides an interesting area to explore, as is the rocky shoreline and fringing reef on the north going out towards the Campground at Little Maho Bay, especially around the point that separates the two bays.
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Recent Developments
The 438-acre estate Maho Bay, belonged to Harvey Monroe Marsh, who
passed it on to 11 of his heirs, each owning an equal share. The
Virgin Islands National Park purchased three of these shares in
the 1970s and in 2003, the Trust for Public Land, a not-for-profit
conservationist organization bought one share.
On September 5, the Trust for Public Land signed a contract to buy the shares of six of the seven remaining heirs,
415 Acres To be Added to Virgin Islands National Park
