Camelberg Trail

Camelberg Trail, St. John US Virgin Islands

Some intrepid St. John explorers turned me on to this not so well known hike, which follows an old Danish Road below Camelberg Mountain, as shown on Peter Oxholm’s map of St. John, published some 200 years ago.

The old Danish Road is apparent, but overgrown, the trail over the road is rough, maintained apparently by the few hikers that use it. Although the trail is fairly obvious and is marked in placed by ribbons, I used a GPS and a good map to reassure me of my location. An excellent map of St. John, containing most of the trails, as well as the old Oxholm Map of St. John can be purchased for the low price of $2.00 each or downloaded free of charge at http://www.trailbandit.org/store.htm

At first you will be following a mountain ridge, on a relatively flat forest trail shaded mostly by native dry forest trees. In this area you’ll pass by stands of smooth shiny barked, guavaberry, aromatic pepper cinnamon and bay rum trees and beautiful rock formations, decorated by algaes and colonized by anthuriums and bromiliads.

As you descend towards the L’Esperance Road, more sun penetrates the canopy and you’ll start seeing tyre palm stands and patches of bromiliads growing closely together.

The following is a description given to me by a previous explorer:

“The Camelberg Trail runs between Centerline Road and the L’Esperance Road, beginning just east of the BVI overlook on Centerline. There is parking on the south side of the road about 200 feet east of the overlook. Walk back toward the overlook, and when the bank in your left is about three feet high above the road, head into the woods. It is easy to see as others have gone before you. The route is whacked out but not cleared for a trail so don’t fall on the pungie stakes.

This old road is superb all the way out past Camelberg and you should have no trouble following it. As you head down toward Fish Bay, the trail is less obvious, but well hacked out. You should see tapes in the trees.

Camelberg Trail Ruin

As you approach the L’Esperance Road the trail forks near an some old ruins that aren’t much, but they are there. There are also many orchids here too. After the ruin, the track bears right and works it’s way down toward the gut and down to the L’Esperance Road. Ok, there aren’t any great views, but the part of the trail before you head down the hill runs through a beautiful forest. If you are interested, there is an old stone dam in the gut and a road heading to the south east from the dam. This road is hacked out part way but there is a 100 foot section that isn’t.

Ah, just when you thought you were done: turn left and hike toward Reef Bay on the L’Esperance Road. After you pass the gut that runs down to Fish Bay, and are heading up hill toward Reef Bay, turn left on the old road that heads north. Follow this road and diagonally up to the saddle. From the saddle, stay to the left side of  valley and you will find a track that takes you along the ridge, then turns left and down to the gut. Cross the gut and walk along to the next gut, and turn left and up the second gut. Keep looking to your left, and you will see the stonework on the side of a road that heads up and back toward Camelberg. It is back from the gut a bit so look closely. Follow this road steeply up the hill. After a bit, the road runs out, (probably it switchbacks up someplace). Just make your way up and left to the top of the ridge. There are various tapes in the trees from previous explorations. Once on the ridge, you should be able to follow the track of previous travelers, all the way back the Camelberg Trail. Turn right and walk back to your parked car.”

Here’s another in the series of newly cleared overlooks, the product of the hard work done by Jeff Chabot and his trail clearing volunteers. This one is the popular Lind Point Battery Overlook on the Lind Point Trail.

Lind Point Battery Overlook

view to the north from the bench on the Lind Point Battery Overlook

view into cruz bay

As promised here are some more photos of the overlooks recently cleared by Jeff Chabot and his crew of intrepid volunteers. From those of us who hike the trails of St. John:

THANK YOU!!!

View from the Bench on Caneel Hill

The Caneel Hill Bench

View from the Caneel Hill bench

Hikers following the Caneel Hill Trail beginning from the National Park Visitors Center in Cruz Bay or from the Caneel Hill Spur will arrive at a wooden bench just before they reach the summit of Caneel Hill. There is now a view from this very welcomed resting spot that at least for the view to the north goes, rivals the view from the viewing tower at the summit. This thanks to the hard work and dedication of the trail crew from the Appalachian Mountain Club.

Maria Hope Trail

In the last few years, the Maria Hope Trail has become a popular hiking venue. Passing through shady lush tropical forest, this old Danish Road provides Maho and Cinnamon Bay campers with convenient access to the Reef Bay Trail, historically significant ruins and a scenic overlook with bird’s eye views of Maho and Francis Bays and vistas extending eastward to West End Tortola and beyond.

There have been some complaints, however, about the fact that the trail runs over private land at the lower elevations. There is now a cure for that. Down on the lower section, just before the wire fence that crosses the trail, there is a nice trail that switchbacks down the hill and comes out at Maho Beach, just east of the green building on the beach.

Alternate entrance to the Maria Hope Trail

There is a road sign (West  RT. 20) where it comes out.

This new section of trail passes through the flats just inland from Maho Beach before the it begins its steep uphill climb.

Maho Bay Flats

The low lying flats present a unique forested environment without thick or thorny undergrowth making it easy to pass though and enjoy.

Overlook on the Maria Hope Trail

cannon buried in sand

Turner Point Trail Hike, St. John US Virgin Islands Saturday 01/09/2010

The adventure begins - Haulover Bay, East End, St. John

Ezius Ashley and I arrived at Haulover Bay on the East End of St. John around noon on Saturday. Ezius is only ten years old, but is the best hiker I ever set out on the off the beaten track trails of St. John, with the exception of the infamous Trail Bandit, I must ad.

This was my third attempt at this trail, my last two terminating at the ruins on the ridge above Elk Bay. My goal this time was to descend the other side of the hill to Water Creek, and see the ruins there and more importantly to make my way around the bay to the next point where an old cannon stands partly buried in the sand.

The Route

Turner Point Trail Map

We proposed to follow the shoreline of Haulover Bay heading west to the end of the beach. From there, a footpath of sorts leads into the bush rising to the top of the hill that forms the point separating Haulover Bay from Elk Bay and descends down to the cobble beach at the eastern extreme of Elk Bay.

Elk Bay can also be accessed from the south side of the East End Road (heading east) at the top of the last (highest) hill before going down into Haulover, where a trail descends steeply through a dry cactus scrub environment and leads to the beach at Elk Bay.

I find the Haulover access to be much more pleasant, cooler and more scenic, but both ways are possible.

Elk Bay

Scramble

The trail Ezius and I take crossing  the headland between Haulover and Elk Bays leads us to some flats where a huge tamarind tree stands in an area surrounded by the skeletons of century plants that have succumbed to the disease that is currently decimating the species on St. John.
Reaching the beach, we begin our walk west on the rocky shore enjoying the rhythmic melodious sound of the cobbles being washed back and forth by the waves. At about the middle of the beach there is a rocky outcropping that we must scramble over. A flat rock along the way provides us with some nice views and cooling ocean breezes.

wrecked boat

The next stretch of beach is much the same as before. We continue walking west over the colorful, round cobblestones passing a wrecked boat that had washed up on the beach.

We continue west for about 100 more yards scrambling over a small rocky outcropping, until we find the path, presently marked by pink ribbons that leads into the forest.

After a short walk over the flats behind the beach, the trail leads us up the hillside to the ridge.

ezius cuts away catch n keep

The ruins of several structures lie on the ridge top.

We spend some time exploring the ruins and Ezius helps clear access for a photograph, clipping away a patch of catch n keep.

On the other side of the ridge we pick up a trail going down the hillside. This trail is steeper then the last and it’s not long before we reach more ruins lying along the mangrove lined shore.

ruins at water creek

red mangroves at water creek

We have reached Water Creek a small protected cove completely lined by red mangroves. Snorkelers arriving aboard the sailboat, “Breath,” are exploring the undersea community of fish and sea creatures in the mangrove environment.

The ruins here are in better condition and more easily accessed than those on the ridge. Nearby we find a well, many old bottles and a goats’ skull bleached white by the sun.

In order to reach are goal of photographing the cannon we must bushwhack along the coast to the next point of land. There’s no trail so the going is slow, but we’re intrepid explorers and we emerge from the forest at the rock and sand beach just south of water creek.

There’s our cannon!

map

the cannon

We return the way we came, arriving back at Haulover Bay at about 4:00. We had been gone about four hours. I’m tired, Ezius’s battery is still on full charge.

Caneel Hill Viewing Tower

Before 1985 there was a wooden viewing tower atop Caneel Hill, built by National Park contracted workers. That year the powerful Hurricane Hugo destroyed the tower leaving it pretty much a pile of debris, a state in which it remained for some 21 years.

In 2006, a St. John resident, Frank Cummings, who operates SNUBA, decided to do something about it. With some persistence, he was able to obtain both permission and partial funding from the National Park to construct a new tower atop the 719-foot high hilltop. Work began in May of 2006 with the help of private volunteers and additional funding provided by Steve Black. The debris was removed and carried down the hill and the new construction materials were carried up.

Volunteers carried up the 80-pound bags of cement, containers of water, tools and afsteners. Teachers from the Baptist school brought up a generator, and Boy Scouts from Illinois helped bring up the recycled lumber substitute along with volunteers from the Friends of the Park.

The tower can be reached via the Caneel Hill Trail

Reef Bay Sugar Mill Ruins

Over the last few months I’ve been checking out the trails, scrambles, snorkels and places described in my book, St. John Off The Beaten Track, looking for changes and updates for the upcoming 2010 edition.

Dean Doeling at Par Force Estate

Yesterday’s adventure was the Reef Bay Coastal Walk, for which I was fortunate enough to enjoy the company of Dean Doeling, the founder of Using Sports for Social Change.

Despite the appearance of some threatening squalls moving along the Caribbean coast on St. John’s south shore, it turned out to be a perfect hiking day, that is some sunshine for taking photos and some cloud cover to mitigate some of the negative effects of our tropical summer sunshine. The little bit of rain that fell on us was just enough to be refreshing without leaving us soaking wet.

The first surprise of the day was the great job that was done on the steep  trail leading down to Parrot Bay, transforming the once slippery path into a rustic set of stairs fashioned out of pieces of treated lumber supported by rebar stakes – my thanks to whoever was responsible, Nice job!

We walked along the deserted beach, from where you could see, looking out to the east the southern shoreline and mountain valleys of St. John all the way to Ram’s Head, 100% natural – no developments, no houses, condos hotels or what have you just the emerald green mountains, the reddish-white rock  of the White Cliffs, blue skies and turquoise seas. A light invigorating onshore breeze carried the smells of the gently breaking surf and the nearby rain squalls.

At the end of the beach we scrambled over the colorful red and white “Chocolate Hole rocks” to Little Reef Bay and the only lagoon on St. John, then we hiked the short spur trail that takes you to the Reef Bay Trail near the sugar mill ruins.

The second surprise was that National Park crews had recently finished a great job of clearing around the ruins of the sugar factory, which looked better than I have ever seen them.

Before returning back to our starting point we checked out the Reef Bay Estate House, the seldom visited Par Force Estate ruins and the petroglyphs.

All in all, this is a really great hike offering access to many of the attractions of the Reef Bay Trail ( Sugar Mill ruins, Petroglyphs, Great House and Par Force Ruins) but substituting a sea level shoreline scramble for the steep decent down the Reef Bay Valley that failing arrangements for a pick up by boat would necessitate an arduous climb back up the valley.

Boiling Bench	Steam Engine
Cane Crushers	Shoreline Flower

Europa Point Overlook

The Europa Point Trail is a spur trail off of the Lameshur Bay Trail. It was an old national Park Trail that was abandoned by the park and reopened by local hikers. Assuming that you’re starting out at Lameshur Beach, the intersection of the two trails can be found  just before the Lameshur Bay Trail begins it’s long upward climb.

The Europa Point Spur follows the ridge of the Europa Point, leading through some dry forest into a  rugged cactus scrub environment near the top of the headland. The trail ends at an overlook with some really cool views.

Europa Point Tail

The trail begins at Lameshur Bay	Ruins	Lameshur Bay Trail through lowlands
Dramatic Gorge	Trail over headland leading to overlook	Overlook looking west towards Europa Bay

View From Tektite Trail

You Gotta Be There
Yesterday I hiked the Tektite Trail from the trailhead to the Cabritte Horn Point Overlook. It’s not that I didn’t remember the hike; it’s just that actually being there reinforced just how spectacular are the views along this trail. It’s like the beaches of St. John, with one beautiful beach after another, so are the views along this trail , which once supported the Tektite Project.

Views From the Tektite Trail – St. John USVI

View to the West	Ruin at Top of First Hill	Cabritte Horn Point Overlook
View of Grootpan Bay *	Beehive Cove **(Tektite Snorkel)	Rocky Gorge

* Grootpan Bay

** Tektite Snorkel

The Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park have just completed their project of a handicap accessible boardwalk running along the salt pond at Francis Bay. It’s really a great thing, not just for the handicapped, but also for the general public and the environment.

Now people in wheelchairs can have the opportunity to go “off road” on St. John, to experience the mangrove forest and salt pond environment and to be able to engage in bird watching, safely and comfortably.

The boardwalk, which runs above ground eases the problem that often plagued this particular section of the trail, which was that after strong rains the trail would become flooded and  muddy. The elevation of the boardwalk is also sound environmentally as it allows wildlife to be able to pass underneath naturally, unrestricted by the trail.

An early morning trail walk
Wanting to check out the new project, I took a walk on the trail early in the morning. I parked the car near the stone building at the intersection of the Leinster Bay Road and the Maho Bay Campground access road and began my walk.

The Francis Bay Trail is probably the easiest trail  walk on St. John. It’s only a little more than a quarter mile long, there’s only one small hill to climb and the trail itself is in excellent condition, cleared and smoothed.

At the top of the trail’s only hill are two benches where you can sit and observe the activity in the salt pond below. There’s also a great view of the St. John coast and the islands and cays looking to the west. The trail descends from there to the beach at Francis Bay. Here you’ll come across some tall tamarind trees and the footing for what must have been a dock sometime ago. You can access the beach from here or continue along the trail which now runs through the mangrove forest right alongside the Francis Bay Salt Pond.

After about twenty yards or so you’ll come across a wooden bench strategically placed to observe the pond. Continuing along the trail you come to the new boardwalk, which runs from there to where the trail exits near the Francis Bay Beach. The boardwalk includes a bench  and a pier that juts out into the pond from where you can have an excellent view of the birds and ducks and crabs that frequent this environment.

So if you suffer from a handicap that limits your ability to walk, if you like bird watching, if you want to experience a salt pond or would just like to see some of the off the beaten track areas of St. John with a minimum of exertion, this is the trail for you.

an old residence on the trail	benches on hilltop overlooking the pond	a nicely cleared mostly level trail
Francis Bay Beach	bench overlooking the Francis Bay Salt Pond	handicap access boardwalk
handicap access bench	handicap access pier	doves at pond