St. John Trails: Reef Bay Coastal Walk

The Reef Bay Coastal Walk provides an alternative route to the historic Reef Bay Sugar Mill, the petroglyphs and the Reef Bay Estate House, normaly reached via either the Reef Bay or Lameshur Bay Trails. By taking short trails, walking along the beach and scrambling around small headlands, one can cover the entire perimeter of Reef Bay. The distance between the Reef Bay Sugar Mill Ruins and Parrot Bay on the western end of Reef Bay is about 1.2 miles.

Little Reef Bay

About the Bay
Reef Bay refers to the large bay on the south side of St. John between Cocoloba Cay on the west and the White Cliffs on the east. Within the larger bay are three beaches one of which is an inner bay. On the west is a beach called Reef Bay or Parrot Bay. The next beach to the east is Little Reef Bay, named after the plantation whose ruins lie amidst the vegetation behind the beach. The third and easternmost beach makes up most of the shoreline of Genti Bay, which is an inner bay of Reef Bay. Genti Bay is the location of the Reef Bay sugar factory ruins, which lie at the end of the Reef Bay Trail.

A long line of reef extends parallel to the shoreline of Reef Bay. The reef protects the beaches and coastline from the force of the ocean swells. An extensive shallow lagoon lies between the shore and the reef.

The Name
Parrot Bay was named after Rif Paret, an overseer on the Friis plantation established in 1727 on the western portion of Reef Bay.

The larger Reef Bay, that encompasses Parrot, Little Reef and Genti Bays, may also have been named after Rif Paret. Old maps of Reef Bay show various spellings of the word Reef including Rif, Riif, Riff, Rift and possibly Riss.

St. John historian, David Knight, feels that the name Reef Bay is really a corruption of “Rift Bay” pointing out “that the original name for this quarter was Rift Bay and not Reef Bay.” There also exists the possibility that Reef Bay was named after the long barrier reef that is the most significant characteristic of the bay.

Trail to Parrot Bay

Getting There
Only Parrot Bay at the western end of Reef Bay can be accessed by road. From the Texaco Station in Cruz Bay, take the South Shore Road (Route 104) east to the Fish Bay Road. Go 1.7 miles to the intersection of Marina Drive and Reef Bay Road. Bear left onto Reef Bay Road and go up the hill. Turn left after the concrete strip of road ends, about 0.2 mile from the intersection. Go 0.2 mile further and park on the right side of the road across from the house with the new green metal roof.

Parrot Bay

The path to the beach starts at the utility pole. The top of the trail is steep. You will find a length of knotted rope secured to various trees that you can grab onto for support as you descend this steepest section of the trail. Be careful on the rest of the path, as it too can be tricky and slippery at times, especially after a rain. At the bottom of the hill, the trail levels off and leads to the beach at Parrot Bay.

Head east along the white sandy beach. It is a delightful walk, as there is generally a brisk, cooling ocean breeze. You will also be treated to the sight and sound of the waves breaking over the outer reef as well as to an excellent view of the unspoiled south coast of St. John from Reef Bay to Ram Head Point and into the inner valleys of Reef Bay. This is one of the few large areas in the Virgin Islands that has not been developed and remains in a pristine and natural state.

Sea Purselane

Much of the ground cover at the beginning of the line of first vegetation is the edible sea purslane. It has a salty taste and is traditionally used in green salads.

Further inland are seagrape and beach maho trees interspersed with areas of mangroves.

About 30 yards before the end of the beach, there is a small coconut grove just inland. It's easy to get to and if you're in luck, there will be lots of coconuts to eat - hard ripe ones on the ground and the even more delicious jelly nuts up in the tree.

Headland Between Little Reef
and Parrot Bays

At the eastern end of the beach you will come to some colorful red and white rocks around the point going left. It's an easy scramble over these rocks to the beach at Little Reef Bay.

The shallow lagoon gets much wider here. This is a habitat for baby sharks, tarpon, bonefish and barracuda. The baby sharks, mostly black tips, are quite a sight to behold. They are between one and two feet long and, because the water is so shallow, their dorsal fins stick out of the water, just like in the movies. Don't worry about them biting you, they are very shy and timid and swim away as soon as they see you.

As you walk down the beach at Little Reef Bay you will have an extensive view of the south coast. The only human-made structure in sight will be the chimney of the Reef Bay Sugar Mill abandoned almost a century ago.

A narrow strip of soft white sand, fringed by maho trees and mangroves, lies between the lagoon and the forested interior. Behind this vegetation is an area of low-lying flat land that began to be cultivated in 1726, eight years after the Danish West India and Guinea Company colonized St. John.

History of Little Reef Bay
Of the twelve plantations in the Reef Bay watershed, Little Reef Bay was the only one that never engaged in sugar cultivation and was instead dedicated to cotton, provision crops, and the raising of cattle and other livestock. Little Reef Bay historically provided much of the food for the neighboring sugar producing estates of Reef Bay. The first owner of the land was Philip Adam Dietrichs, a Lutheran priest in St. Thomas. Because pastors received a minimal salary in those times, the governor of the colony presented the estate to Dietrichs in order to help him make ends meet.

The tasks of clearing the land, planting the crops and building the needed structures were performed by a small number of slaves who worked from sunup to sundown on that arid, windswept parcel of land in order to provide a supplementary income for the underpaid man of God. Because Dietrichs lived in St. Thomas where he continued to minister to his parishioners, an overseer was hired to wield the whip and be responsible for the success of this marginally profitable enterprise. Dietrichs eventually left St. Thomas and returned to Denmark. The estate was sold to Jannes Runnels and stayed in the Runnels family for about the next 100 years.

In 1841, Catherine Michel, a free woman of mixed race, inherited the Little Reef Bay plantation along with 26 head of cattle, 40 sheep, 8 horses and 27 enslaved human beings. It was a hard life for all concerned, Catherine Michel, her six children, and the slaves. When emancipation was declared in 1848, there were only two acres of land under cultivation to support the Michel family and the slaves, who were predominantly women and children.

Even after emancipation in the Danish West Indies, the former slaves were bound to their estates by labor contracts, which they were forced to sign. The “workers” on the Little Reef Bay Estate were reluctant to continue laboring on that unproductive and poor piece of land. Catherine Michel was ill, as were her children, and by 1870 all had died, apparently of the dread disease, leprosy.

Little Reef Bay was then sold to Henry Marsh who owned the neighboring Par Force plantation where the sugar works were. In 1926, it was sold to A. A. Richardson, the island administrator, who had 30 acres of land under cultivation and a herd of 25 cattle. Richardson sold milk, mangos, coconuts, bananas and limes that were produced on the estate. In 1956, Little Reef Bay became the property of the Virgin Islands National Park.

(Information about the history of the Little Reef Bay Estate comes from “A Brief History of the Little Reef Bay Estate,” by David Knight and “Historic Land Use in the Reef Bay Fish Bay and Hawksnest Watersheds, St. John U.S. Virgin Islands” by George F. Tyson.)

Turn of the 20th Century House

Finding the Ruins
The ruins of the Little Reef Bay Plantation can be found just about ten yards inshore of a patch of mother-in-law tongue or snake plant (sansevieria), that was once cultivated as an ornamental, but got out of hand. They consist of long, pointed, variegated, dark-green leaves that rise from the ground to a height of about three feet and grow close together. The patch extends right to the beach line. Another clue is a tall date palm that you should be able to see further inland than the ruins.

If you're not keen on plant identification, here's another way to find them: As you walk down the beach towards the east, there are two places where vegetation extends into the water. At these points, you will either have to get your feet wet, climb through the tangle of limbs, or find a passage through the bush inland. The remains of the Little Reef Bay plantation lie behind the second of these detours.

The ruins consist of a four-sided stone wall that once supported a house made out of sticks woven together and then plastered with mortar made out of lime and mud. This traditional construction is known as “daub and wattle.” Just to the east of the house, is a taller wall that was a part of the plantation warehouse. Also in the vicinity, are the remains of a stone oven and the cookhouse.

Turn of the Century House
Just to the east of the warehouse ruins are the remains of an old stone house covered with pink plaster. There are ornamental plants and fruit trees near the building. In back of this house is a stately date palm. Mother-in-law tongue, hibiscus and bougainvillea are all growing in profusion around these ruins. Most of these plants were obviously cultivated as landscaping by the inhabitants of the house. Near the house are the remains of an old cattle corral, a remnant of the fairly recent cattle-farming operation in the valley. The estate house and warehouse were built in the late eighteenth century; this house was built near the turn of the twentieth century.

History of the House
When the Little Reef Bay Estate was sold to Henry Marsh, a one-acre parcel was split off and given to the one loyal servant, named Margreth, who stayed with Catherine Michel and her family throughout the days of deprivation and the horrors of leprosy.

The house had remained in fair condition, roof and all, until Hurricane Marilyn struck in 1995. This property is called an inholding because it is still privately owned and is not part of the National Park. The lack of access to this and other inholdings in the Park is currently a much-discussed political issue.

Swimming Beach
The best place for swimming in Reef Bay is at the eastern end Little Reef Bay, near the rocks along the eastern shore (to your left if you're looking out to sea). The beach is soft white sand, and the entrance to the water is in sand and grass. The water is deeper and the bottom is sandier and more comfortable than the beaches at either Parrot Bay or Genti Bay. Another plus is the almost guaranteed privacy afforded by the remote location.

The Little Reef Bay Trail
At the eastern end of the beach, the trail to the Reef Bay Sugar Mill begins about thirty yards from the first large rocks. At the beginning of this trail, is an old stone cistern and animal watering trough surrounded by hibiscus and bougainvillea.

The Little Reef Bay Trail connects the beach at Little Reef Bay with the bottom of the Reef Bay Trail near the sugar mill ruins. The well-maintained path is a little over a quarter-mile long and passes over the rocky point separating Genti Bay from Little Reef Bay. The trail goes up a hill and then down again reaching an elevation of about 75 feet. The environment is one of disturbed, second growth cactus scrub. The trail leading to the L’Esperance Road connects with the Little Reef Bay Trail at its highest point.

History of the Trail
Not long ago, the Little Reef Bay Trail did not even have a name. The account of how this trail became a clear readily passable pathway with an actual name goes like this:

The highly popular guided Reef Bay Trail hike, organized by the National Park and conducted by knowledgeable rangers, includes boat transportation from the end of the trail at Genti Bay back to Cruz Bay. This eliminates the necessity of the highly unpopular uphill walk back to Centerline Road.

Before Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, there was a dock at Genti Bay. Hikers were brought by dinghy from the dock to a larger boat that would then make the voyage to Cruz Bay. After Hurricane Marilyn destroyed the dock, the tour operators attempted to board their passengers onto the dinghy from the shallow water near the shore. Because there are often waves breaking near the beach, the task of loading the dinghies with people unaccustomed to small boats proved to be difficult and dangerous.

As an alternative to building another dock, it was decided that Little Reef Bay, which is generally calm at the eastern end, would be a safe place to put the hikers aboard the dinghy. (Years ago, the only dock in the valley was on the eastern end of Little Reef Bay because this was the only place in all of Reef Bay to have protection from the wind, waves and swells while still having deep water access.)

The trail from Little Reef Bay to Genti Bay was then cleaned up by Park employed workers and has been given a high priority for maintenance ever since.