My wife an I have been invited to stay for a week in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. this winter with relatives who are renting a house on the island. :sun I know from a previous 1-day visit to the island that it is a short ferry trip to St. John Island, of which the majority of the island is the Virgin Islands National Park. Looking at a map of St. John, I see a few trails of a mile or two each and just one designated camping area. I am toying with the idea of slipping over there for a full day or even an overnighter if such is permitted. This would be "solo" since there is no way that my wife would camp when a perfectly good house is available on the next island over.

I sent an e-mail via the NPS website, but no reply so far. Anyone have an familiarity with St. John to know if this is even a practical idea? There is something about hiking and hammocking on a tropical island that seems neat, but I may be way off base and the destination might not be appropriate for this? I don't want to end up hiking and camping in Disneyland. Is camping actually limited to this one camping area? Any other insight or ideas?

Send Tha Wookie a PM. He spends time in the VI.

Send Tha Wookie a PM. He spends time in the VI.

PM sent. Thanks.

Backpacking, camping and long hikes are generally not appropriate for St John. I would recommend day trips and short hikes. There is a short hike to Lind Point and Solomon Beach from town. The most popular hike is the Reef Bay Trail. I recommend the organized hike (by the National Park) that has a boat meet you at Reef bay for the ride back to town.

The campgrounds have permanent cabin "tents". Over the years the private campground at Maho Bay gets slightly better review: www.maho.org (http://www.maho.org)

Rambler

Arambler is generally right on target. There is no real backpacking in SJNP, legally that is.

HOWEVER, stealth camping is an unofficial option. If this sounds appealing, bring your hammock, cause there is little flat ground on the island, except for beaches. It would be nothing to scoot off a trail and find some suitable trees.

This place is no disneyland. It's mostly undeveloped and very rugged. It's amazingly beautiful. All the trails are great, and either up or down. Plus there's cheap busses and more expensive cabs on the island.

If you're going to follow the law, I recommend staying at the VIERS facility, which is connected to some great trails, prehistoric sites with ancient rock art, and of course amazing coral reefs beneath the water. It's much less touristy than Maho, although that place is cool too. Tell them Nate from The Virgin Island Sustainable Farm Institute sent you. They are at: http://www.islands.org/virgin/viers/

Also, there is a cool new ecolodge on Water Island, which is the fourth Virgin Island. I hear it's pretty cool, but it's not a "park" experience.

do it...... you'll be glad

St.John has one of the nicest snorkeling areas in the V.I. You might want to check out a different kind of trail. I believe that's called aqua blazing.....