Fodor's Expert Review Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve
If you want to learn more about St. Croix's indigenous Carib people while appreciating beautiful preserves that protect endangered species, head to this joint national and local park. Christopher Columbus's men skirmished with the Carib people here in 1493, on his second visit to what he deemed the New World. The peninsula on the bay's east side is named for the event: Cabo de las Flechas (Cape of the Arrows). A ball court, used by the Caribs in religious ceremonies, was discovered at the spot where the taxis park. Take a short hike up the dirt road to the ruins of an old earthen fort for great views of Salt River Bay. The area also encompasses a coastal estuary with the region's largest remaining mangrove forest, a submarine canyon, and several endangered species, including the hawksbill turtle and the roseate tern. The water at the beach can be on the rough side, but it's a nice place for sunning when the turtles aren't nesting. Local tour companies offer tours, including a visit to... READ MORE
If you want to learn more about St. Croix's indigenous Carib people while appreciating beautiful preserves that protect endangered species, head to this joint national and local park. Christopher Columbus's men skirmished with the Carib people here in 1493, on his second visit to what he deemed the New World. The peninsula on the bay's east side is named for the event: Cabo de las Flechas (Cape of the Arrows). A ball court, used by the Caribs in religious ceremonies, was discovered at the spot where the taxis park. Take a short hike up the dirt road to the ruins of an old earthen fort for great views of Salt River Bay. The area also encompasses a coastal estuary with the region's largest remaining mangrove forest, a submarine canyon, and several endangered species, including the hawksbill turtle and the roseate tern. The water at the beach can be on the rough side, but it's a nice place for sunning when the turtles aren't nesting. Local tour companies offer tours, including a visit to a pair of bioluminescent bays by kayak and pontoon boat. The park visitor center has been closed since Hurricane Maria damaged it in 2017.
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