Does anyone know what the current policy is on Salomon Beach St. John regarding nude sunbathing? I am about to take a trip to the island and have heard conflicting things about nude sunbathing at Salomon. Any tips appreciated.

There is no legal nude sunbathing anywhere in the USVI. At Salomon if you get snagged by a ranger you will be told to put clothes on and/or fined.

I am aware that officially it is illegal but had heard that the park rangers were rather lax about enforcing this rule. Has something changed?

Nothing has changed. The official policy has always been no nudity. Whether the rangers are enforcing it at any given time is a chance you may or may not be willing to take. Personally I do my nude sunbathing on the deck of my villa. I don't really need other people looking at me. I'll pass on that.

Has anybody had any recent experiences?

<BR>I'll go ahead and plant myself on Salomon with a whistle and a camera and just wait for you to arrive. If your sorry white butt decides to show out, the ranger (that's me) will fine you, and ruin your vacation. Thank-you.

You really are funny, "Be afraid". Ha ha ha ha. I don't understand why these discussions always drift off to the ridiculous..... Stick to the point!

Oz Water: Your question is legitimate and the answers are, for the most part, correct. Officially, nudity IS non de rigeur - not to mention illegal - in the V.I. Nudity at Salomon and a couple of other beaches was ignored for several years but it's been recently clamped down on and I wouldn't take any chances unless you really want to chance that your vacation will be ruined. You can still enjoy the wonderful beaches here with "minimal" bathing attire but, when in Rome......

Hi Oz! My information may be a bit outdated. We spent about 2 hours at Salomon Beach in June '99 (yes, 3 years ago!), and there were quite a few nude sunbathers, mostly men. We didn't see any patrol at that time, but we were there for only a few hours. Your best bet is to go and see what other people are doing. If you go early in the morning, it's likely that there'll be less people.

Rangers stop by a couple of times a day and they do give tickets now.

I was there only a month ago and noticed that the rangers showed up on a couple of occasions to check on people. Noone seemed to get fined though.