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Posted by Dave on April 28, 2008 at 2:50:04 pm EDT
In reply to Camping & hiking on St.John US Virgin Is. posted by arborrider05 on April 24, 2008 at 5:34:21 pm EDT

The trails on St. John are mostly short out-and backs, and it can be difficult to hook up any loops without some potentially dangerous road walks. The best trail map is "The Trail Bandit's Guide to the Hiking Trails of St. John, V.I.", which includes many trails and old roads which aren't shown on the official park service maps. Many of the trails are old plantation roads that have been re-opened by the Trail Bandit himself (a.k.a. Bob Garrison of Henniker, NH). You can order the map or view it for free on the Trail Bandit's web site at http://www.trailbandit.org/

I wish I'd known about this map before we went to St. John this winter. Luckily someone (maybe the Trail Bandit himself?) left a copy under the windshield wiper of our rental car while it was parked at the Reef Bay trailhead. Unfortunately that was also our last day of hiking on the island, so we weren't able to take full advantage.

We didn't camp when we were there, but I have several friends who have returned to camp on the island numerous times. However, I don't recall whether they stayed at Cinnamon or Maho, although I think bare campsites are only available at Cinnamon. In any case, the options will be more limited in a couple years. The Maho Bay campground is on private land and its lease ends in 2012, at which point the area will probably be developed for houses or a resort. More info here: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17621493

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• Re: Camping & hiking on St.John US Virgin Is. - arborrider05 17:59:06 04/29/2008

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