North Shore · Virgin Islands National Park

Francis Bay

A quarter-mile beach with calm water, good for beginners and turtle-watching, plus a pond trail for birds.

Beginner snorkelingTurtlesQuietBirding

Road access with parking; a trail loops around the Francis Bay pond.

Picnic tables and toilets.

Usually calm with good visibility. Snorkel the rock shoreline for schools of juvenile fish, small coral heads, and sea turtles. Ideal for beginners.

These facts describe what the National Park Service documents — not a live or guaranteed same-day condition.NPS source ↗· verified June 30, 2026

Before you go

Check the day, not just the beach

Live DPNR bulletins and sample history for St. John beaches are on the beach directory page, each with its own freshness.

Wind direction and swell decide whether this shore is calm today; UV decides how long midday sand is comfortable.

Trail, road, and beach closures are published by the park itself — check the official NPS conditions page before you head out.

Same shore

A long white-sand beach with a marked underwater snorkel trail and the island’s fullest set of facilities.

The longest beach on St. John, gently sloping, with a café, beach shop, and watersports center beside the campground.

A calm, roadside beach known for large seagrass beds where green sea turtles feed.

A close-to-Cruz Bay beach with three small Elkhorn-coral reefs near shore.

Two quieter bays reached by a short hike from the park sign, with a fringing reef to the west.

One of St. John’s best snorkeling spots, around a small cay reached on foot from the Annaberg area.