Cinnamon Bay Trail

The Cinnamon Bay Trail climbs from the popular Cinnamon Bay Beach campground over the central ridge of St. John and descends toward Centerline Road, passing through some of the island's most historically significant forest. Along this route, hikers encounter remnants of Taino petroglyphs—stone carvings left by the indigenous Arawakan-speaking people who inhabited St. John for centuries before European contact in the late 15th century. The trailside forest is a complex mosaic of secondary growth, plantation-era remnants, and native species, including maho, turpentine tree, and strangler fig, with occasional large specimens of kapok that once shaded plantation workers. At higher elevations, the forest opens to views over Cinnamon Bay and the Sir Francis Drake Channel. The trail also passes the ruins of a colonial-era sugar factory and several terraced agricultural walls, silent evidence of the intensive land modification that transformed St. John during the Danish colonial period. The descent toward Centerline Road passes through ruins of a large 18th-century estate. Mongoose, white-tailed deer (an introduced species), and hermit crabs are frequently encountered on the trail. Humidity is high year-round; morning starts and good hydration are essential.