St. Croix hikes come in two flavors: the East End's dry, cactus-lined headlands — which start practically at the villa's gate — and the west's genuine rainforest, all mahogany shade and ruins. None are long by mainland standards; all end somewhere that earns the sweat.
A 301-acre Nature Conservancy preserve holding two undeveloped white-sand bays reachable only on foot. Free, cactus-lined trail from the lot just before Point Udall; sea turtles nest on both beaches and the snorkeling is superb.
The East End ridge's ~670-foot summit — a stiff walk to 360° views down the island's spine, across both coasts, to Buck Island.
The easternmost point of the United States, marked by the Millennium Monument sundial. Drive-up views and the Jack & Isaac trailhead — the villa's sunrise pilgrimage.
The famous one: ~3.6 miles round trip through rainforest to natural tide pools in the cliffs. Go at low tide on a calm day — the pools are dangerous in swell — and wear real shoes.
A steady ~30-minute climb through shaded forest to a Danish cast-iron lighthouse (1913–15) on a bluff 360 feet over the sea; extend along Maroon Ridge, the historic refuge of people who escaped enslavement.
Walk or 4x4 the unpaved Scenic Road through the island's western “Rain Forest” — mahogany, kapok and turpentine trees — past the 1926 Creque Dam.
Both outfits guide the tide pools, Creque Dam and more — worth it for the natural history you'd otherwise walk past.
The Cerulean puts twelve of you on a private beach, fifteen minutes from town — check your dates.