Virgin Islands National Park

Virgin Islands National Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Trunk Bay
Map showing the location of Virgin Islands National Park
Map showing the location of Virgin Islands National Park
Map showing the location of Virgin Islands National Park
Map showing the location of Virgin Islands National Park
LocationUnited States Virgin Islands
Nearest cityCharlotte Amalie
Coordinates18°20′0″N 64°44′0″W / 18.33333°N 64.73333°W / 18.33333; -64.73333
Area14,737 acres (59.64 km2)[1]
EstablishedAugust 2, 1956
Visitors112,287 (in 2018)[2]
Governing bodyNational Park Service
Websitewww.nps.gov/viis/ Edit this at Wikidata

The Virgin Islands National Park is a national park of the United States preserving about 60% of the land area of Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as more than 5,500 acres (2,226 ha; 9 sq mi) of adjacent ocean, and nearly all of Hassel Island, just off the Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas harbor.

The park is well known for scuba diving and snorkeling, and has miles of hiking trails through the tropical rainforest.

Cruz Bay is the gateway port to the park, as well as the visitor center location. Ferries operate hourly from Red Hook, St. Thomas, thrice daily from Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas and West End, Tortola, twice daily from Jost Van Dyke, and twice weekly from Virgin Gorda.[3]

Two category 5 hurricanes impacted the Virgin Islands in September 2017, Irma and Maria.[4] The park received 112,287 visitors in 2018, after having received 304,408 visitors in 2017, and an average of more than 450,000 visitors per year in the preceding ten-year period from 2007 to 2016.[2] The park was reopened in December 2017 with all roads, trails and beaches declared accessible to visitors.[5]

  1. ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved 2012-03-07. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
  2. ^ a b "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  3. ^ "Virgin Islands Ferry Schedules". Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  4. ^ "Hurricane Recovery Journal". nps.gov. National Park Service. June 14, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  5. ^ "Virgin Islands National Park is All Open!". nps.gov. National Park Service. December 21, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2019.