Accessible only by hiking trails or boat, Reef Bay offers a peaceful day in nature and giant step back in time – like 3000 years! Park at Little Lameshur Bay, and trek the moderate 2 miles) or get there from the Reef Bay Trail Head a trail entrance on Centerline Road. Don’t forget your water bottles as you begin your descent into St. John history.
Reef Bay Petroglyphs
Petroglyphs are rock carvings assumed by scholars to be made by the first human inhabitants to the island starting around 200AD. The Tainos were hunters and gatherers and also settled in what is now Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and other islands around the Caribbean. The carvings are very interesting and are assumed to be representations of animal life. Other theories of the origins of the petroglyphs on St. John exist, as the petroglyph symbols are deemed similar to others from Africa and even Libya.
Reef Bay Sugar Plantation
First settled as a cotton and cattle plantation, Reef Bay began milling sugarcane and distilling rum on St. John early in the 18th century. See the well preserved ruins of the estate up-close and personal on the Reef Bay trail.
Taino Culture
The Tainos inhabited St. John long before Columbus “discovered” the Virgin Islands. Taino people are typically represented as having long hair with short bangs cut straight across. Taino society had two classes, nobles and commoners, and each tribe was governed by a respected elder chief (male or female. In the absence of a male Taino heir, succession would go to the oldest child of the deceased’s sister. Living mainly an agrarian lifestyle, the Taínos were also skilled at hunting and fishing.
