Lameshur Bay
Lameshur Bay is located on the rugged south shore of St John. Its remote location, beautiful sand beach, sugar mill ruins and access to several great hiking trails make it one of my top choices for best beaches on St John.
Getting there:
Although you’ll see cars make the trek – this dirt road really should only be traveled in a 4×4.
Coming from Cruz Bay you can take Centerline Road ( Rte 10) or North Shore Road (RTE 20) toward Coral Bay. At the bottom of the steep hill coming into Coral Bay you’ll come to a “T” intersection. Take a right and travel the twisting winding road about 5 mi., past Concordia and Salt Pond. At the end of the paved road you’ll find the entrance road to VIERS and the 2 Lameshur bays.
Lameshur Bay beach
Just over 1.5 mi from the entrance, past Great Lameshur Bay, you’ll come to Lameshur Beach. There are usually plenty of places to park close to the beach. The beach itself is soft white sand with several places to grab some shade. You’ll also find several picnic tables and BBQ grills. Access to the water is easiest at the center of the beach where the sand extends into the bay. The bottom is mostly sand with some patches of sea grasses. Further from shore it transitions to all sea grass – a great place to see sea turtles and rays on St John. The bay is protected and doesn’t get large surf unless the wind is out of the south – and after a storm.
Snorkeling – This beach offers some of the best snorkeling on St John. Whether you’re a beginner or more advanced – you’ll find plenty to explore.
A short swim from the shoreline and to the west is a small rocky outcropping in shallow water. This is a great place for beginners to explore. Closer to shore gets pretty shallow and care must be taken to avoid injury to you or the corals.
Snorkeling along the eastern side of Lameshur you’ll find a nice mix of shallow and deeper water structure. I’ve seen octopus, rays, barracuda, tangs, parrot fish, Caribbean lobsters, coral banded shrimp and Queen Angelfish.
Continue along to Yawzi Point and the waves increase but so does the marine life. Impressive deep water structure and canyons hold schools of fish, elkhorn and brain corals and myriad sea fans.
Sugar Mill Ruins and Lameshure Bay Trail – At the western end of the bay you can explore some nicely preserved and renovated sugar mill ruins. This is also the start (or end) of several of St Johns best hiking trails. You can take the Lameshur Bay Trail to Europa Bay, The Par Force Great House ruins, petrogylphs and the Reef Bay ruins. This is also the bottom of the Bordeaux Mountain Trail. A somewhat controversial character has create a wonderful online resource for hiking trails on St John is www.trailbandit.org
