Beaches · Salt River Bay / North Shore

Salt River Beach

Salt River Beach functions less as a swim-and-sunbathe stop than as the launch point for one of St. Croix's most distinctive experiences: guided kayak tours into Salt River Bay's mangrove waterways, including nighttime trips out to see the bay's bioluminescent glow. Two established kayak outfitters run tours from Salt River Marina, ranging from daytime ecological and pre-Columbian history paddles — including a stop at the actual site where Columbus's fleet came ashore in 1493, marked today as Columbus Landing across the bay — to after-dark tours in fully transparent kayaks built specifically to showcase the water's glow when disturbed by a paddle. The surrounding 1,000-plus-acre Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve keeps the entire bay protected, calm, and free of development, which is part of why the bioluminescence stays visible here when it's faded at less-protected bays elsewhere in the Caribbean. Most visitors experience Salt River Beach as an access point and staging area for a booked tour rather than a beach to spend an unstructured day on, though the marina area itself offers calm, easy water access for those who just want to look around.

Salt River, Salt River Bay / North Shore, St. Croix