Why Brown Bay?
Brown Bay's white sand beach is almost certain to be deserted
as there is no vehicle access and the trail entrance is far
from the more populated areas of the island. Also, Brown Bay
is a poor anchorage for vessels coming by sea, so it is uncommon
to see yachts at anchor here.
When you are out hiking the trails, Brown Bay Beach is a perfect
place to cool off, relax, take a swim and explore the ruins.
There are shady places to sit, and usually a cooling ocean breeze.
This is a great spot to enjoy a picnic lunch in a natural and
private setting where you can often enjoy having such an idyllic
spot all to yourself.
Brown Bay view from
Threadneedle Point
Getting There
Starting from the Coral Bay Moravian Church, go east about a
mile on the East End Road (Route 10.) After you pass Estate Zootenvaal,
you will cross a small concrete bridge. Turn left just after
the bridge and park on the dirt road. Twenty yards up the road
you will come to a fork. As Yogi Berra, the famous baseball player,
once said, "When you get to the fork in the road, take it!" The
right fork is the beginning of the Brown
Bay Trail. It is a three-quarter mile hike to the beach.
Brown Bay can also be reached by taking the Brown Bay spur
trail off the Johnny Horn Trail.
The Johnny Horn Trail connects Waterlemon Cay and the Moravian
Church in Coral Bay. The Brown Bay spur trail is not maintained
and can be very unfriendly because of the abundance of thorny "catch
and keep" bushes.
Brown Bay Ruins
Brown
Bay Ruins
Brown Bay has some of the most extensive ruins on
the island of St. John. To explore them proceed to the western
end of the beach and then make your way further along the shoreline
until you see the beginning of the ruins.
Beachcombing
Also, an abundance of flotsam washing up along the beach makes
for excellent beachcombing.
Snorkeling
Brown Bay
The bottom of the bay is sand and grass, offering an easy entry.
It is quite shallow at first, but deepens gradually providing
access to excellent snorkeling further out from the beach. The
snorkeling here is best on calm days when the water is not churned
up and murky.
The most colorful and interesting area to snorkel in Brown
Bay is around the point on the eastern side of the bay where
there is a relatively shallow fringing reef, which slopes down
to a depth of about twenty feet. There are several beautiful
specimens of hard corals near the top of the reef, and on the
sloping hillside is a garden of gorgonians, such as sea fans,
sea whips and sea plumes. You will often see larger fish here
due to the proximity of the deep Sir Francis Drake Channel.
