Parking
Start at the Salt Pond Bay parking area. NPS describes the lot as limited; it is shared by Salt Pond Beach and the separate Drunk Bay Trail.
Overview
About Ram Head Trail
Why go
- Two beaches and a rocky headland give the route a changing feel.
- Wide views reach the British Virgin Islands from St. John’s southern point.
Heads up
- Loose cobbles and rough rock slow the walk.
- The headland climb has little shade.
Ram Head Trail is a 2.6-mile out-and-back from Salt Pond Bay parking to St. John’s southern headland and back. You walk down to Salt Pond Beach, follow the coast past Blue Cobblestone Beach, then climb a dry, cactus-dotted ridge for open sea and island views. It is the south-coast hike to choose if you want more than a beach stop; the short distance hides rough footing, direct sun and a steep final climb. Allow about two hours, longer if you linger at the beaches. The signed 0.9-mile Ram Head leg begins beyond the parking-to-beach approach, so it is not the full round trip.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Virgin Islands map
Full mapElevation2–176 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active Virgin Islands alert
- ClosureCaneel Bay restricted areas and closed pierAt Caneel Bay, use only designated public areas; other areas and the pier remain closed. - Areas beyond the public areas remain closed because of present safety risks.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Virgin Islands Tour Guide
Your drive to Ram Head Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Virgin Islands National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Salt Pond Bay and Ram Head0:00 / 0:34
“Salt Pond Bay's parking area is coming up, with a rocky quarter-mile walk down to the beach. The sandy middle gives you a gentle water entry, while the rocky edges are the more interesting snorkeling.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Virgin Islands Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Cactus Comes of Age
- The Fish That Make Sand
- Corals Beneath the Mangroves
- North and South Haulover Beaches
- 26 audio storiesacross Virgin Islands’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor White-tailed Deer, Green Iguana, Brown Pelican, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 22 trails, 42 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Ram Head Trail
From the lot to the beachStart at the Salt Pond Bay parking area and follow the old dirt road bed downhill for about a…
Start at the Salt Pond Bay parking area and follow the old dirt road bed downhill for about a quarter-mile. It is uneven and rocky, with a moderate slope. A vault toilet is near the beach access; plan to carry water because no refill was identified along the route. Salt Pond Beach curves around a shallow bay. At the signed junction near its far end, follow Ram Head rather than the separate Drunk Bay Trail.
Across the rocky shoreThe route leaves the sand for a rough coastal path, climbs briefly over a bluff, then descends…
The route leaves the sand for a rough coastal path, climbs briefly over a bluff, then descends toward Blue Cobblestone Beach. The change in view is part of the walk: from above the bluff you can look back across Salt Pond Bay and see the headland ahead. Blue Cobblestone Beach is a stretch of loose, hand-sized stones, not a smooth shoreline path; take your time crossing it. The trail resumes near the far end of the beach.
The exposed climbThe climb out of Blue Cobblestone starts steep, then eases into a more gradual rise with bends…
The climb out of Blue Cobblestone starts steep, then eases into a more gradual rise with bends across the open peninsula. This is the sunniest part of the hike, with little shade, dry scrub and scattered Turk’s Cap barrel cacti. Carry water and wear closed-toe shoes that can handle uneven rock. A morning start makes the exposed ascent more comfortable, and the descent back to the cobbles also needs care.
The headland and its historyAt the end, the path reaches an open rocky point with views over the Caribbean, St.
At the end, the path reaches an open rocky point with views over the Caribbean, St. John’s rugged south coast and the British Virgin Islands; St. Croix may appear on a very clear day. For a photo, include the broken foreground rock and the ridge to show how the point narrows toward the sea. A plaque there commemorates the 1733 Akwamu Insurrection, a six-month uprising by enslaved people on St. John. The uprising began at the Danish fort in Coral Bay; the plaque connects the headland to that island history rather than marking it as the battle site.
Return the way you cameRam Head is the end of this route, so retrace the beaches and coastal path to the parking area.
Ram Head is the end of this route, so retrace the beaches and coastal path to the parking area. The shared lot also serves beach visitors and the separate Drunk Bay hike; spaces are limited. Dogs may use park trails on a leash no longer than six feet. Plan for heat and exposed footing on the way back as well as on the climb out.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Virgin Islands
151 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
115 sightingsGreen IguanaMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
62 sightingsBrown PelicanMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
35 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around noonSighting map
32 sightingsAmerican FlamingoMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
26 sightingsNurse SharkMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Virgin Islands. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
