How to Hike the Ram Head Trail in Virgin Islands National Park, St. John
The Ram Head Trail on St. John is one of the best hikes in Virgin Islands National Park. It’s a short hike that leads to amazing panoramic views, with a chance along the way to swim and snorkel at one of the best beaches on St. John. In this guide, we go over everything you need to know to hike the Ram Head Trail on St. John, including when to go, what to bring, how to get there, what to expect, and more!
Virgin Islands National Park on St. John is known for its gorgeous white sand beaches and crystal clear blue water…even for two people who don’t consider themselves “beach people”, we will admit it was super hard to tear ourselves away from these ones.
But, if you’re looking to stretch your legs a bit, strap on your hiking boots, and hike to some epic views, then we definitely recommend checking out the Ram Head Trail on St. John.
The Ram Head Trail is one of the best hikes in Virgin Islands National Park. It’s short, relatively easy, and heads through a beautiful landscape to the southernmost point of the island and to some of our favorite views on St. John.
Plus, along the way, you’ll pass by Salt Pond Bay, a beautiful beach along St. John’s south shore that’s great for swimming and snorkeling (particularly with sea turtles!)- so you really get the best of both worlds on this St. John hike. This hiking and snorkeling combo makes for a perfect half day outing on St. John and was definitely one of our favorite things to do in Virgin Islands National Park.
Ready to hit the trails? In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to know to hike the Ram Head Trail in Virgin Islands National Park. We’ll share where to park for the Ram Head hike, what to bring, when to go, and what to expect on the trail so you can plan your perfect day out on one of the best hikes in St. John.
Let’s get to it!
In this Ram Head Trail hiking guide:
Where is the Ram Head Trail?
The Ram Head Trail is found in Virgin Islands National Park- one of the more unique National Parks, located on the small island of St. John in the eastern Caribbean.
To get to Virgin Islands National Park involves a flight to St. Thomas, a neighboring U.S. Virgin Island, and then a quick ferry ride to Cruz Bay, the main hub of St. John. For tons more information on getting to St. John, be sure to check out our massive Guide to Virgin Islands National Park!
The Ram Head Trail itself is found on the southeastern corner of the island, which has a drier, more desert-like landscape compared to the western half of the island. Along the trail, you’ll walk through groves of small barrel cacti which give this hike such a unique feel.
Ram Head makes up the tip of a small narrow peninsula that juts out from St. John’s south shore. On the hike, you’ll walk the length of this peninsula, and at the end, you’ll be standing on the southernmost point of St. John with excellent views across the island’s south shore.
How to get to the Ram Head trailhead + Ram Head parking
The Ram Head trailhead is on the opposite side of the island from Cruz Bay- the main hub of St. John where the ferry terminals and most accommodations are found.
To get to the Ram Head Trail from Cruz Bay, you’ll head east across the island to Coral Bay on either of the two main roads that run through Virgin Islands National Park: North Shore Road or Centerline Road. The latter is shorter by a mile, but isn’t as scenic. North Shore Road goes by a ton of popular and beautiful beaches which make good stops on the way to or from the Ram Head hike.
Both roads are typical St. John roads- narrow, winding, and steep at times. So even though the island is small, and the distance between Cruz Bay and the Ram Head Trail is only 12 miles, it will take you about 30 to 40 minutes to get there.
IMPORTANT! Driving is on the left side of the road in St. John!
Once in Coral Bay (a small town on the eastern side of the island), you’ll take Coral Bay Road south for about four miles. This scenic road runs along the edge of the bay and is equally as winding and narrow. Keep your eye out for goats who may be roaming along the roads!
After about four miles, as the road curves right there will be an obvious dirt parking area on the left. There’s a small sign hidden in the overgrowth indicating the Salt Pond Bay Trail, and you’ll see the trail signs at the far end of the lot.
The Ram Head parking area isn’t too big, and it’s parking for not only the Ram Head Trail but also for Salt Pond Bay, a popular St. John beach along the trail, so the lot can fill up, though people do cycle in and out. If you’re hiking to Ram Head during the peak season (November to April), get there early (before 9 am). We visited in the off season and got there midday and had to really squeeze in off the road, however, people were leaving and spots were opening up.
We did also notice that the beach here started clearing out around 3 pm (as many beaches around St. John did). So, getting to the Ram Head trailhead in the late afternoon would be a good time to find parking and avoid the crowds. The Ram Head Trail is a short enough hike where you can finish it before the evening sets in.
Don’t have a car on St. John? If you don’t have a car for exploring Virgin Islands National Park, it’s possible to get to the Ram Head trailhead by taxi. Taxis on St. John are safari-style pick-up trucks that have converted truck beds with seating for a dozen people or more, and they have set rates for various destinations. You can find these around Cruz Bay or Coral Bay, and can plan a time with the driver for when you’d want to be picked back up.
Ram Head trail map
This map of the Ram Head Trail is taken from the park brochure, and shows where the trailhead is in relation to other places on St. John.
How Long is the Ram Head Trail on St. John?
The Ram Head Trail is a short and sweet hike without too much elevation gain. Here are our hiking stats for the Ram Head hike in Virgin Islands National Park.
Length: 2.56 miles
Elevation gain: 330 feet
Time: About 2 hours (this is at a leisurely pace with about a half hour at the top)*
Elevation profile:
Ram Head Trail map:
*A note about how much time you need for the Ram Head Trail: While the hike itself takes just a couple of hours, we recommend planning on spending a half day here. After the hike, we definitely suggest spending some time at Salt Pond Bay because there is some amazing snorkeling here, which we talk about later. But even if you just want to relax at the beach and go for a swim, Salt Pond Bay is a great place to do it, and has some of the clearest, most beautiful water we’d ever been in! All in all, plan on spending about 4 hours here.
How Hard is the Ram Head Trail on St. John?
The Ram Head Trail itself is pretty easy. It’s not too long, and doesn’t have a huge amount of elevation gain, and the little gain it has is spread out across both directions of the hike. The elevation gain sometimes does come in steep spurts, but it’s never too long, and there are always amazing views to distract you.
The only thing that made the Ram Head Trail challenging was the heat. The sun and humidity can be intense on St. John, and this hike is entirely exposed with virtually no opportunity for shade. The heat really slowed me down on this one, but I feel like if that wasn’t a factor, we could have gone much faster on the trail.
Best Time to Hike the Ram Head Trail on St. John
The Ram Head Trail can be hiked year round, but there are some things to consider when planning your trip to Virgin Islands National Park in general.
The winter months from November through April are the busiest time to visit St. John. The weather is the mildest (though still hot and humid!), and it’s considered the driest time of the year (though there really is no official rainy and dry season on St. John- rain usually often comes in the form of short 5-minute bursts that don’t really affect the day too much). These months can be more expensive to visit in terms of flights and accommodations, but everything will be open and all tours will be offered.
The later spring months of May and June are a great time to visit Virgin Islands National Park. It can get hot and humid, but it’s still decent weather, and it’s still a bit too early to be really affected by hurricane season (this technically starts in June but rarely do major storms hit the islands this early in the year). The best part is that the crowds of winter are gone, so beaches and trailheads aren’t as mobbed.
July to October is the main hurricane season on St. John, so visiting Virgin Islands National Park during these months can be pretty risky. Also, certain restaurants and accommodations may close for a few months since it’s the off season, and some tour offerings may not be available (such as the guided Ram Head hike- see below for more info on that!).
In terms of the best time of day to hike to Ram Head on St. John, we absolutely recommend hiking as early or as late in the day as you can, and not smack dab in the middle like we did, to avoid that brutal midday heat and sun. Like we’ve said earlier, the sun gets really intense out here and the heat can really slow you down and make the hike more miserable than it needs to be.
Another plus to coming earlier or later is avoiding the midday crowds, particularly at Salt Pond Bay beach. Beaches on St. John tend to fill by 10 am (or earlier) and start emptying between 3-4 pm, in our experience anyway. The Salt Pond Bay area never felt crowded when we were there (the small lot does help with this), but getting there earlier or later will help you avoid disappointment when it comes to parking.
We recommend getting to the Ram Head trailhead early, hiking to Ram Head, and spending the rest of your time cooling off and snorkeling in Salt Pond Bay after your hike.
Hiking the Ram Head Trail on St. John: Our Experience
Here, we want to share our experience hiking to Ram Head in Virgin Islands National Park to show you what you can expect and how to prepare!
From the far end of the parking lot, a trailhead sign and metal gate mark the start of the trail to Ram Head.
This first part of the hike is an easy and quick downhill hike to Salt Pond Bay along a rocky, and sometimes steep, wide dirt path. Along here, you’ll immediately start to notice the drier, more desert-like landscape here versus the more lush western half of the island, including the appearance of tall cacti along either side of the trail. Other than that, there aren’t really any views here, so it’s easy to make quick work down to the beach.
After just 0.2 miles, you’ll see Salt Pond Bay. The entrance to the beach will be marked by a set of vault toilets- the only amenities found here (so make sure to pack everything in that you’ll need for the day!).
We had read somewhere before coming that Salt Pond Bay isn’t quite as pretty as the more famous beaches along North Shore Road- but we would definitely have to disagree! I’ll admit, when you first walk out to the beach from this direction, it doesn’t look like anything special- but keep walking.
Once you start heading towards the center of the beach, the clearness and blueness of the water becomes really striking. And from the opposite end, you really get the full effect- the beach views are gorgeous with a backdrop of green rolling hills overlooking the beautiful blue bay.
The beach isn’t too big, and the small lot helps keep crowds at bay. It’s a beautiful place to swim through beautifully clear shallow waters, or to snorkel with turtles, rays, and fish further out. There are some nice shady spots to sit under along the trees and shrubs lining the beach. There are even some picnic tables scattered along the trees, with some hidden ones that lie at the end of short little paths under the trees.
But, there’s one thing we have to warn you about here…and that is the bugs! We found Salt Pond Bay beach to be incredibly buggy, especially in the afternoon. We found that we couldn’t really sit anywhere near the treeline or at the picnic tables without being absolutely swarmed by mosquitos- it was pretty bad! While others seemed to be happily enjoying their spot on the beach (maybe they had bug spray?), it seemed the only way for us to really get rid of the constant attacks was by getting in the water (which we had no complaints about!)- but more on that in just a little bit.
First, let’s get back to the Ram Head hike…
Optional detour on the Ram Head Trail: Towards the far (south) end of the beach, you’ll see a sign for Drunk Bay. Drunk Bay is a flat and short quarter mile one-way detour off the Ram Head Trail. This side spur takes you by the shore of a large salt pond (hence the bay’s name!) to the opposite shore of the narrow Ram Head peninsula. The salt pond often has clumps of salt piled along its edges, caused by a combination of sea water entering through high tide and waves with frequent evaporation in the sun and heat- it’s cool though we didn’t find it to be a particularly scenic place.
We didn’t hike all the way out to Drunk Bay, but the trail will empty you out to a rocky shoreline along a rougher bay with crashing waves and large boulders. It’s a good place to escape any crowds at Salt Pond Bay and to explore a more unprotected bay of St. John. We also have read that there is some cool rock art there that is constantly being added to by visitors!
To continue the Ram Head hike, retrace your steps back to Salt Pond Bay.
Once back on Salt Pond Bay beach, continue heading south to the far end. Right where the beach ends at the rocky edge, you’ll find a path that continues through the shrubs. This rocky path will continue in and out of the trees as it follows the south edge of Salt Pond Bay. As you continue here, the views out over the bay and beach just keep getting better and better.
At one point, to your left, you’ll get a glimpse out over the edge of the salt pond (the view we showed above).
The trail stays pretty flat still as it continues out to the end of the bay, it’s just very rocky. But be sure to look down from time to time to look for washed up coral pieces that have disguised themselves among the rocks- they are pretty cool to see!
Once at the end of the bay, the Ram Head Trail takes a turn to head up and over the small hill that separates Salt Pond Bay from the next beach along the peninsula. The trail now becomes a narrow rocky dirt path through the trees and shrubs and finally starts to climb- a bit steeply, but only for a few minutes.
As the trail flattens out, views back over the ocean reappear here and there, but you’ll mostly be walking through some thick vegetation, with the appearance of tall cacti (reminiscent of the Saguaro cacti in Arizona!) lining the path.
Shortly, before the trail starts its descent back down, a couple of south-facing views will open up out to Ram Head and the beach below- which is where you’re headed next on this trail.
Here, the trail quickly undoes all the uphill work you just did as it heads steeply down to the next beach. The trail here is a bit slick with loose dirt and rock, so be sure to watch your step.
Eventually, the path spills you out onto Blue Cobblestone Beach- aptly named for the picturesque blue-ish rocks that make up the entire coastline.
A giant rock pile marks the spot along the beach where the trail spills out, so it will be easy to find on the way back. From here, you’ll want to follow the beach south to the far end to pick the trail back up.
Walking along Blue Cobblestone Beach is really scenic. Ram Head is just ahead, and the combination of the pebbled beach, blue water, and rolling green hills is just so picturesque. Plus, we had the entire beach to ourselves, and it really made us feel like we had stumbled upon some secluded hidden gem!
As you traverse the beach, be sure to look down again to see pieces of washed up coral hidden among the rocks.
Once on the far end of the beach, the rocks start getting bigger and you’ll start to see a faint path form among them. Keep your eye out for another large rock pile and small sign indicating the turn- off from the shore.
From here, the Ram Head Trail begins its steady climb to the top. It makes its way out of the treeline and then switchbacks towards Ram Head as it makes its way up to the final ridge before the summit.
Once on the final section of the hike, you’ll walk through huge patches of beautiful barrel cacti, which make this landscape so unique and picturesque. At this point, don’t forget to keep looking behind you, as views of St. John’s south shore come into view.
As you get closer to the summit, you’ll pass by a deep ravine on your left, which gives a really nice breeze off the ocean, so enjoy it!
From here, there seemed to be multiple narrow dirt paths leading to the top…it’s easy to see where you need to go so just pick one and head up!
The final push to the summit of Ram Head was a bit steep and slow-going- mainly it was the heat that was really slowing me down and made this climb feel longer than it really was. But the views from this entire final climb were gorgeous, so keep taking breaks to look behind you!
At the top of Ram Head, a sign will mark the summit and share information about the historical relevance of the area. There is a pretty big area to explore up here, with panoramic views over the south shore of St. John and to the south over the Caribbean Ocean (and on a super clear day, you may be able to see St. Croix, another U.S. Virgin Island).
But honestly, one of the things I loved most about the Ram Head summit? The breeze! At the edge of the summit, there was an amazing continuous breeze blowing off the ocean, and it was a life saver!
We spent maybe a half hour up on the summit enjoying the views and the breeze. We had some time to ourselves up there, but a constant stream of people did trickle in and out, though it was never crowded and everyone stayed pretty well spaced.
The only thing that motivated me to start the return hike back was the promise of swimming and snorkeling down at Salt Pond Bay, so off we went. The hike back down to Cobblestone Beach was beautiful, as the epic views were now entirely in front of us. These were definitely some of my favorite views we saw on St. John.
After the walk back across Blue Cobblestone Beach, we had to climb back up the small hill on the other side- which was a killer! It’s a short hill, but at that point I was so hot and any uphill was not welcome. But that was the last of it, and from there it was all downhill back to Salt Pond Bay.
We stopped at the beach to swim and snorkel before heading back to the parking lot. The path back up to the car from Salt Pond Bay was steep, moreso at the bottom of the climb, but was easier to do after a refreshing swim and took less than ten minutes.
Snorkeling in Salt Pond Bay
The Ram Head Trail passes right through Salt Pond Bay, one of the best places to snorkel in Virgin Islands National Park, so this makes a great thing to do as an add-on to your Ram Head hike. In particular, the sea grass beds in the middle of the bay are great for seeing turtles, and either side of the bay has fringing rocky reefs with coral and fish, so there is plenty to explore here.
As we were putting our snorkel gear on at the beach, we heard some people who were standing in the water saying that they saw a turtle swimming by them. I quickly got into the water and approximately 20 seconds later, I was already seeing my very first sea turtle who was swimming right near the shore!
The water right offshore is very shallow, and has pure sand underneath with no rocks or reef, so the water here is super blue and super clear- probably the clearest water I had ever been in- and swimming with a turtle here was one of the coolest experiences I had in Virgin Islands National Park. We swam along with him for a bit, and he didn’t mind as he munched on goodies in the sand and took frequent swims up for air.
After, we headed further out into the middle of the bay. Out here is a giant sea grass bed, and we had read that sea turtles and southern stingrays are often found out by the boat moorings.
As we left the shallow shore, the sea bottom became a little bit rockier and we started to see some fish here and there, and eventually this gave way to the sea grass. It did seem to get deep pretty fast as we swam out (we would guess that we ended up swimming in about 20 feet of water or so once out at the moorings). Plus, in contrast to the incredibly clear blue water close to shore, the water out here was pretty murky with much less visibility, however it was still clear enough to see to the bottom. There was also no one else out here snorkeling, so I was a bit nervous to be honest, but there were a few boats anchored out here with people which made me feel a bit better about being this far out from shore.
But, most of my nerves dissipated when we spotted our first turtle! We saw him munching on the sea grass bed below, and swam with him for a bit as he came up several times for air. Definitely worth the swim out here!
We decided to make our way to one of the reefs that line either side of the bay, so we started heading to the northern edge of the bay (the right side as you are looking at the water from the beach). As we swam along, we spotted another turtle! We watched him for a bit before continuing along.
We eventually made it to the northern edge of the bay, and came across a rocky reef where we saw lots of fish swimming around and lots of yellow-tinted coral features.
The coolest thing we stumbled upon here was a spotted moray eel! He was out swimming around from rock to rock looking for food and was really cool to watch. Normally, these guys are hiding in rock crevices and hard to spot, so we felt really lucky to have seen him swimming around.
Once we were ready, we decided to make our way back to the beach by swimming back through the center of the bay, and on the way, we saw three more turtles! It was such a cool experience to spot them every time, and the turtles out here do not seem to be shy at all. Even though we gave them space, they really didn’t seem to care we were there at all and would almost seem to turn and swim right at us as they surfaced. We just made sure to keep our space and swim back when they did this, and made sure to not make any sudden movements or noises that would disturb them in any way. Which brings me to my next point…
SWIMMING WITH SEA TURTLES: These guys are always so cool to see, but it’s important to give sea turtles their space and not disturb them when you do see them. It’s actually illegal to touch or disturb sea turtles on St. John, as they are a protected species, with fines of up to $5000 and jail time for doing so. So, just observe from a distance! Like we said above, sometimes they really don’t mind your presence and will swim in your direction as they surface, so do your best to get out of their path and leave them room. While they are feeding, we recommend just kind of floating along with them and not making too much noise, movement, or splashing, which can scare them and prevent them from coming up to surface. If you do this, you won’t disturb them and you’ll get to watch them for longer since they won’t be startled and swim away. It’s a win-win!
Overall, we snorkeled at Salt Pond Bay for about 2 hours or so. But we still feel like we missed a lot! We read later that apparently the southern edge of the bay (to the left when looking out from the beach) has the healthier and thicker fringing reef compared to the side we went to. And the reef gets better the further from the beach you get.
So, we recommend hiking down the Ram Head Trail until you get to the end of the bay (before the path turns and heads uphill), and carefully getting into the water there if you can avoid stepping on the reef. Or, the park service recommends hiking over the hill to the Blue Cobblestone Beach and snorkeling from there, following the coastline back around to Salt Pond Bay along the fringing reef. If we were to come back, this is exactly what we would do next time!
There are also a couple of large rocks far out in the middle of the bay that apparently have nice reef around them. We definitely didn’t feel comfortable swimming out that far, though, but if you do, let us know what you find!
What to Pack for the Ram Head Trail on St. John
Other than vault toilets, there are no amenities at Salt Pond Bay or on the rest of the Ram Head Trail, so you’ll have to pack in everything that you think you’ll need for the day. Here are things we would suggest bringing for the Ram Head hike.
Food and water- Make sure to pack all the food and snacks you want for the day, as there are no food amenities at Salt Pond Bay. And bring plenty of water! This hike gets so hot and is all exposed to the sun, and if you also plan to spend some time at the beach, you’ll need to stay hydrated. We recommend at least three liters per person.
Sun protection- Lather up on sunscreen (and make sure it’s reef-safe!), and bring sunglasses, a hat, and maybe even consider wearing breathable long sleeves for additional protection. Kevin used rash guards for snorkeling, and loved them for hiking, too, as they are super lightweight and breathable and offer extra UV protection.
Hiking shoes- The Ram Head hike gets rocky and rugged, so we recommend wearing a good sturdy pair of hiking shoes for this one, and then packing a change of shoes for the beach.
Bug spray- Salt Pond Bay got super buggy in the afternoon, so if you plan on lounging on the beach, bug spray will be a life saver.
Swim gear- We wore our bathing suits under our clothes on the Ram Head hike and then packed in our towels and water shoes. If you want beach chairs, you’ll have to hike those in. You can set them up on the beach before continuing your Ram Head hike and then come back to them. There are picnic tables at Salt Pond Bay but there’s no guarantee they will be available when you get there.
Snorkel gear- There are no snorkel rentals at Salt Pond Bay so you will have to pack them in with you. We recommend bringing your own to St. John, but there are also places in Coral Bay to rent a snorkel set for the day. We also recommend having an underwater camera for capturing all the cool stuff you’ll see!
Ram Head Trail Guided Hike
The National Park Service offers a guided hike of the Ram Head Trail during the peak season only. This is a free program that does not provide transportation to and from the trailhead, so you’ll still have to get yourself there and bring everything you’ll need, but it does offer a chance to learn from a park ranger about the history and importance of the area.
The Ram Head guided hike is offered at 9 am on the last Friday of every month from November to May only.
Other Virgin Islands National Park Guides
Headed to Virgin Islands National Park and want more information to plan your trip? Be sure to check out all our other Virgin Islands National Park guides packed with more info and tips for all the awesome things to do there!
MORE VIRGIN ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK GUIDES
We loved the Ram Head hike in Virgin Islands National Park- it was one of our favorite experiences on the island! Are you planning to hike the Ram Head Trail on St. John? Let us know your questions in the comments below. Happy hiking!