Walking from Nancy’s St Thomas Vacation Rentals into Red Hook makes for a great morning ritual. The following instructions were updated after the hurricanes of 2017 changed the layout of the prior trails due to downed trees and the fact that the Virgin Island National Park authorities blocked the back entrance into the park. (NOTE THAT THE ABOVE MAP WAS UPDATED AFTER THE HURRICANES. THE NEW PATH FOLLOWS THE OLD GREEN ROUTE UNLESS THERE IS A BLUE DETOUR SHOWN.) This trail requires some walking along the main road that can be dangerous if you are not paying keen attention to the traffic. If you are a coffee drinker, there is a great little coffee stand on the dock side of American Yacht Harbor Marina called “Lattes in Paradise”.
- From Nancy’s St Thomas Vacation Rentals, exit the Elysian Beach Resort at the front gate.
- Turn right and walk up the slight hill towards The Ritz. Continue straight on the road past The Ritz main gate. Smile, nod, and say “Good Day” to the guard. Continue on the road until you see a sign on the right for the “Public Beach Access”
- Turn right down the beach access road until you come to the beach. Turn left onto the beachfront walkway.
- Take the walkway to the far end of the beach and then walk onto the sand to exit The Ritz by passing through the gate next to the small guard shack. You can also walk around the guard shack on the beach. This will bring you to Bay Road.
- Turn left on Bay Road and walk about 50-yards and cut over to the beach on the right.
- Follow the beach until you see the walking path going up the hill between the trees.
- Follow the walking path up and over the hill where it becomes a sand road. Stay straight onto the sand road which parallels the beach until you see the water sports shack (sailboats and windsurfing).
- Stay to the left of the shack where you will see a number of Hobie catamarans up against the trees on the left. There is a path between the catamarans into the trees. Take this path until you come to a dirt road. Turn left.
- Follow the dirt road down and up a hill until it turns to pavement (Vessup Drive – but there is no sign). Pay special attention to the characteristics of this intersection so that you can find it on your return walk. It is easy to miss when you are coming the other direction on your way home. Continue straight onto the paved road until it dead ends on the busy road (Ridge Road – but there is no sign). Turn Right.
- CAUTION: Remember! We drive on the LEFT in St Thomas! You must walk down the right side of this road but remain very attentive to the traffic that will be coming towards you.
- You will come to the TRIANGLE intersection. AGAIN, BE VERY CAUTIOUS HERE. You are going to turn right at this intersection (Smith Bay Road – but there is no sign!) BUT THE CARS THAT WILL BE APPROACHING YOU HERE WILL NOT SEE YOU! Trust me on this! You must cautiously cross the road.
- Walk 1/4 mile on Smith Bay Road into Red Hook.
- American Yacht Harbor is on your right. Enter at the center breezeway, walk straight back and you will find Latte’s in Paradise (http://www.lattes.vi/) on the dock-side of the building.
- Enjoy your morning beverage and breakfast treat while sitting on the veranda overlooking the marina. You can also go up the stairs to the upper deck where there is a picnic table that is usually vacant.
- RETURN: Backtrack all the way to The Ritz. You will enter The Ritz at that small shack at the end of the beach. After entering The Ritz, stay on the beach walkway all the way along the beach and make slight left at the end and follow the walkway up and around the beach side of The Ritz. This will lead you to another beach and the Ritz infinity pool area.
- Continue along the beach boardwalk and you will pass a restaurant to your right and then come to the activity stations. Here you can sign up for a number of activities including sailboat rides on Lady Lyndsey and Scuba. You do NOT need to be a guest of The Ritz to sign up for these activities.
- Continue past the activity stations and go up onto the paved walkway that goes to the left up a slight hill along the beach. This will take you around the perimeter of the tall Ritz buildings and eventually bring you to the Ritz main building.
- You can walk inside the Ritz main building where you will find a couple of stores. You can get some great pictures of the beach from the upper windows.>/li>
- Exit the main building through the front entrance and walk along the entry road to The Ritz main gate. Smile, nod, and say “Good Day” to the guard. Turn left, walk 100 yards to the entrance of the Elysian with a spring in your step and enjoy the rest of your day.