~ Story and photos by Cheryl Hartz ~
To explore this trail, you won’t need hiking boots. Don your swim fins and let’s slip into the Caribbean Sea on the Buck Island Underwater Trail!
Obviously, this one takes a little more effort if you live in the Southwest. But St. Croix is one of the U.S. Virgin Islands, so at least you don’t need a passport. We did have to get COVID-19 test approval before we could go. That requirement has ended.
Buck Island Reef National Monument, established in 1961 to save “one of the finest marine gardens in the Caribbean Sea,” is a little over a mile from the island.
An elkhorn coral reef surrounding two-thirds of Buck Island contains riches of colorful tropical fish and coral, as well as deep grottoes and unusual marine life.
We purchased a snorkeling tour on a boat that picked us up right off the beach of the resort where we had rented a house for the week. The trip on calm seas was short and easy, about 45 minutes, with no seasickness. We even chugged right by “our” house to get a unique perspective for our photo album.
The trip-of-a-lifetime was in celebration of our daughter and son-in-law’s 10th anniversary, but I also got to spend a milestone birthday exploring the marked Underwater Trail, which is reserved for snorkelers. (I won’t say which birthday, but the clue is Medicare. Snicker.) We went in January and were happy to escape winter for a bit. But any time of year is good in this tropical paradise.
It truly is a small world after all. The plaques on the sea floor trail on the island’s east side are the work of talented science illustrator and infographics guru Fiona Morris Martin, who grew up in Prescott Valley, was my daughter’s friend and classmate, and now lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Hurricane Hugo decimated some of the barrier reef in 1989 with 25-foot waves and 200-mph winds. Signs of nature’s recovery are evident, but without my glasses, I did not get a really sharp view of what was below me. Still, what an outstanding experience!
SCUBA divers can take on the outer reef, with depths of 15 to 45 feet in two designated areas.
On a half-day charter, we did not have time to traverse the island’s overland nature trail, unfortunately. We did get to enjoy Turtle Beach’s white sands and swim comfortably in the clear azure water on the west side of the island.
The unprepossessing green mound of an island is only 176 acres, but serves as a preserve for endangered and threatened species, including brown pelicans and hawksbill turtles.
Areas off the beach into the vegetation are protected so the turtles can lay and bury their eggs, and many nesting sites are marked. It is one of the few places in the U.S. that hawksbill turtles still nest.
The U.S. contains only a few underwater trails, but boasts 35 National Water Trails (NWT) on riverways and canals in 25 states. Even on the famed Erie Canal. (Are you singing the Erie Canal song now?) Again, no hiking boots, just kayaks, canoes and camping gear. You can travel anywhere from 4 to 631 miles.
Happy wet trail exploring!
