Snorkeling is the best way to become familiar with the Park’s underwater world and all its resources. By visiting anyone of St. John’s bays, you can easily take a glimpse of what each has to offer.

“Located just an hour walk away”

A short walk along the Lind Point trail, takes you to Salmon Bay and Honeymoon Beach. A rocky headland that separates the waters of Honeymoon and Salomon Bay is a great spot to observe the locally rare black and white tunicates. Also popular at this site are scattered populations of Elkhorn and some pillar corals. As you go deeper, there are star corals and rubble that offer protection for the abundant fish population found in these waters.

As you travel further along the North Shore road, the first beach you encounter is Hawksnest. This bay has a few shallow reefs that extend from the sandy beach. For the not so novice snorkler, these shallow reefs could easily be observed from the shoreline. Fast growing Elkhorn coral, are speedily making a recovery from the disease, hurricanes, and land development that has occurred in this area in the past few years.

“Underwater Trail”

The Trunk Bay underwater trail is great for beginners, children, or anybody that wants to learn about marine life. There are plaques, generally located 5 to 15 feet beneath you that give you a brief introduction about the coral and fish that you may see along your way. Trunk Bay offers the added attraction of lifeguards, toilets, showers, lockers, a gift shop and snack bar. Snorkel gear rental is also available.

“Waterlemon Bay”

A 10-minute walk form Leinster Bay brings you to a narrow stretch of sand where entry is gained to a shallow reef dominated by large star coral boulders. This area provides a great habitat for parrotfish, tangs, and juvenile grunts. Further out seaward; there are blue chromis, gorgonias, and an occasional visiting turtle. As you swim out towards the cay, you come across fish like juvenile barracudas, tarpon, rays, and perhaps a friendly juvenile nurse shark.

“On the South Side”

At Salt Pond Bay, a lengthy swim to the middle of the bay, beyond the boat moorings brings you to two sets of jagged rocks that break the surface. A large assortment of fish and corals cover the rocks to their bases in about 15 feet of water. As you swim along the sides of the bay, there are more fish and coral, each becoming more interesting the further out from the beach you go. Squid and turtles are commonly seen in this area.

Great Lameshur Bay is rocky and the snorkeling sites are on the eastern side of the bay. Large boulders form sea caves that are often abundant with snappers and other fish. Tektite, the remains of an underwater living habitat for astronauts, is located in this area, among the star corals in approximately 50 feet of water.

For more information on snorkeling, the following handout can be downloaded from this site:

Where’s the best snorkeling?