fbpx

An Update on Cinnamon Bay

cinnamon water

Well folks, let’s start with the good news … Cinnamon Bay is officially reopened! Yahoo! We chatted with Darrell Echols, the acting superintendent of the Virgin Islands National Park, this morning and he said that Cinnamon was going to be officially open once again either today or tomorrow. So we may be jumping the gun here by a few hours, but it’s such great news that we had to share it!

Now onto the not so great news…

The campground and all of the facilities at Cinnamon remain closed, and they will be closed until further notice. According to Darrell, the cottages were heavily damaged. (I always thought they were made of concrete, but apparently they are made of stucco. Who knew!) Well the walls have separated, so they all will have to be torn down and rebuilt. The eco tents fared a bit better, although they too received some damage. The reverse osmosis plant sustained a considerable amount of damage and needs to be repaired. So currently there is no water source at Cinnamon.

I reached out to Redwood Parks, the company that manages the campground at Cinnamon and the concessions over at Trunk Bay, and asked them about the future of the campground and concessions. Here is the response we received:

Thank you for caring about Cinnamon Bay and Trunk Bay. Due to the damage of Hurricane Irma, visitor services at both Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay are closed until further notice. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the National Park Service. 

They also stated that they are processing refunds for guests 30 to 60 days in advance of their reservation. They asked that people do not send multiple emails due to “personnel constraints” and again stated that correspondence will be “reviewed based on the date of reservation only.”

Darrell and I also spoke about the archeology building that was located on the shore at Cinnamon. That building, as many of you probably know by now, has been destroyed. Luckily some of the artifacts were removed prior to the storm. Others were found on the property at Cinnamon. The building, according to Darrell, will not be rebuild and likely become a ruin. Prior to that, however, the remaining structure will have to be stabilized. It is currently fenced off for safety reasons.

cinnamon building cinnamon beach building shell

Again, I want to extend a huge thank to the National Park Service for working so hard to clean up our beaches. Not only do they have to clear physical debris on land, but they also have to inspect underwater and remove any of that debris too. They also have to inspect the buoys. There is so much that goes into it, so it’s pretty incredible that they’ve been able to reopen four beaches less than three months after the strongest hurricane on record tore through our island. So again, a huge thank you National Park Service!!

13 thoughts on “An Update on Cinnamon Bay”

  1. Jenn your updates are most appreciated. The internet and cell service news was especially welcome as I usually am island for the month of March working remotely and need reliable internet and ATT service… in Coral Bay. Crossing fingers, toes and eyes that these services become operational… first for island residents and then for me.

  2. Thanks so much for your daily updates Jenn! I look forward to them as we get closer to our arrival in February. We certainly wouldn’t know what’s going on without your reporting!

  3. Jenn,
    Your gratefulness toward all who work tirelessly to bring St John back is deeply appreciated. You have a wonderful spirit and i am appreciative of all that you do.

  4. Did the cinnamon factory and cinnamon trees survive the storm? I hope St. John Spice will still sell Cinnamon from this beach.

  5. How can we thank you enough for your tenacity, your love of STJ and your ability to inform all of us who are hoping to return when St John is ready!?
    Blessing on all who toil to bring back the most beautiful island on earth.

  6. The possibility of working (payed) at Cinnamon Bay campground as part of a work crew is interesting. Any ideas on how to go about doing that?

  7. Just looking at the ruins of the museum on Cinnamon beach is haunting. I can’t reconcile in my mind what it looks like now compared to the numerous times my kids walked into the beach store and bought ice cream treats. I am so thankful for my memories and grateful they will at least keep what remains as ruins, which will serve as a great reminder that nothing is forever and never take anything for granted!!

  8. Hi Jen!
    Do you know of any updates to the campgrounds? Any idea if they will open this season? I already have tickets for March 1st arrival but no place to stay yet.
    Thanks In advance!
    Scott

  9. Back in Oct. ’77 my husband and I honeymooned in one of the cottages. It rained 7 days out of 10! Oh the memories. Thank goodness we were young.
    We are eager to take our adult children for a visit to Cinnamon Bay and this time it’s a September day trip while on a cruise. I wonder if there will be restroom facilities operational by then?
    As others have said, thanks for the updates.

  10. Any recent update on campground? we hope to travel to st john Dec of 2018 and would really like to stay there.

Leave a Reply to Scoop Cancel reply