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Cinnamon Bay: Campground to Open Soon!!

cinnamon cones oct 19 2018
Cones blocked the entrance to Cinnamon Bay Friday as crews worked to clear the campground area.

Well folks, this is some of the best news I have written in while. A campground at Cinnamon Bay is going to reopen soon! How wonderful is that!!

A crew from Puerto Rico was brought in to begin clearing the campground earlier this week, and the progress they have made in just a few days is incredible. We stopped by the campground yesterday, and honestly, the place looks great! We chatted with the VI National Park Service while we were there, and they confirmed that a small, primitive campground will open sooner than later. Such great news!

The first plan was to reopen the eco tent area, which sustained less damage during the storms. But upon inspection, it was determined that there was more damage than the Park initial thought. The cottages were pretty much destroyed, so reopening that area is not an option. The park decided the best way to proceed is to create some bare sites in the parking lot area near the road. It’s not the most ideal situation, but it allows camping to resume and that’s what everyone wants.

The sites will essentially consist of a wooden platform. Campers will have to bring everything, including cooking items. There is still an issue with running water on the property, so showers will not be available. Campers will use portable toilets, much like those that are already located near the beach.

The reception and restaurant areas have been cleared and look great. There is still some issue about how this will all happen. The Park does not have a reservations system or staff in place at the moment, but they are determined to make it work.

Take a peek at some pictures we took yesterday…

Brush has been cleared from the sides of the path to the beach.
Brush has been cleared from the sides of the path to the beach.
The paths to the eco tents have been cleared.
The paths to the eco tents have been cleared.
Trees and debris are being removed from the cottage area.
Trees and debris are being removed from the cottage area.
Crews were cutting down dead trees Friday afternoon.
Crews were cutting down dead trees Friday afternoon.
The reception area has been cleared.
The reception area has been cleared.
The restaurant area has been cleared.
The restaurant area has been cleared.
So much clearing!!
So much clearing!!
The former archeology lab
The former archeology lab

cinnamon bay water from arch lab oct 19 2018

cinnamon bay beach oct 19 2018

cinnamon bay beach 2 oct 19 2018
Doesn’t it look amazing??!!

According to a member of the crew, the campground is expected to open some time next month. And considering the amount of work that has happened just this week alone, we believe that can happen.

And lastly, there is no word on what Redwoods involvement is in this or whether or not they still hold the concession contract for the campground area. The National Park Service is solely responsible for all of the cleanup that has occurred thus far.

There is so much good happening on island lately. It’s truly amazing how far we’ve come over the past year. Now go ahead and book your ticket! Come and see the progress for yourselves!!

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!!

28 thoughts on “Cinnamon Bay: Campground to Open Soon!!”

  1. It looks so much better than it did when we visited in April! Love seeing all the great progress on the island these past few months!

  2. Wow, that s great news! Looks so much better then when we saw it in February!, My son always camped in the Eco tents so this is a good start!

  3. A lady at the outdoor bar by the restaurant at Cinnamon made me the best non-alcoholic passion fruit smoothie that I have ever tasted. It was delicious. I’ve thought about her since the hurricanes and hope that she is doing well. It’s great news to hear that Cinnamon is making progress to open some camping areas.

  4. Great news! Redwoods Cinammonbay website still is asking for donations and hasn’t been updated since the week after the hurricane. My guess NPS gave them the boot. They need to return all their donations that they pocketed.

    • Gary – really? The link on the concessioners website links directly to the Friends of VI National Park. Get you’re facts straight and stop being ignorant. Unless what you’re suggesting is that the rest of us caring citizens to stop donating money to the Friends that support VINP?

      • Guys and Jenn,

        Been coming to St John for 20 years… Good news on the progress, but…
        Regarding websites that reference Cinnamon Bay Campground (CBCG), links that may or may not be accurate is a problem. I googled CBCG and Trip Advisor gave the “illusion” that it was fully operational as of May 2019. If you try to reserve a place, TA says “sold out” and points you elsewhere. This is bad, false advertising.
        Jenn,
        we love you updates about St John. Thank you.
        As news comes to you, please post further updates about Cinnamon Bay or Caneel Bay and the rest of Love City!

  5. We stayed at Caneel one week and the campground one week in June before the hurricanes. When our kids were young we stayed in baresites, in cinnamon tents and at Maho. Just can’t imagine camping without shower or water. Miss St.John good news but need a shower. Ate the best lobster Mac and cheese would love to know those wonderful employees at both places are alright.

  6. My friend and I walked through the area one morning this week, maybe Tuesday? They crews had just started cutting stuff and after we parked they closed the area off. Very nice guys. We walked down to the beach which looked in pretty good shape, though every area off the main walkway had hazardous signs so we just went straight to the beach just for photos. Many memories of walking around here though I never stayed here, but my friend had more than once. It was hard to even visualize some of the original layouts. I hope they are able to recreate what they had and wish them the best.

  7. Please GOD tell me that Redwood lost their lease. So glad to hear it’s getting cleaned up. For folks on a budget this may be their only option to see such a wonderful paradise.

  8. Fantastic! So happy to see there is cleanup going on, it suggestions that Cinnamon Campground will be there for other generation’s to experience.
    Thanks for the update!!

  9. Just curious……whatever happened to all the amazing artifacts & items that were in the lab? Are they housed somewhere for safe keeping or on display elsewhere to view?
    Thanks!

  10. Great news. But they need to get management on the ball. First of all, I hope Redwoods is out of the picture. They did a horrible job of managing this situation. Second, whoever is in charge …. GET THE WEB SITE FIXED ,. If you expect to open soon you better bring the website up to date. Otherwise you will not get any reservations. If you Google Cinnamon Bay, you still get the impression it is closed forever.

  11. This is the best new that I have heard yet! Thanks so much for the update. We were there in early October and were sad to see that nothing had been done. Will be back in November and would have totally stayed there!
    As long-time visitors to Cinnamon Bay campground, I agree with everyone else. Redwood brought nothing good to Cinnamon even before the storms!
    Thanks Jenn

  12. I don’t think it is possible to get rid of the concessioner at Cinnamon Bay. They have a 15 year contract. Hopefully they can work with the NPS and come up with some good solutions.

    Does anyone know if a phone line has been run past Cinnamon or Trunk Bay yet? How would NPS or the concessioner run computers or credit card payments? Just curious as they are pretty important things for any business and visitors! Oh and what’s the latest with the water system at Cinnamon, is it even working? Still a few problems to solve I think.

  13. Thank you for sharing. We are going back to St John next month and so looking forward to it. This will be our 10th visit. While we never stayed at Cinnamon Bay camp ground, we stayed at a house nearby on Little Cinnamon owned by the National Parks. Our friends who worked at NP were living on the property. We used to snorkel from the private beach to Cinnamon Bay. Does anyone know if one can still walk the beach from Cinnamon Bay to St. Peter’s Bay?

  14. I am available to help restore Cinnamon Bay as a volunteer . I have experience at Carpentry Electric Plumbing also I have spent 23 years as a project Manager
    847-84-6787

  15. Guys and Jenn,

    Been coming to St John for 20 years… Good news on the progress, but…
    Regarding websites that reference Cinnamon Bay Campground (CBCG), links that may or may not be accurate is a problem. I googled CBCG and Trip Advisor gave the “illusion” that it was fully operational as of May 2019. If you try to reserve a place, TA says “sold out” and points you elsewhere. This is bad, false advertising.
    Jenn,
    we love your updates about St John. Thank you.
    As news comes to you, please post further updates about Cinnamon Bay or Caneel Bay and the rest of Love City!

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