When asked for recommendations on must do’s around the island, I always encourage visitors to spend at least one day on the secluded south shore of St. John. Although a challenge to get to, the southern coastline really encapsulates the magic of St. John. Ruins from the Plantation days, interconnected hiking trails (including the well-known Reef Bay trail), and vibrant reefs make it one of my favorite areas of St. John.
While many people think of Hawksnest, Trunk, or Maho Bay when it comes to snorkeling on St. John, I recommend venturing away from the crowds and off the beaten path this upcoming season. One of my favorite snorkeling spots on the south shore is Yawzi Point, the peninsula that divides Great Lameshur Bay and Little Lameshur.
Getting to Yawzi Point and Lameshur Bay is not easy, therefore only 4-wheel drive vehicles are recommended for this trek. The rough, pothole-riddled dirt road to Lameshur is poorly maintained, and breaking down without cell service is not a great way to spend your day. Without a vehicle, Lameshur Bay is still accessible. Some other options are a bus that goes from Cruz Bay to Salt Pond a couple of times a day and taking the Reef Bay trail connection to the Lameshur Trail (1.5 miles).
If you do have a vehicle, it is about a 35-40 minute drive from Cruz Bay, you can either take Centerline, which would be a little quicker, or the scenic route along North Shore Road to Coral Bay. To prepare for the full day ahead, I recommend picking up sandwiches in Cruz Bay at Sam & Jack’s Deli or North Shore Deli. You can rent snorkel and beach gear for a good rate at several places in Cruz Bay too.
When you get to the bottom of the hill on Route 10 (Centerline) and see the Coral Bay sign on your right, take that right (Route 107) into Coral Bay. There is a little shopping center you’ll pass on your right. There are a few dining options here, offering everything from a slice of pizza to a saucy BBQ plate for you to enjoy afterwards. Continue along Route 107 past signs for Salt Pond and Lameshur Cottages. Lameshur Cottages has a helpful sign at their entrance that gives directions to Lameshur Bay and any other landmark nearby you’d like to stop at. At the very end of the road, you’ll see signs for Lameshur Bay. This is the end of the paved road.
Although it’s only 2 miles to Little Lameshur, the closest sandy beach to Yawzi Point, the drive takes about 20 minutes due to the rough terrain, so proceed with caution. Once you arrive at Little Lameshur, you should find plenty of parking, which is rare during peak season. The beach itself is typically quiet and uncrowded.
There is a short trail called Yawzi Point trail to the left of the beach that has an access point for snorkeling the tiny peninsula. You can either swim from Little Lameshur beach to the Point or walk the Yawzi Point trail and take the short spur left of the trail to shorten swimming distance. Yawzi Point often has moderate waves and can be a difficult swim, so again proceed with caution here.
Once you make it to the Point, there will be underwater cave structures abundant with juvenile reef fish. A little further out from the Point and there is a meadow of sea fans. Vibrant, purple sea fans sway gently in the current, and it is truly mesmerizing. There are a variety of coral here – clusters of elkhorn, sea fans, and brain coral cover the ocean floor and provide a home to many colorful reef fish. Most of the coral structures are along Yawzi Point and once past the point heading for Lameshur Bay, the ocean floor smooths out into a sandy canvas. This is a good turning around point.
Did you know? According to the St. John Historical Society, Yawzi Point likely got its name from being used as a place to isolate those afflicted with yaws, a tropical infectious disease that primarily affected children under 15 during the 18th century.
While it requires a full day commitment and a bit of effort to reach, this spot offers a far better snorkeling experience than the more crowded areas. After snorkeling, relax on the sandy shore of Little Lameshur, and if you’re still feeling adventurous, be sure to explore the 1.5 mile Lameshur trail that connects to Reef Bay (ruins of the Reef Bay Great House and Par Force are on this trail) or the .5 mile trail that leads to the remote shores of Europa Bay.
We love it out there but I can say its not for timid swimmers…….
Nice to see some content here again that is not commercial oriented for a change. Thank you..
I so agree! I actually enjoyed this.!
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the feedback! I’ll start writing more content like this
This was one of my all time favorite beaches….but be warned, the hike out to the Point is rough and full of those “catch-NO-release” vines.
Aw gee, now I’ll have to share.
Worth the effort.
This is an awesome spot for snorkeling. The Sea fans are the the star at this spot. Such amazing abundance and with the strong currents truly memorizing to experience. Saw a good sized barracuda as well. We go here every time we get to visit St. John. Went here Oct 21, 2024. Drive to Little Lameshur parking area. Jeep recommended due to huge holes in the dirt road, some very deep. We had a RAV4 for this trip and had to park about 300 yards from the parking area due to ‘pothole’ concern. Good workout 1/4-1/2 mile swim from the beach but well worth it ! ENJOY !
A secret place revealed! I saw my first spotted eagle ray here swimming in the deep blue canyons off the point. It’s a truly special and pristine piece of St. John.
We did the hike in June 2024 and the trail was very overgrown – waist-high in some areas. We got lost searching for a side trail off to the right that we never did find, supposed to lead down to a small beach to then swim out to the point. Beware that there is minimal shade and in some areas the trail gets quite steep, take plenty of water. We are in our early 40s and in good shape but we were drenched and exhausted by the time we made it back to the trailhead. The swim to the point from Little Lameshur beach is much more enjoyable than the hike!
Thanks for the info! The FVINP reached out to me to let me know the trail was still overgrown so I’ll add that in the article
You know what my wife just reminded me of? That brutal hike was the Tektite Trail, not Yawzi! My bad!!! We were searching for Beehive Cove to get in and swim out to the old Tektite site but couldn’t find a way through the brush. I’m sorry for the misinformation!!!
We always snorkel out to Yawzi Point (at least once per our annual 2 week visits) from the beach at Little Lameshur. Long swim but worth the effort at the end. On our trip last December, we thought the coral didn’t look good at all, sea fans weren’t beautiful purple color, more brownish (maybe due to lighting vs. actual health of the sea fans?) and lots of dead elkhorn coral. We thought the same thing in Dec. 2022. I hope the health of the coral has improved since then based on this article. We’ll be back in 3 weeks and this is usually our 2nd day snorkel (first and last is always Francis!!!).
Hopefully due to just lighting but I have noticed a change in the reefs immediately following hurricane season. I think increased runoff and rougher water are big culprits. Last time I was there was February 2023 and the sea fans looked good
Thank you so much, Hannah! Have enjoyed learning about the different beaches. Love this kind of content – learning about the island, people, culture, life. Not commercial – we can get that from the ads. Appreciate you being a touch point for the island we love.
Love your site! Re: Yazi article…. Who is the artist of the painting ? Love to contact them!
It’s Elaine from Coconut Coast Studio. She has a website you can order from too
Thank you for returning to “content” … that was the reason I subscribed and was about to unsubscribe as this post had turned into just “commercials”. I always go to the Lameshur area on each trip to STJ… take a 4 wheel and go slow but well worth the trek. You should do an article on Elaine and her work. She is a wonderful lady and a very talented long time local island artist!!!
Thanks for reading! And that’s a great idea. I’ll reach out to her. We used to be in yoga class together on Thursdays and she was always so sweet (: