Well, not all "the improvements" the National Park Service has made along the north shore are pleasing.
While Trunk Bay has new lifeguard stations, and there are new walkways through some ruins, it's going to be tougher to get to some of the most popular beaches.
The availability of parking spots at both Maho's beaches and Cinnamon Bay have been reduced.
At Maho, Rangers have begun issuing tickets to vehicles parked on the shoulder of the road and along the beach. The Service says it's built a new parking lot, and people should use it.
Meanwhile, at Cinnamon Bay, the Service has signs threatening $175 boot fees for anyone found parking at the Campground's lot and who is not a registered guest. Folks staying at Cinnamon have to get permits from the front desk which they can then put on their dashboards.
Both moves are likely to have several effects. First, visitors will be frustrated. They've got a huge SUV, full of beach chairs and coolers, and nowhere to park it. Nowhere easy, that is. They'll park it somewhere! Probably along the road, so driving along the North Shore will require a bit more caution.
Second, restricting parking may generate more interest in shuttle buses from Cruz Bay to the beaches. Which, of course, begs the question,where do you park that SUV in CB? Quick, answer – the parking lot at the Enighed commercial dock.
It's going to be an interesting winter season!
So at Maho, can you park back into the woods across the street still (into the few backoff spots) or is that considered parking on the shoulder of the road?
Where is the the new parking lot located and for how many cars?
Thanks!
I hope they can figure this out. For me and many others
the north shore beaches are a big pull to visit, I would not like to be limited to which beaches I can visit because of parking. Some days I would visit 3 or 4 beaches in one day.
GET IT RIGHT GUYS, THERE IS TOO MUCH TO LOSE, LIKE
VISITORS WHO COME AND SPEND THEIR MONEY, (just saying)…
Maybe the car rental companies should get involved somehow to come up with a plan for parking. Tourist pay more than $400 per week for a car rental, and then get frustrated looking for places to park without threats of booting, or towing. We live in New Orleans, and face the same problem in the French Quarter…Whether locals like it or not, St John relies heavily on tourism to support the economy, and should be more willing to accommodate them when they visit…
Not being able to park at Cinnamon Bay & enjoy that public beach without being a registered guest is absolutely insane!! Why in the world are people making it SO difficult to enjoy this island?? Almost makes me want to go somewhere else that is more visitor friendly…..will have to start looking elsewhere to spend my tourist dollars!
After paying for a car rental for a week I will DEFINATELY NOT be paying for a shuttle to take me from Cruz Bay to Cinnamon….again guess this island doesn’t want my tourist dollars!
THINK PEOPLE….DON’T MAKE IT HARD FOR TOURIST TO ENJOY YOUR ISLAND & THESE BEACHES…YOU NEED THE DOLLARS!
Beach Girl, YOU ARE ON THE MONEY WITH YOUR COMMENTS! I HAVE BEEN GOING TO ST JOHN ANNUALLY FOR MORE THAN 28 YEARS AND IT SEEMS THINGS ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT, RATHER THAN TOURIST FRIENDLY…I TOO HAVE STARTED THINKING ABOUT OTHER PLACES TO VISIT…
I somehow think people who are making these decisions want to get rid of tourist, that impacts EVERYONE. Like 2 gas stations in Cruz Bay and Not a one in Coral bay, A new parking lot that has no built in service shuttles to the beach, Rangers who spend time fining the tourists instead of dealing with invasive plants and making trails safe? Taxis that hog all the space at the ferry dockl when they could just arrive maybe 2 by 2 when needed? Come on. Yes I am frustrated, people making decisions aren’t thinking.
First off, St John has no representative government, so to criticize St Johnians as if we meet in some non-tourist area and scheme about ways to make tourists complain is plain wrong. Second, the national park is managed and run by the federal government. It is likely that the tourists who stay at Cinnamon had A LOT to do with the policy change there, so that decision helps some tourists(it does not help locals at all). Third, the parking lot at Maho has increased the number of spaces in my opinion and made it easier to park, but if you would prefer to erode the beach away with your parking… So, Art, you cant figure out how to fix your parking issue in NOLA, but you insist we can figure ours out? guess what, we did. There are two paid parking lots right downtown, Neither are EVER sold out. Plus the free lot by the barge if you dont want pay. Ultimately, I feel that given tourists tend to out populate locals on this island, you should equally take blame for the direction things go, after all, 75% of the homes owned are owned by TOURISTS. Were all here together
Silly island squabbles and inneficiency. The more things change the more they stay the same. “We’re all here ’cause we’re not all there.”
I’ll park my car at a gorgeous beach damn it! My money is needed! Give me options! Your driving us spending freaks away! You’ll regret it! Let me design my life, I have money!
The ocean finds a way to clean up the crap, maybe this is it, just happens to be this is how and where they deficate, er I mean communicate.
with response to Parkforpeace, believe me if I could figure out how to fix the problem with parking here at home I would. I did not “insist” the problem in St John be fixed either, I only said maybe they should be more willing to accommodate people that visit your island and help support your economy there. If you live there you must know that St John relies heavily on tourism for support, just as New Orleans does. I feel the same way about our city doing everything possible to make the tourist here happy too. As far as your comment about 75% of the people there that own homes are “tourist”, they do pay property taxes and many of them live there at least part time, but I suppose that’s not enough for you to consider them a “St Johnian” or a “local” like yourself. If you really do feel that your are all here together, then don’t label the people who are fortunate enough to own homes there and pump dollars into the economy…without them and the “tourists” that visit each year, unless you are independently wealthy, maybe you wouldn’t be so fortunate to live on the beautiful island of St John either….