Hello everyone, and happy Monday! With the recent closing of Lime Out, the East End has been pretty quiet. So today, we’d like to remind you that both Hansen and Saltwell Bottom beaches are open, and the property owners are inviting you to use their beaches and to enjoy the beautiful snorkeling nearby.
First, let’s talk about location. Hansen and Saltwell Bottom beaches are located on Centerline Road on St. John’s East End. Centerline Road is 12.8 miles – mile 0 is the roundabout and mile 12.8 is the end of the road. Both beaches are located just a bit before the end of the road. You will come to Hansen Beach first. Saltwell Bottom is just around the corner.
Both beaches are beautiful. Hansen Beach has a bit more sand while Saltwell Bottom is closer to Pelican Rock, some of the best snorkeling on island.
Both beaches offer free parking for guests. Hansen offers chairs and benches for guests, as well as portable restrooms. They also offer kayak and standup paddle boards for $30 for three hours.
Saltwell bottom charges $5 for chair rentals and $10 for umbrella rentals. Two-person, glass bottom kayaks can be rented for $25 an hour and are a great way to see the beautiful corals and fish near Pelican Rock without having to swim out there. Stand-up paddlebords are also available for $15 an hour. Ash, the owner of Saltwell Bottom beach, plans to open a campground on his property sometime next month.
Check out this video we took at Hansen Bay last month. This was taken before Lime Out closed.
And click here to read our story about Thalia, the owner of Hansen Bay beach.
Check out this video we took at Saltwell Bottom beach last month. This was taken before Lime Out closed.
And click here to read our story about Ash, the owner of Saltwell Bottom beach.
Both beaches are gorgeous, aren’t they??!!
So I get asked a lot about beach access here on St. John. The Virgin Islands Open Shorelines Act states that the public has “the right to use and enjoy” all of the beaches in the USVI, but it does not give us the right to cross private land to get to them. Thalia and Ash are allowing us all to go onto their private property to use these beaches. While they do not charge a fee, I encourage everyone to offer a small donation when visiting Hansen or Saltwell Bottom as a thank you for allowing us to enjoy their beautiful property. It’s not required of course, but it’s something I regularly do when bringing guests to these beaches.
That’s it for today, folks. I’m not sure about you, but I think I’m going to head out to the East End today! Grab your reef-safe sunscreen and your beach cooler and come on down. Have a great Monday everyone!
Hansen Beach charges $3 per person for “parking”. We paid it yesterday.
That’s odd. Thalia, the owner, told me last night that parking is free…
Thalia did in fact charge us $6.00 to park (my wife & I) on Thurs. Dec. 12, 2019. Maybe since Lime Out is gone they are temporarily waiving the parking fee? They need to charge something (or at least a voluntary donation), as they are providing lounge chairs, umbrellas, bathroom facilities, etc.
yeah…..I’ve typically dropped $5 in the jar. Never been told parking is “free”. I wouldn’t feel to good about leaving my Courtesy wrangler parked at Hansen without “volunteering” a little something to the caretaker/owner of the beach property.
Hansen def charges a fee, and they aren’t always the nicest about it.
Love love love east end snorkels… that said, just returned from another amazing visit and things have changed up a bit.
Vie’s beach (Hansen) is still free visit ( donation requested for parking), free use of SUPs, kayaks, and water floats. Nice beach with sandy entrance to the water.
Saltwell Bottom on the other hand is quite different. $3.00 per person entrance, $5.00 to park a car. $10.00 for umbrella. Price list continues to cover use of other amenities. While Saltwell Bottom knocks off a fair amount of the swim to Pelican rock… in our view can’t compete with Vie’s hospitality.
I guess I’ve missed something on Lime Out being closed. What’s up?
Hansen is our go-to beach because we stay in Coral Bay. Honestly glad to have the bay quiet again. The boat traffic was scary for swimming. I’ll be supporting Thalia and Dunya by donating. I also keep my Sunfish there and give them a seasonal storage fee.
They charge for parking.
Pls. keep us updated as to the opening of Ash’s campground.
I know Thalia , her sister and her son since 2010. Their land & access to beach were taken & stolen over by Vie who used to put a $5 charge to access to their beach though Vie stole the land from them for many years.
NOW : Access to Lime out was :
Pay 25 $ to rent a cayak then pay 20$ for a Taco = 45 $ ???
IF Thalia today ask for a $3 parking space, what is the problem with you the tourists ?
We are here today at Ash’s beach! We put our money in the donation box. Just beautiful! Thank you for sharing your beach, Ash!
Planning to come next month. Any word on non stop flights from Ct/Ny? Can’t seem to find them.
There are never nonstop flights from CT. The fastest way is to take JetBlue from BDL to San Juan and then on to STT. Delta offers direct flights from JFK.
AA and Delta have direct flight from JFK. They prices are pretty good as well.
can one easily snorkel from one beach to the other, like between hawksnest and Gibney? thanks
Yes, you can.