Back in mid-1950s, the noted American financier Laurence Rockefeller came to the St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and decided that the area was simply too beautiful to risk losing.  Rockefeller was a pioneer of eco-tourism, and had built several environmentally conscious resorts in USVI, the British Virgin Islands and in Hawaii.

In 1956, Rockefeller bought the land on St. John and turned it over to the National Parks Service, and the Virgin Islands National Park became the 29th national park in America.

Today, nearly three-quarters of a million people come to the Virgin Islands National Park to hike, swim and soak in the beauty.  The park now covers more than half of the island of St. John.

In 1962, the park was expanded to include nearly 6,000 acres of land under sea.  This was a move to protect to the island’s dedicated coral reefs.  In 2001, the Virgin Islands Coral Reef Monument was established; stretching three miles off the coast of St. John, and includes fields of sea grass and the mangrove forests along the beaches.

The park is particularly popular today with scuba divers and snorkelers, who book excursions out to explore the protected coral reefs.

History lovers can hike through the park, discovering ancient petroglyphs along the Reef Bay hiking trail, carved here by the Taino people who originally lived in these islands.  The other most popular trails include the Cinnamon Bay Nature Trail, which features the ruins of many old sugar plantations, and the Bordeaux Mountain Trail, which includes the highest point on the island and a stunning view of the whole island and the Caribbean Sea.

Trunk Bay Beach is part of the Virgin Islands National Park, and it has been voted one of the best beaches in the world by travel magazines.   The beach is soft white sand, and there is even an underwater snorkeling trail.

There are lots of reasons to book St. John vacation rentals, including all the natural wonders found in the Virgin Islands National Park.  The Softwinds St. John rental house is right next door to the park, making it the perfect choice for a natural and beautiful visit to the Virgin Islands.