Buck Island Reef National Monument
Welcome to Buck Island Reef National Monument, called “the finest marine garden in the Caribbean Sea” by President John F. Kennedy. Snorkel the famous underwater trail, explore endangered elkhorn coral reefs. Hike the trails on the 176-acre island to the observation platform for an unparallel view. Discover a vibrant world above and beneath the waves in this Caribbean paradise.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Buck Island Reef National Monument | Daily · 7:00AM - 5:00PM |
When to go
March draws the most visits here and September the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Buck Island Reef National Monument ↗
There is no visitor center at Buck Island. Please visit the bookstore or fee booth at Christiansted National Historic Site. The bookstore is located at the historic Scale House, at the water's edge. The fee booth is located just inside the gate and to the right in Fort Christiansvaern.
No campgrounds, no webcams, no things to do or events in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.
Explore
News
- Buck Island Reef National Monument Launches Trail Restoration Project ↗2026-05-26
Buck Island Reef National Monument has begun restoration of the island’s only land-based hiking trail. Supported by President Donald J.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Historic landmarks nearby
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
National park guidebooks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Full checklist: 37 birds, 1 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsOsprey · Peregrine Falcon · Red-tailed Hawk
Waterfowl & wadersBrown Pelican · Little Blue Heron · White-cheeked Pintail · Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Oystercatcher · Black-bellied Plover · Brown Booby · Killdeer · Laughing Gull · Least Tern · Lesser Yellowlegs · Magnificent Frigatebird · Royal Tern · Ruddy Turnstone · Spotted Sandpiper · Wilson's Plover
Gamebirds & dovesCommon Ground-Dove · Mourning Dove · White-crowned Pigeon · Zenaida Dove
Also on the checklistBananaquit · Belted Kingfisher · Black-faced Grassquit · Black-necked Stilt · Black-whiskered Vireo · Caribbean Elaenia · Chuck-will's-widow · Gray Kingbird · Green-throated Carib · Mangrove Cuckoo · Ovenbird · Pearly-eyed Thrasher · Smooth-billed Ani · Yellow Warbler
Small mammalsBLACK RAT
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Diving and snorkeling in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
Weather & climate
Welcome to the tropics!
Questions people ask
Does Buck Island Reef charge an entrance fee?
No. Buck Island Reef is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Buck Island Reef?
Standard hours are 7:00AM - 5:00PM, every day.
Source: National Park Service
How busy is Buck Island Reef?
40,079 recreation visits in 2025, number 280 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
When was Buck Island Reef established?
1961. It covers about 0.3 square miles.
Source: Wikipedia
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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