Cane Bay

Updated August 16, 2026

Cane Bay is on the north shore of St. Croix, about twenty-five minutes from Christiansted along the coast road. It is a good beach. It is a much better dive site.

The wall

A short swim off the beach, the shallow reef shelf ends and the seabed drops away vertically into thousands of feet of water. Divers descend along the face. The scale of it is the point — this is the kind of feature that usually requires a boat and a long ride, and here you walk into it from the sand.

There are dive shops on the road behind the beach. If you are certified, this is the dive to do on St. Croix. If you are not, several operators run discover-scuba sessions here.

Snorkelling

Snorkellers get the shallow reef between the beach and the drop-off, which is worth the swim on its own — coral heads, reef fish, turtles with some regularity. You will see the wall as a blue edge where the bottom disappears.

Go in the morning. North-shore water is calmest before the trade winds build, and visibility drops with the afternoon chop. In winter, a north swell can make Cane Bay unswimmable for days at a time — check before driving out.

The beach itself

Narrow, with a mix of sand and stone in places, palms behind it, and somewhere to eat and drink nearby. It is more a working dive beach than a lounging beach, which suits it.

Practical

• Empty your car. Beach-lot break-ins are the most common problem visitors have here. Take nothing, leave nothing visible.
• Water shoes help with the entry.
• No lifeguards.
• Reef-safe sunscreen.
• If there is visible swell breaking on the shore, do not swim out. Ask at a dive shop.

Nearby

The coast road either side of Cane Bay is one of the better drives on the island. Salt River Bay is east along the shore — national historical park, bioluminescent bay at night, and its own dive sites. The rainforest stretch is further west.

Cane Bay is about thirty-five minutes from our villa on the east end — an easy morning, back in time for lunch in town.

Common questions

What is the Cane Bay wall?

A vertical drop-off a short swim from Cane Bay beach where the seabed falls away into deep water. It is one of the few shore-accessible wall dives of this scale anywhere.

Can you snorkel at Cane Bay or only dive?

Both. Snorkellers stay over the shallow reef close to shore; the wall itself is a diving feature. Go in the morning before the wind picks up.