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The Whim Plantation Museum - The Whim Plantation Museum is just 2 miles east of Frederiksted on Centerline Road.  Queen Mary Highway (also known as Centerline Road).

     Amid shady thickets of mahogany and 150-year-old tamarind trees stands a windmill, a chimney and a sugar factory named Whim Plantation.  This restoration, one of the finest Great Houses from the late 1700s, is filled with antiques and is open daily for tours.  The twelve-acre plantation is unique among those of the many ruined sugar plantations that dot the island.  You can see sugar cane growing nearby in one of the plantation gardens.  The grounds are graced with tropical flowers, plants and trees. The main house, composed of only three rooms with 3-foot-thick walls made of stone, coral, and molasses, resembles a luxurious European château. Also on site besides the main house are; the ruins of the plantation's sugar-processing plant, complete with a restored windmill, watch house and bathhouse, cookhouse and apothecary; also a museum and gift shop. This is one of St. Croix's finest showplaces. Admission $8 adults, $4 children.

               

 The estate is also site of many events held by the St. Croix Landmarks Society, such as evening concerts and wine tastings. Check  HERE to see what's happening during your visit.

St. George Village Botanical Garden - 127 Estate St - 1 St. George Just north of Centerline Rd, 4 miles east of Frederiksted   

     Just up the road is the 16-acre St. George Village Botanical Garden, a lush, peaceful oasis with more than 1,000 species of tropical flora. The garden is a feast for the eye and the camera, from the entrance drive bordered by royal palms and bougainvillea to the towering kapok and tamarind trees. Built amid sugar-mill ruins, the garden is among St. Croix's most photogenic sights.  The property contains ruins of a 19th-century sugarcane village and rum factory including workers' homes, manager's house, a bake oven, stone dam, a blacksmith's shop and foundations of a watermill.  Walking-tour maps are available at the entrance to the garden's great hall. Facilities include restrooms and a gift shop. Admission $8 Adults/$6 Seniors/ $1 Children 12 and under.  Website:  HERE

Cruzan Rum Factory- Estate Diamond 3, W. Airport Rd., Rte. 64  

     Down Queen Mary Highway to Route 64 is the Cruzan Rum Distillery,  the manufacturer of one the finest rums in the world. Rum has been made at this same location, once known as Estate Diamond, for 300 years, with only a brief interruption during Prohibition. A major export, the rum is both shipped in bulk to U.S. distilleries and bottled locally under the Cruzan Rum label.

     Guided tours depart from the visitor's pavilion and include a visit to the factory's old windmill. The whole affair is topped off with a complimentary mixed drink, of course. Call ahead for reservations.  Tours given Monday-Friday 9-11:30 a.m. and 1-4:15 p.m. Admission $4 adults, $1 children 18 and under.

 

Rain Forest - Route 76-Mahogany Road, also known as Rainforest Road.

     The rain forest is quite beautiful and shows how different St. Croix's landscapes are.  The rain forest area is completely different from the arid east end of the island. You will pass two roads that take you through St. Croix's "rain forest," (although, more accurately, it is a moist tropical forest).  One route, through a tunnel of cool green, winds through a mass of mango, papaya and other fruit trees and thick vines that help create a semi-canopy overhead.  Traveling along Mahogany Road, you'll see an abundance of other vegetation besides the mahogany trees; yellow cedar, and Tibet trees (also called "mother's tongue" because of the pods that rustle in the wind), kapok trees, turpentine trees, fruit trees and ferns. The air is filled with the scent of many  island fruits. The Forest is made up of 15 acres of private property which the owners have graciously consented to let visitors tour. Also in the Rain Forest, you will find a group of talented woodcarvers. You can order wood sculptures and chairs and tables all made from local mahogany and have them shipped to your home.

     Creque (pronounced "creaky") Dam Road (Route 58), by Sprat Hall Plantation, will also take you into the heart of St. Croix's rain forest. Creque Dam Road connects with Scenic Road (Route 78) on the north side of the island (This rugged road is recommended for four-wheel-drive vehicles). Creque Dam itself is a 45-foot high arch dam built in 1926 to store water for Frederiksted.

Carl and Marie Lawaetz Museum-- Route 76 (Mahogany Road)
      Just north of Route 76 you'll find the Carl and Marie Lawaetz Museum at Little La Grange, one of the more intriguing museums to open on the West End. This turn-of-the-century Danish West Indies home and gardens provide a fascinating glimpse into plantation life after the era of sugarcane farming had ended. Carl Lawaetz, originally from Denmark, bought the property in 1896 after serving six years as its overseer. Marie arrived from Denmark in 1902 after Carl courted her long distance. Their gardens and furnishings, now antiques, remain to remind visitors of another era.

   You can tour the estate with a member of the family and learn about rural life ways and values during the first half of the twentieth century.  Originally a sugar plantation, the estate was later turned into a cattle ranch. On the grounds are the reminders of a bygone era, including a decaying sugar mill on a nearby hill. The 19 acres of land are filled with beautiful flowers and tropical trees and bushes.  Inside you can inspect the family heirlooms, many brought over from Denmark. Marie decorated the home with her paintings, still hanging in almost every room. You're even shown the mahogany four-poster bed in which all seven of the Lawaetz family were born.  Website:   HERE

     The admission fee is $10.00 for adults, $4.00 for children between 6 and 12 years, free for children under 6 years, $5.00 for groups of 10 or more (Reservation Required), and seniors with ID. The museum is open November - April: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10-4 p.m.  May - October: Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday 10-3 p.m.

Estate Mount Washington Plantation  - At the very southwestern tip of the island, off Rte. 63, a mile inland from the highway that runs along the Frederiksted coast

Point Udall - Eastern End of the Island

     You've gone as far as you can go in the United States on the easternmost point of St. Croix, Point Udall. The spot is arid and barren, but beautiful. Bring your camera. The point was named for former Secretary of the Interior, Stuart Udall. The tranquil location of Point Udall offers you a beautiful view of the sea. Special ceremonies were held at Point Udall at the beginning of the millennium as the sun rose on the first day of 2000 on the most easternmost of American soils in the western hemisphere.

"Eye to the Sky"
Less than a mile from Point Udall, the National Science Foundation has funded the installation of a giant $5-million-dollar antenna -- 82 feet in diameter. This 260-ton dish will be used to explore the unknown universe. Visit the site, where guides will explain that the antenna is identical to nine others around the U.S. Together, the ten make up a single radio telescope, sharing their data over the Internet.

Salt River Bay National historical Park and Ecological Reserve

     The Salt River is the only documented site under the U.S. Flag where Christopher Columbus landed on November 14, 1493. The explorers anchored off a natural bay west of Christiansted, known today as Salt River. Some two-dozen armed men from Columbus' fleet went ashore to explore. These men were met by defensive arrows from the Caribs to which they retreated.

     The Bay remains an ecological preserve and home to the Virgin Islands largest remaining red, white, black and buttonwood mangrove forests which provides a protected breeding ground and sanctuary for countless species of birds, fish, and sea turtles.

     Marking the 500th anniversary of Columbus's arrival, former President George H. W. Bush signed a bill creating the 912-acre Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve.  If you visit on your own, a taxi from Christiansted will cost $22.

Little Princess Estate - Signposted north at Five Corners traffic light along Rte. 75 

     Overlooking Christiansted is the 24-acre Little Princess Estate Nature Conservancy. This area was a sugar plantation in the 1730s. Today, the decaying site occupies 25 acres and has been turned into a nature preserve. The centerpiece of the property is the Great House, built in the 1730s by Fredrik Moth, the first Danish governor of St. Croix. Walking paths have been cut through the grounds, taking you by the ruins of a hospital, old windmill, sugar and rum factory, workers' village, and through a garden.  One of the trails leads to a lovely beach. Leisurely walk through shady trails and explore historic buildings and ruins in a beautiful natural setting. This is a lovely place to visit

Buck Island

     In years past the island was frequented by the swashbuckling likes of Morgan, Lafitte, Blackbeard, and even Captain Kidd. The crystal-clear waters and white-coral sands of Buck Island, a satellite of St. Croix, are legendary. Some call it the single most important attraction of the Caribbean. Only about 1/2 mile wide and a mile long, Buck Island lies 1-1/2 miles off the northeastern coast of St. Croix. BUCK ISLAND REEF is the only United States National Monument (call it a "National Park") that is underwater. This 880-acre national monument of land is surrounded by 704 acres of water and coral reef system; a paradise for snorkelers.  The deep grottos and labyrinths are perfect for experienced scuba divers to explore. A barrier reef here shelters many reef fish, including queen angelfish and smooth trunkfish. The reef has two major underwater trails -- Turtle Bay Trail and East End Trail.

     The sandy beach has picnic tables and barbecue pits, as well as restrooms and a small changing room. There are no concessions on the island. Numerous boats operate off the dock in Christiansted.

 Warning: The island's western edge has groves of poisonous manchineel trees, whose leaves, bark, and fruit cause extreme irritation when they come into contact with human skin. Always bring protection from the sun's merciless rays -- including a hat and sunblock.

         

     Buck Island is accessible by boat only thus, you must go with a licensed tour operator. Full and half day excursions are available to this private, uninhabited island. Tour operators have food and water available and on the full days, you can even participate in a beach bar-b-que. Let the friendly boat crew or captain give you a refresher course in snorkeling and guide you through the colorful reefs that lie below the eastern shore. Perhaps you'll see turtles, octopus or snapper. You have to get to Christiansted to board for the following excursions so factor in the round trip taxi charge back to Frederiksted vs. the ships excursion to Buck Island:

Buck Island Excursions