4 Best Sights in North Shore, St. John

Because there's little shade, this beach gets toasty in the afternoon, when the sun comes around to the west, but the rest of the day it's a delightful stretch of white sand. The only facilities are a few picnic tables tucked among the trees and a portable restroom, but folks come here to watch the birds that live in the swampy area behind the beach. There's also a boardwalk here for bird-watching. In addition, the park offers weekly bird-watching hikes; sign up at the visitor center in Cruz Bay. To get here, turn left at the Annaberg intersection. Amenities: parking; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; swimming; walking.

Seagrapes and waving palm trees line this narrow beach, and there are portable toilets, cooking grills, and a covered shed for picnicking. It's the closest drivable beach to Cruz Bay, so it's often crowded with locals and visitors. A patchy reef just offshore means snorkeling is an easy swim away, but the best underwater views are reserved for ambitious snorkelers who head farther to the east along the bay's fringes. Watch out for boat traffic: although a channel of buoys marks where dinghies or other small vessels can come up onto the sand to drop off or pick up passengers, the occasional boater strays into the swim area. Amenities: parking; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

This gorgeous strip of sand sits right along the North Shore Road. It's a popular place, particularly on weekends, when locals come out in droves to party at the picnic tables on the south end of the beach. The snorkeling along the rocky edges is good, but the center is mostly sea grass. If you're lucky, you'll cross paths with turtles. There are portable toilets at the end of the beach. Across the beach is Maho Crossroads, with food trucks, a bar, and a couple of shops. Amenities: food and drink; parking; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

It's worth stopping here, just past the Hawksnest Bay overlook, for great views of St. John, St. Thomas, and the BVI. On the flat promontory is an old sugar mill.