Buck Island Underwater Trail
Named hiking route
Explore the finest marine garden in the Caribbean Sea by snorkeling the underwater trail. Swim through the grotto with schools of Atlantic blue tangs, catch glimpses of sea turtles and explore the branching elk horn and brain corals with ease. Important Information Be aware of weather conditions and always explore with a buddy Be cautious not to touch the coral or disturb the wildlife Know your limits, as conations and currents can change quickly
- States
- VI
- Trail type
- National Monument trail
- Centroid coords
- 17.7850°, -64.6103°
About Buck Island Reef National Monument
This trail is inside Buck Island Reef National Monument, a national monument managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/buck-island-underwater-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/buis/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Buck Island Underwater Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Other trails within 50 miles
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.