Discussing everything you need to know about hiking up Goat Hill loacated in the United States Virgin Islands.
As a homeschool family, we enjoy venturing into the great outdoors whenever weather permits. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, but homeschooling and homemaking on the go is not an easy feat. My husband’s work keeps him traveling. When an opportunity arises, we travel along with him.
This time we had the wonderful opportunity to join my husband as he worked in the Virgin Islands. On his days off we toured the island and enjoyed family-friendly hikes all over the island.
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It’s not every day we get to live in the Virgin Islands, so why not hike up a rocky trail as a family. A hike up Goat Hill is not a kid-friendly hiking trail, but we sure had fun hiking as a family. Our family chose not to ascend to Goat Hill, but I can assure you that our hike up to the Ridge-Line Rest stop was just as adventurous.
Let me explain more about our family hiking experience.
As I mentioned, we as a family only chose to hike up the very steep and rocky trail to the Ridge-Line Rest Stop location of the ascent to Goat Hill. If you choose to, you can hike to the summit of Goat Hill. However, our family decided to turn back, thanks to various reasons.
I won’t be the first to tell you that island life and island time are real.
Virgin Island Travel Tips:
- Download: A map of the island on your GPS. Cell towers go down and are out of range frequently.
- Land Marks: Know your landmarks, your GPS may work, but VI has minimal GPS addresses.
- Cash: Have you ever experienced a rolling black? There is a first time for everything!
That being said, St. Croix, VI offers several hiking trails to enjoy and experience, but your GPS won’t find them. Additionally, most paths are not taken care of (at least when we lived there) and are overgrown, so you may not be able to find them. Don’t be afraid to ask a local for help.
Where is Goat Hill located?
The best way to find the Goat Hill hiking trail start is to drive to the east end of the island towards Point Udall (correct GPS address). Goat Hill is part of a series of trails that run together starting at Point Udall (hike trail is Jack and Isaacs Bay Preserve), scatter, and reconnect at various points around hills on the east side of the island. We spent Christmas day 2019 as a family hiking Point Udall so we thought we’d try Goat Hill.
Side Note: If you are feeling adventurous, start your hike from Point Udall. At some point, the trail will run into Goat Hill’s route.
The easiest way to find Goat Hill’s hiking trail is to look for the Very Long Baseline Array Telescope. You can’t miss it on your way to Point Udall once you’ve spotted the Array Telescope park anywhere. Anywhere! Then, walk right up to the telescope’s gate, look to your left, and you found the trail. Random. I know!
Start Hiking!
The hiking trail appears to be easy to handle but quickly becomes rocky and steep.
After we hiked the trail for a while, we heard buzzing sounds coming from vegetation around us. Maybe bees? We did not wait around to find out.
The route is overall shady and lined with cactus.
Spectacular view from Ridge-line. Well worth the climb to witness God’s creation.
You can see why we chose not to reach the summit of Goat Hill, especially with kids and a toddler in tow. Hiking to the ridgeline was all we needed.
Rain on Buck Island.
A closer view of Buck Island as we descend down Goat Hill.
We enjoyed our family time and worked on the need for exercise. If you choose to hike this trail, I would suggest bringing water, wearing proper hiking shoes, sunscreen, and bug spray. Although, I’ve seen locals hike trails in flip flops. You do you!
Jaclyn