--- title: "Bordeaux Mountain, St. John: Guide and Vacation Rentals" url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas/bordeaux-mountain description: "Bordeaux Mountain, St. John, USVI: the ridge above Centerline Road, the island's highest ground at 1,286 feet per the park service, Cruz Bay 23 minutes." updated: 2026-10-09 source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas/bordeaux-mountain --- [St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john) · [Areas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas) # Bordeaux Mountain, St. John Bordeaux Mountain, St. John is the ridge above Centerline Road on the way to Coral Bay, the island's highest ground at 1,286 feet per the National Park Service, and a villa here trades sand for height and the view. It suits a party that will drive to every beach. From Bordeaux Mountain, Cruz Bay town is 23 minutes by car. Estates and places here: Ben Runnells Gut, Saunders Gut, Freemans Ground, Little Plantation, Hope, Bordeaux, Reef Bay, Lameshur Complex, Ajax Peak, Mamey Peak. These are the names on addresses and deeds; a villa in any of them is listed under Bordeaux Mountain. Car needed Steep roads Beach by car 25 min to Cruz Bay ferry 23 min to Cruz Bay town ## Staying in Bordeaux Mountain Bordeaux Mountain is the one St. John neighborhood that is not a bay. Centerline Road climbs out of Cruz Bay over the spine of the island, and Bordeaux Mountain Road leaves it along the crest toward the summit, which the National Park Service puts at 1,286 feet on its page updated October 2023, the highest ground on the island. The houses sit along that road and on the slopes below it, and the decision to stay here is a decision about height. You get the long view and a quiet road; you give up walking anywhere, because by our measurement every beach is a drive and so is every meal you do not cook. Rent a jeep, and ask the owner about the driveway before you book. The roads here measure steep by our survey, steeper than Cruz Bay's or Coral Bay's, and a driveway can be steeper than the road it leaves. From the middle of the area, Cruz Bay town is 23 minutes by car. Starfish Market there, open 7 am to 9 pm by its own listing as of October 2026, is the full grocery, and it is behind you once you climb, so a week up here starts with one long shop. VITRAN's Route 109 bus stops at Chateau Bordeaux on Centerline Road; its timetable is the Department of Public Works'. It will carry one guest down the hill for an errand, but the house still needs its own car. The North Shore beaches are the ones you will drive to. From the middle of Bordeaux Mountain, Maho Bay is 14 minutes by car, Cinnamon Bay 15, Francis Bay 20, Trunk Bay 20, Hawksnest 24 and Caneel Bay 28 by our measurement, each down Centerline Road to the coast. Trunk Bay charges $5 a person aged 16 and over and has taken card or mobile payment only since October 1, 2026, per the National Park Service; the park has no entrance fee and the other beaches are free. The south shore lies the other way, and we have no measured leg from the ridge to it. From Cruz Bay town, Salt Pond Bay is 41 minutes and Lameshur Bay 45, where the park recommends four-wheel drive for the rocky end of the road. The federal notice for a rebuild of that road was canceled on September 21, 2026 with no award, and no new date had been published by October 8, 2026. The beach directly below the mountain is reached on foot. The Reef Bay Trail leaves Centerline Road at about mile marker 5 and runs about 3 miles one way down to the sand, through the ruins of four sugar estates, with a side trail at mile 1.6 to a waterfall and the petroglyphs the Taino left, per the National Park Service on its Reef Bay pages updated in 2023. The park calls it strenuous, steep and rocky in places, 2 to 4 hours, and the walk back is a 900 foot climb. The day is the walk, and the swim is the reward for it. The tradeoff: from the middle of the area, Trunk Bay is 20 minutes down and Cruz Bay's restaurants 23, and the last of every trip is a steep road home in the dark. If you want sand at the bottom of the garden, Great Cruz Bay is 12 minutes from Cruz Bay town; if you want the east side without the climb, Coral Bay is 28 minutes from the Cruz Bay ferry dock, around the harbor rather than on the ridge. If the view is the point, shop before you leave town and come up the hill once. Suits a party that wants the view more than the sand, a second trip that already knows the North Shore, and a driver who does not mind a steep road home. ## Getting around Bordeaux Mountain needs a car: the ground measures steep, so ask the owner about the driveway, every beach is a drive and Cruz Bay is 23 minutes by road. | Drive to | Minutes | | --- | --- | | Cruz Bay ferry | 25 | | Cruz Bay town | 23 | Measured on the island's roads. ### How to get to Bordeaux Mountain from St. Thomas The usual way: a taxi to the Red Hook ferry terminal (36 min), then the ferry to Cruz Bay (20 min, $8.15 a person), then 25 minutes by road from the dock to Bordeaux Mountain. About 81 minutes from Cyril E. King airport to the villa, more on cruise-ship days. Six other ways across are below, with times and fares.Every route From Charlotte Amalie waterfront - Ferry [The Charlotte Amalie ferry](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) The boat if you are stepping off a cruise ship or staying downtown: it leaves from the waterfront terminal, twice a day each way. 1. Ferry, Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay 45 min Plus $4 a bag; $3.50 child; $6 for residents 60 and over with the elderly ID · Two a day each way: 8:45 and 11:15 am from Cruz Bay, 10 am and 12:30 pm from Charlotte Amalie (Transportation Services of St. John) · Varlack Ventures lists its own Charlotte Amalie run as suspended for the off-season, as of October 2026; check its page before you plan on that boat · No reservation · [Times (Transportation Services of St. John and Varlack Ventures)](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) 45 min $13 a person $12 resident From Cyril E. King airport - Ferry [Taxi to Crown Bay, then the Inter Island boat](https://www.interislandboatservices.com/ferry-trips/crown-bay-to-cruz-bay/) The closest boat to the airport and the fastest door to dock, but two sailings a day, four Friday to Sunday. It lands at Cruz Bay Creek, not the main ferry dock. 1. Taxi to Crown Bay Marina 8 min 2. Boat to Cruz Bay Creek 35 min Boat only; $15 senior, $10 child 3 to 11. The taxi to Crown Bay is $8 for one rider, $6 each for two or more. · 3:30 and 5:30 pm daily; 9:45 am and 2:15 pm Friday to Sunday · Check in 30 minutes before departure · [Times (Inter Island Boat Services)](https://www.interislandboatservices.com/ferry-trips/crown-bay-to-cruz-bay/) 43 min $20 a person - Ferry [Taxi to Red Hook, then the ferry](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) The route most guests take. The taxi is the long part; allow extra on cruise-ship days and at school-run time. 1. Taxi to the Red Hook ferry terminal 36 min 2. Ferry to Cruz Bay 20 min Ferry only, plus $4 a bag. The taxi to Red Hook is $23 for one rider, $17 each for two or more. · Ferry hourly, 5:30 am to 10 pm · No reservation · [Times (VITRAN, run by Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures)](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) 56 min $8.15 a person $6 resident - Ferry [Taxi to Charlotte Amalie, then the ferry](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) Rarely the best choice from the airport: the terminal is closer than Red Hook, but the crossing is twice as long and only two boats a day leave Charlotte Amalie. 1. Taxi to the Charlotte Amalie ferry terminal 12 min 2. Ferry to Cruz Bay 45 min Ferry only, plus $4 a bag. The taxi to the terminal is $11 for one rider, $9 each for two or more. · Two a day from Charlotte Amalie, 10 am and 12:30 pm (Transportation Services of St. John) · Varlack Ventures' Charlotte Amalie run was suspended for the off-season in October 2026; it usually sails again from about November, so check its page first · [Times (Transportation Services of St. John and Varlack Ventures)](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) 57 min $13 a person $12 resident - Water taxi [Taxi to Crown Bay, then a private water taxi](https://stthomaswatertaxi.com/) Your own boat on your own schedule, any hour with notice. Priced by the boat, from $695, so it makes sense for a full house arriving together. The operator does not publish the crossing time, so no total is shown. 1. Taxi to Crown Bay Marina 8 min 2. Water taxi to Cruz Bay The boat, not the seat; the operator quotes from $695 from Crown Bay and from $495 from Compass Point Marina. The land taxi to Crown Bay is $8 for one rider, $6 each for two or more. · By reservation; 24-hour service with notice from $695 a boat From Red Hook, St. Thomas - Ferry [The Red Hook ferry](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) The default way over: hourly until 10 pm, no booking, and it lands at the main dock in the middle of Cruz Bay. 1. Ferry, Red Hook to Cruz Bay 20 min Plus $4 a bag. Varlack adds a fuel surcharge from June 12, 2026. · Hourly, 5:30 am to 10 pm from Red Hook, 6 am to 10 pm from Cruz Bay; an off-season timetable runs from late July, usually to the end of October, so check the operator's current schedule · No reservation; buy at the window · [Times (VITRAN, run by Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures)](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) 20 min $8.15 a person $6 resident - Car barge [The car barge](https://www.viport.com/schedules-ferrycargoschedules) Only with your own car, or a rental whose company allows the crossing: National and Discount Car Rental say theirs may go (their own pages, 2026-10-09), so ask yours first. Most people rent on St. John. The crossing time is not published, so no total is shown. 1. Car barge to the Theovald Moorehead terminal at Enighed Pond [Times (Big Red Barge, Love City Car Ferries and Global Marine)](https://www.viport.com/schedules-ferrycargoschedules) $65 a car one way, $80 round trip, on the Big Red Barge and Love City Car Ferries rates pages (checked 2026-10-09). Each company sells its own tickets. Fares change; the operator's page has today's. Road legs measured on island roads. Taxi fares are the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff, in force since October 2022: per person, less each for two or more traveling together, plus $3 a bag. Checked 2026-10-09. Bordeaux Mountain carries a cell tower, and phones near it get a stronger signal than almost anywhere else on St. John, going by the trip reports we read. The houses store their own rain in cisterns, and the generator question is worth settling with the owner before you book, since the island's power arrives by cable from St. Thomas. ## Beaches near Bordeaux Mountain - [Maho Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/maho-bay) about 14 min - [Cinnamon Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/cinnamon-bay) about 15 min - [Waterlemon Cay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/waterlemon) about 17 min ## Questions about Bordeaux Mountain **Where is Bordeaux Mountain?** Bordeaux Mountain is the ridge in the middle of St. John, US Virgin Islands, between Cruz Bay and Coral Bay. Centerline Road crosses its shoulder and Bordeaux Mountain Road runs along the crest toward the summit. Cruz Bay town is 23 minutes by car by our measurement, and the North Shore beaches lie below it. **How high is Bordeaux Mountain?** 1,286 feet, per the National Park Service's description of the park's geography, updated October 2023, which makes it the highest ground on St. John. The park's own words are that the mountain plunges sharply to the sea. **Do you need a car on Bordeaux Mountain?** Yes. On roads this steep, a jeep beats a sedan. The roads measure steep by our survey, every beach is a drive and Cruz Bay town is 23 minutes away. Ask the owner whether the driveway needs four-wheel drive before you book. **How far is Bordeaux Mountain from Cruz Bay?** 23 minutes by car from the middle of the area to Cruz Bay town, by our measurement, on Centerline Road, steep for most of the way. A taxi from the Cruz Bay ferry up to Bordeaux Mountain is $26 for one person or $17 each for two or more on the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff in force since October 2022, plus $3 a bag. **Which beaches are near Bordeaux Mountain?** From the middle of the area by our measurement: Maho Bay 14 minutes by car, Cinnamon Bay 15, Francis Bay and Trunk Bay 20, Hawksnest 24 and Caneel Bay 28, all down Centerline Road to the North Shore. Trunk Bay charges $5 a person aged 16 and over, card or mobile payment only since October 1, 2026, per the National Park Service; the rest are free. **Can you hike down to a beach from Bordeaux Mountain?** Yes, on foot and back up again. The Reef Bay Trail leaves Centerline Road at about mile marker 5 and runs about 3 miles one way to the beach, past the petroglyph spur at mile 1.6, with a 900 foot climb out, per the National Park Service as of its page updated September 2023. Allow 2 to 4 hours. Written by Virgin Islands Villas. At a glance **Rentals listed here** None yet **Car** Car needed **Roads** Steep roads **Beach** Beach by car **Cruz Bay ferry** 25 min **Cruz Bay town** 23 min No owner-listed rentals in Bordeaux Mountain yet. [See every villa on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/vacation-rentals?island=st-john), or [list yours](https://virginislandvilla.com/list-your-villa). Other areas on St. John - [Great Cruz Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas/great-cruz-bay) - [Where to stay on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas)