Magens Bay
Magens Bay is the public beach park at the head of a deep bay on St. Thomas's north side, 14 minutes by car from Charlotte Amalie. The Magens Bay Authority charges $7 a visitor and $2 to park, per its passes page as of October 2026, open 7 am to 5:30 pm. Below: rules, the trail, snorkeling, villas nearby.
Conditions: The Magens Bay Authority describes the water as calm with a sandy bottom. The Department of Planning and Natural Resources tests the bay for its weekly beach advisory and advises against swimming after heavy rain. The Authority publishes no lifeguard hours and said in October 2023 that it struggled to keep every stand staffed, so swim near a staffed one.
Magens Bay at a glance
| Entry | $7 per person; residents $2; under 12 free (the Magens Bay Authority, as of October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Hours | 7 am to 5:30 pm, every day (the Magens Bay Authority, as of October 2026) |
| Parking | $2 per vehicle, in the lots along the park road; no count is published (the Magens Bay Authority, as of October 2026) |
| Restrooms | Yes |
| Shade | Some |
| Snorkeling | 3 of 5, Good |
| Crowds | Busy when ships are in |
| Drive from Charlotte Amalie | about 14 minutes by car |
| Lifeguard | Yes |
Verified Oct 9, 2026.
Conditions today at Magens Bay
As of 7:00 AM on Oct 16, 2026, island time. Read each morning from the National Weather Service, DPNR and Open-Meteo; the bay opens northwest, by our read from the map.
- Sea state
- Sheltered. The swell is from the east at 0.9 m, period 5 seconds; Magens Bay opens northwest, so the bay sits in the lee.
Open-Meteo wave model at the nearest ocean cell; the bay's opening is our read from the map.
- Rip current risk
- Low. Surf around 3 feet, east winds around 15 mph.
National Weather Service San Juan, surf zone forecast for St Thomas, St John and adjacent islands, issued 3:51 AM.
- Water test
- Met the standard, week of Oct 9, 2026. Met it in 76 of 76 weeks sampled since Aug 2, 2024. The advisory.
DPNR samples for Enterococci bacteria and turbidity weekly; a result after heavy rain can change within the week.
- Rain
- Dry through the day; the chance of rain peaks at 21%.
Open-Meteo hourly forecast at the pin.
- The day
- UV index up to 8; sunset 5:56 pm; sea 30 °C, 85 °F.
Open-Meteo.
Getting there
About 14 minutes by car from Charlotte Amalie. How to reach St. Thomas: Flights to St. Thomas, How to get around St. Thomas, St. Thomas airport, St. Thomas cruise port, St. Thomas map, St. Thomas weather by month, Things to do in St. Thomas.
Getting to Magens Bay by car or taxi
Magens Bay is 14 minutes by car from Charlotte Amalie, 5.5 km by road as we measured it. The Magens Bay Authority's directions are to follow Northside Road, Route 35, out of downtown until the entrance to Magens Bay Park appears on the left. Parking is $2 a vehicle in the lots along the park road, as of October 2026.
Without a car, take a taxi: from town or the Havensight dock it is $15 for one rider and $12 each for two or more, and $18 or $15 from the Crown Bay cruise terminal, at the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's rates, unchanged since October 2022. From the ships, we measure 21 minutes by car from Havensight and 23 from Crown Bay.
Plan the ride back. The Authority says return taxis wait at the beach entrance, and tells cruise passengers to leave the beach at least 90 minutes before all-aboard.
What the $7 entrance fee pays for
As of October 2026 the Magens Bay Authority's passes page charges $7 a day for each non-resident, $2 for a resident with local ID, nothing for children under 12, and $2 to park. The visitor fee has been $7 since Oct 1, 2023; the Authority's own posts from 2025 still print the old $5, so trust the passes page. Hours are 7 am to 5:30 pm every day, per the Authority as of October 2026.
As of October 2026 the fee pays for a staffed beach: lifeguards, restrooms, semi-salt water showers, changing rooms, picnic areas with charcoal grills, and parking. The bathhouse wrecked by the 2017 hurricanes is being rebuilt with Federal Emergency Management Agency money, and the Authority's board heard in September 2026 that it was about 90% complete; ask the Authority if it is open.
The rest is extra. As of October 2026 Fairchild's Bar & Grill, at the center of the beach, serves from 10 am to 5 pm, last call for food at 4 pm, and the Magens Bay Beach Club lists a lounge chair at $20 a day, a shaded one at $30 and a two-person cabana at $100, plus a convenience fee it does not quantify, and no lockers.
You may bring your own food and drink to the picnic areas, by the Authority's FAQ. The sign at the gate rules out glass, pets other than service dogs, fishing and jet skis.
The tradeoff is the ship-day crowd. The general manager told the board in September 2026 that an average cruise ship day brings roughly 1,200 to 2,000 visitors, and the Authority's FAQ says plainly that the beach gets crowded when ships are in. Arrive early, and before you pick a day, read the Virgin Islands Port Authority's Crown Bay schedule; Havensight ships are on the West Indian Company's own list.
What to do at Magens Bay, St. Thomas
Swimming comes first: the Authority describes the water as calm with a sandy bottom. On the water, WoW Water Sports rents from a stand on the sand. As of October 2026 its site lists a single kayak at $30, a paddleboard or a pedal kayak at $35 and a Sunfish sailboat at $45, life vests included; it gives no rental period, so ask what the price buys.
On land, the arboretum Arthur S. Fairchild planted in 1927 sits beside the beach: 3 acres, replanted with 160 trees in 1997 after the hurricanes took the originals. The longer walk is the Discovery Nature Trail: 1.5 miles between the west end of the beach and a trailhead off Magens Bay Road at Canaan, through dry forest, moist forest and a boardwalk over mangroves. The Authority allows about 1 hour 20 minutes and suggests starting at the top, so the walk is downhill. Settle the ride back to the car before you start.
Swimming and snorkeling at Magens Bay Beach
Magens Bay is a swimming beach before it is a snorkeling one. By our measurement the sand runs about 1.1 km from end to end, and the middle of the bay is sand all the way across. What the Magens Bay Authority promises a snorkeler is a calm sandy bottom and tropical reef fish, which means the rocky ends of the beach, not the middle. The Beach Club's price list carries no snorkel sets as of October 2026, so bring a mask from the villa.
Lifeguards are on the Authority's list of the park's amenities, without hours, as of October 2026. The Authority said in October 2023 that it struggled to keep every stand staffed, so swim near one that is. The Department of Planning and Natural Resources tests the bay for its weekly beach advisory and advises against swimming after heavy rain; check the advisory after a storm.
A public park since Arthur Fairchild's 1946 gift
Magens Bay is a public park because Arthur S. Fairchild gave it away. The Authority's history says he donated 56 acres, beach, grove and grassland, to the municipalities of St. Thomas and St. John in 1946 as a public park. Suits a family with small children, a first beach day on St. Thomas, and anyone who wants a lifeguard, a shower and lunch without leaving the sand. Coki Beach is 20 minutes by car from Charlotte Amalie, and Hull Bay, the next bay west, is 17 minutes from here, back over the ridge.
Questions people ask about Magens Bay
- Where is Magens Bay?
- Magens Bay is on the north side of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, at 6200 Magens Bay Road, 14 minutes by car from Charlotte Amalie. The beach sits at the head of a deep bay between the Peterborg peninsula and Tropaco Point, and the Magens Bay Authority runs it as a public park.
- Is there a fee at Magens Bay?
- Yes. As of October 2026 the Magens Bay Authority's passes page charges $7 per person a day for non-residents and $2 for residents with local ID, children under 12 free, and $2 a vehicle to park. Chairs are separate, from $20 a day on the Magens Bay Beach Club's site as of October 2026.
- What is there to do at Magens Bay, St. Thomas?
- Swim first, in calm water over sand. WoW Water Sports rents kayaks, paddleboards and Sunfish on the beach, Fairchild's Bar & Grill serves lunch, and the 1.5-mile Discovery Nature Trail climbs from the west end of the beach to Canaan.
- How long is Magens Bay beach?
- Magens Bay beach is about 1.1 km long, a little under three quarters of a mile, measured along the sand as it is mapped. The Magens Bay Authority publishes no length of its own.
Written by Virgin Islands Villas. Facts verified Oct 9, 2026. Updated Oct 16, 2026.
