St. Thomas sunset spots: Mountain Top and the overlooks

Can you see the sunset from Mountain Top?

Not during the hours its site lists. Mountain Top's own site lists its hours as 9 am to 5 pm, seven days a week, as of October 2026, and the earliest sunset of the year on St. Thomas is 5:42 pm, in late November, computed for every day of 2026 with the solar equations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In early July the sun goes down at 7 pm, two hours after the doors close.

The view faces the other way in any case. Measured on the map from the summit, Magens Bay lies east-northeast of Mountain Top and Cruz Bay on St. John east-southeast, with the British Virgin Islands beyond them to the east. The sun sets between west-southwest and west-northwest, depending on the month, which puts it behind you as you stand at the rail looking at the bays. Mountain Top is a morning or midday stop: go for the long view east, and watch the sunset from somewhere that faces west.

What is at Mountain Top, St. Thomas

An observation deck, a bar and a duty-free gift shop on the summit of St. Peter Mountain. The operator, Mountain Top LLC, gives the address as 7840 Mountain Top and says the deck looks out over more than 15 islands and cays, Magens Bay, St. John and the British Virgin Islands among them. Its site puts the deck 1,500 feet above Magens Bay in two places and 1,200 feet in one heading; we print the 1,500.

The bar is known for one drink. The operator credits the banana daiquiri to a Capt. Soule, who it says created it there, and the bar still serves it. Mountain Top's site names no entry fee as of October 2026, so this page prints none. Call (340) 774-2400 before a visit: the site's copyright line reads 2022 to 2023, and its hours carry no date of their own.

Drake's Seat, the lookout above Magens Bay

Drake's Seat is a roadside lookout on Skyline Drive, on the ridge between Charlotte Amalie and the North Side. It faces north: Magens Bay is about a kilometer due north of it, measured between the two points on the map, and Mountain Top is 2.1 km to the west along the same ridge.

We found no page from the territory's government that describes the lookout, gives hours or sets a fee, as of October 2026, so none is printed here. Because it faces north, the sun goes down to your left, never in front of you. It is a view of Magens Bay for any hour of daylight.

What time is sunset in St. Thomas?

Between 5:42 pm and 7 pm, depending on the month: earliest in late November and latest in early July, by NOAA's solar equations run for every day of 2026 at Charlotte Amalie. The month-by-month times below are the US Naval Observatory's for the same point. Last light, the end of civil twilight, comes 21 to 24 minutes after sunset in every month.

Times for 2026 from the US Naval Observatory, read October 9, 2026; they move by a minute or so from year to year. Bearings are degrees from north, computed for the same point with NOAA's solar equations.

Which way to face for a St. Thomas sunset

West, and the exact bearing moves through the year: 245° in December, a little south of west, to 295° in June, north of west. A deck or a beach that opens to the north or the east puts the sun behind you.

Magens Bay opens to the north, and the Magens Bay Authority closes the park at 5:30 pm every day as of October 2026, 12 minutes before the earliest sunset of the year. Hull Bay, the next bay west, also faces north. Paradise Point, the Charlotte Amalie overlook on the hill above Havensight, home of the Skyride, looks west-northwest across the harbor to town, the one overlook here whose view lines up with the summer sunset.

Getting to Mountain Top and Drake's Seat

Both are reached by car on the ridge above Charlotte Amalie: Mountain Top at the top of St. Peter Mountain Road, Drake's Seat beside Skyline Drive, 2.1 km apart. We have not measured a drive to either, from town or from the cruise piers, so this page prints no minutes until we have. Plan Mountain Top before 4:30 pm, so the deck is still open when you reach the top, and be facing west by the time in the table.

Questions people ask

Can you drive to Mountain Top, St. Thomas?

Yes. Mountain Top is on the summit of St. Peter Mountain, at the top of St. Peter Mountain Road, and the operator gives its address as 7840 Mountain Top. We have not measured the drive from Charlotte Amalie or the cruise piers, so no time is printed here. The deck is open 9 am to 5 pm daily per Mountain Top's own site as of October 2026, so arrive by 4:30 pm.

Is Mountain Top St. Thomas open?

Mountain Top's own site lists 9 am to 5 pm, seven days a week, as of October 2026, with the observation deck, the bar and the duty-free shop on the summit. The site's copyright line reads 2022 to 2023 and the hours carry no date, so call (340) 774-2400 before you go. By those listed hours, it closes before sunset in every month.

What is Drake's Seat in St. Thomas?

A roadside lookout on Skyline Drive, on the ridge above Charlotte Amalie, facing north over Magens Bay about a kilometer below. We found no government page that sets hours or a fee for it as of October 2026, so none is printed here. Mountain Top is 2.1 km west along the same ridge. Because the lookout faces north, the sun sets to your left.

What time is sunset in St. Thomas on January 15?

6:04 pm, per the US Naval Observatory's 2026 figures for Charlotte Amalie, with last light at 6:27 pm. Through the year sunset runs from 5:42 pm in late November to 7 pm in early July, by NOAA's solar equations, so a January evening is about an hour shorter than a July one. The times move by a minute or so from year to year.