Friends Kicks Off Season With A Full Lineup Of Events, Seminars And Hikes

Reef Bay Hike On The Roster

With some 275 events, seminars, boat trips and hikes already on the 2022/23 schedule, Friends of Virgin Islands National Park (Friends) is looking forward to engaging community and visitors with the Park.  This season community and park visitors can sign up for everything from drumming at Cinnamon, baking at Annaberg, exploring Leinster Bay and the Network to Freedom, hiking Ram Head, and turtle talks at Maho. The popular Reef Bay Hike lead by a Ranger or Friends that includes a boat pickup at the bottom is also back.  Larger events include the upcoming Paddle The Park standup paddle board race at Maho Bay Beach on Sunday, November 13, 2022.

“Encouraging our community and visitors to our island to explore and engage in the park is integral to our mission,” says Tonia Lovejoy, Executive Director, Friends of Virgin Islands National Park.  “We are blessed to have natural and cultural resources on our doorstep that are awe inspiring and joyful. These activities expose people to these gifts as well as encourage them to be educated and responsible caretakers.” 

Beyond the scheduled events Friends has already hosted ten school groups this year, expects to start up regular Learn To Swim sessions every Saturday morning at Cinnamon Bay Beach in December, and will add other seminars throughout the season.  In addition, the volunteer trail crew walk up program on Tuesdays and Thursdays kicks off on November 22.

Most of the events offered by Friends are free with donations or membership suggested to help fund them.  The Reef Bay Hike, Marine Exploration Trip, and larger events have ticket and registration fees to cover costs and/or provide some fundraising revenue to support the work the Friends does.

To learn about more about these happenings, follow Friends of Virgin Islands National Park on facebook or instagram, or visit our events page here.