Exploring The Baths: Virgin Gorda’s Famous National Park

It’s no question that a visit to The Baths in Virgin Gorda is one of the top things to do in the British Virgin Islands. The Baths is an iconic beach with towering granite boulders on the sand and sparkling turquoise water. What makes it even better is the adventurous hike through The Caves–tunnels and rooms created by the boulders that separate The Baths from the beach next door.

Most people come over on a day trip from St. Thomas or Tortola, or take an excursion from their cruise ship. We ended up staying on the island for the week to check out some other things to do on Virgin Gorda. But it also meant that we weren’t locked into a specific day to visit in case of bad weather or too many tours arriving.

When you visit The Baths, you can actually visit two beaches with your entrance ticket: The Baths and Devil’s Bay. They are very similar beaches separated only by the giant boulders and what is known as The Caves.

Both beaches are National Parks though ironically, Devil’s Bay was the first to become a National Park in 1964. The Baths was declared a National Park later in 1990. Most tours include a visit to both beaches.

How to Get to The Baths Virgin Gorda

The Baths is located near the southern tip of Virgin Gorda on the western side of the island. If you aren’t staying on Virgin Gorda, you’ll either be on a tour or you’ll need to take the ferry from St. Thomas or Tortola (either the Road Town ferry or Beef Island ferry). The ferry from Tortola is about 30 minutes, $40 round trip and an enjoyable ride.

From the ferry, it’s about a 10-15 minute taxi ride and they’ll drop you right off in front of the ticket booth/start of the trail.

Parking: If you’re driving yourself, there are some parking spots right up next to the ticket office or there’s a dirt lot across the road that’s a little bit of a free-for-all. There are some pretty decent ruts in the dirt too so if you have a regular car, you might be doing some maneuvering. But parking is free!

The Baths National Park

When you get to The Baths, you’ll see the ticket office to your left and a restaurant/shops to the right. Tickets are $3 per person and cover entry to The Baths and Devil’s Bay. The signage is a little confusing, but this is important.

If you don’t want to hike through The Caves and don’t want to see Devil’s Bay, take the trail to the right to go straight down to The Baths. If you want to see Devil’s Bay and hike through the Caves to The Baths, take the trail to the left.

The Trail

The trail down to the beaches is along a dirt path with some stairs and boulders along the way. It’s a fairly easy trail with somewhat of a half view and little shade. It’ll take about 15 minutes to walk down to the beach paths that fork off.

You’ll come to a few forks on the path. One will take you to Stoney Bay, which is the bay just south of Devil’s Bay. And another will take you to Devil’s Bay, the beautiful beach right next to The Caves. Stoney Bay is not very frequented as it’s mostly a….stoney bay.

Devil’s Bay on the other hand is stunning. A beautiful sandy cove with the same giant rocks as The Baths, albeit less crowded.

The Caves

One of my favorite parts about visiting The Baths was going through The Caves. The towering boulders that sit on the beach can reach 40 feet in diameter! To get over to The Baths, you’ll have to go through the tunneled path created by the rocks. You’ll be scrambling, climbing, ducking and wading through water. It’s a very explorative experience and a fun thing to do.

And it’s not just a quick jaunt through either. It takes maybe 15-20 minutes to get through the whole thing. Longer if there are people in front of you and you have to wait.

When we were there, it was quite empty but I’ve heard that there can be lines waiting to go through, especially if you arrive at the same time as a tour. (And if that’s the case, you should wait it out at Devil’s Bay.)

You’ll encounter wooden platforms, ropes to hold on to and stairs to go up and down. If you get turned around, look for painted arrows on the rocks to help guide you along. And you will be walking through water at some point so it’s easier to just wear water shoes so you don’t have to hold your regular shoes.

The most famous section of The Caves is the Cathedral Room, a triangular room formed by two boulders with light shining through the cracks.

Depending on the time of day and weather, you can get some pretty sun rays dancing off the water and walls.

Make sure you leave plenty of time to explore as you can’t enter the caves after 4:30pm.

The Baths Virgin Gorda

Once you crawl through The Caves or take the path down from the parking lot, you’ll end up right on the beach. Because of it’s popularity, you can expect there to be lots of people at The Baths and it will depend on the day as to how big the crowds are.

The first day we went, there were several tours at the beach but we still found a spot under a tree for shade and could get some great photos.

The beach is mostly sandy (despite the boulders) and there’s a roped off area for swimming. The water conditions were pretty rough when we went and there was a strong under current that would pull you back into the water. People were getting knocked over and rolled around, so it wasn’t the best time to be in the water.

Lockers and restrooms are available at The Baths. There’s also a snack bar right on the beach with picnic tables outside and a few souvenir stalls on your way out. After you’ve had enough of the beach, the exit trail will take you back up to the parking lot where you can stop at the restaurant for food and drinks.

Things to Know

1. There are tight corridors in the Caves if you don’t like small spaces. Nothing too bad, but you’ll have to do some crouching and near-crawling.
2. If you plan on going through the Caves, you should wear water shoes! (I love these water shoes as they double as tennis shoes).
3. If you visit on a heavy cruise day, the Caves will be one-way and if you don’t visit Devil’s Bay before going through to The Baths, you’ll have to take the path all the way up to the parking and back down again.
4. Facilities are located on the side of The Baths–there are no facilities on the Devil’s Bay side.

What’s Nearby

Whether you’re on a day trip to The Baths or exploring the island at your leisure, there’s several places nearby that you can check out.

• Devil’s Bay National Park is the beach connected to The Baths by the caves. If you’re visiting one, you should visit the other. And most day trips will include a stop here automatically. The beach is similar to The Baths but less crowded. You’ll still have granite boulders and beautiful water, just without the facilities or the crowds.
• Top of the Baths – If you want to get a frozen drink or a bite to eat, you can head to the restaurant called Top of the Baths where there are tables and a pool you can cool off in. It’s located at…the top of the baths, near the parking lot.
• Mad Dog Cafe is another spot to grab a bite to eat and is 10 seconds down the road from the entrance of The Baths. Tables are on a shaded porch and you can get sandwiches, burgers and drinks here.
• Spring Bay is a quieter, smaller version of The Baths to the north.

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