Due to the current and very fluid situation with COVID-19, the Friends of Virgin Islands National Park are working to make sure its staff, volunteers, members, partners, visitors and community members are not put at undue risk.
The National Park Service Visitor Center is closed, as are the Friends of the Park retail stores. Beginning Thursday, March 19, Friends will be discontinuing the Reef Bay hike and all scheduled events and seminars through the end of April — or until guidance from the governor and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) deem it safe to resume.
The organization believes that during group gatherings, taxi and boat transportation, there is very real risk of spread of the virus. If some people are scheduled for a hike or event in March or April, Friends will be in contact with them via email.
By all means, please continue hiking the trails in beautiful Virgin Islands National Park. There is no better way to practice healthy social distancing. Friends will continue to keep trails maintained with the help of island-based volunteers and staff.
Although the Earth Day event will be canceled, Friends is planning virtual ways to celebrate during April. Also, beach clean-ups are planned in April as they do every year.
For more information and updates, visit Friends of Virgin Islands National Park online at https://friendsvinp.org/. Follow Friends on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
