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St.
Croix Mahogany Road |
Most visitors drive this famous road but it also makes a nice, easy walk. | |||
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Length: 2.5 miles. Difficulty: 1-2. Trailhead: The beginning of Mahogany Road (Hwy. 76) which turns inland from Hwy. 63 between Frederiksted and Spratt Hall Beach. Look for the sign pointing to St. Croix 's LEAP, which produces mahogany handicrafts. Park on the side of the road, well off the pavement. Despite the ?rain forest? name, St. Croix does not have true rain forest; it doesn't receive nearly enough precipitation. However, the vegetation is definitely moist and luxuriant and the tree canopy, which towers a hundred feet overhead, contains orchids and ferns, just as you would expect to find in a genuine rain forest. The farther inland you go, the cooler it becomes, making this an exceptionally nice walk. The striking giant 200 to 300-year-old mahogany trees lining the start of the road are becoming fewer and unfortunately they are not being replanted. The great house on the left is Estate Prosperity, which is private. The road makes a gradual ascent. At about 1.5 miles on the right is the Carl & Marie Lawaetz Museum at Little LaGrange Estate. Open 10-4 Tues.-Sat.; $5 admission fee to enter the house. You're allowed to walk the grounds free. The concrete aqueduct was built in the early 1900s to provide water to the estate. It was St. Croix 's first irrigation project. Another 0.6 miles along Mahogany Road is the turnoff to St. Croix LEAP, at the end of the 0.3-mile dirt road on the right. At St. Croix LEAP artisans fashion carvings from a variety of local woods. Return to the car. |
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