Gibney Beach is one of the 4 beaches located in Hawksnest Bay. It is located just east of Hawksnest Beach. Gibney Beach does not have a sign, parking is very limited, and there aren’t any picnic tables, restrooms, covered pavilions or changing rooms. Gibney Beach does have fluffy white sand, good snorkeling, and because parking is limited there’s normally not very many people on the beach.

To get to this beach you enter through the gate that leads to the Oppenheimer community building by walking down a short driveway. This is what the entrance looks like from the road.

Gibney beach is also called Oppenheimer Beach after J. Robert Oppenheimer, who invented the atomic bomb. Read more about the history of Gibney and Oppenheimer Beach HERE.

P.S. I just made a page about all St John things on my blog HERE.

Do you have a favorite beach?

My favorite beach on St John to spend a day at is Cinnamon Bay Beach and my favorite unique beach is the Blue Cobblestone Beach along the hike out to Ram Head. The other day we got all packed up to spend the afternoon at the beach and walked down to Francis Beach to be greeted by a swarm of hungry mosquitoes. Our beach day turned into a quick swim and we retreated back to our screened in porch for the afternoon. I’m defiantly feeling the effects of September on St John.

{photo by Kim Forrester}

St John has few secluded beaches like Brown Bay and Haul Over Bay where it is common to find discarded clothing left behind by illegal immigrants entering into the United States. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be in their “shoes.”

When’s the last time you played hooky?

The other afternoon Eric and I decided the day was too beautiful to not enjoy it by being outside. So, we left a ton of office work to go to the beach. It felt so great to blow-off the afternoon and go for a swim on a hot Caribbean summer day. The ocean was beyond refreshing and I still don’t regret it for a second. I highly recommend playing hooky one of these summer days.

Wow, is it a beautiful day on St John.

I still have those moments in my life where I have to stop in amazement and say to myself, "I can’t believe I really live here and call this place home.”

The photo above was made on Hawksnest Bay Beach.

It was the backdrop for the wedding I photographed this morning.

I hope there is something within your weekend that also takes your breath away.

Before I say anything about my opinion about proper beach etiquette I must first say a small disclaimer: I am a beach snob. 

I practically live on the beach, I work on the beach, I live on an island that has beaches that have been rated as the most beautiful in the world, and I go to the beach all year round (these are just facts.)

The basic elements I find to be common sense while sitting on a beach with others, are in fact not so common. I do realize that not everyone understands the rules of beach etiquette; so I’ve created a simple list to follow to insure that everyone can enjoy themselves at the beach.

It is important to remember that you do not own the beach or your spot (I always have to remind myself of this.) I do think it is ok to spread your stuff out to take up space on the beach, if you are not invading someone else’s space. Just because you get a great beach spot doesn’t mean that others will not show up and think the same thing. I also believe that it is ok to relocate if this does happen.

Your beach towel and chair should not be closer then the length of a beach towel to another sunbather. If there is a lot of space on the beach DO NOT SIT RIGHT NEXT TO another person, you should pick your own beach spot.

This is my #1 complaint on the beach: noise level, please do not talk so everyone can hear you a mile away on your phone (we do not care that it is snowing where you’re from), do not smoke next to others, do not shake your towel out next to other people, do not spray sun block so it gets on other people, and do not play your music too loud.  I don’t think people are use to being outside in an open space and take the wind into consideration and how all of the above listed items travel with ease on the beach. If in doubt you should just stand up and step away to not invade someone else’s space.

All beaches in the US Virgin Islands are public, so we should learn to be more considerate to make the beach enjoyable for everyone. Thanks for reading my beach rant.