Sandy Point is the southwestern tip of St. Croix, a long, undeveloped arc of beach that looks south over open water toward Venezuela. It is protected as a National Wildlife Refuge specifically because of the leatherback sea turtles that nest here in large numbers each spring. Outside nesting season (roughly July through February), the beach is open on weekends and is one of the most beautiful and uncrowded beaches in the US Virgin Islands — a wide expanse of pale sand with no development, no vendors, and remarkable clarity in the water.
Access is from Route 66 near the southwestern corner of the island. The road ends at a gate; you walk the last stretch. Facilities are minimal — bring water and shade. During leatherback nesting season, the refuge closes to general visitors except on organized ranger-led night watches, which require advance booking through the Fish and Wildlife Service. The watch, if you can get a spot, involves sitting quietly while enormous female turtles haul themselves out of the ocean by moonlight to lay their eggs — one of the genuinely unforgettable wildlife experiences available within the United States.