My Favorite St. Thomas Beach Has White Sand and No Crowds

You turn off the East End road, pass the small ranger shack at Smith Bay Park, and the trees part to reveal Lindquist’s slim half-mile of sand—nearly white in the shade, faintly pink where the sun hits it. 

This entire 21-acre strip was bought by the US Virgin Islands government in 2006 and set aside so cranes and condos would never crowd the shoreline, and you feel that decision the minute you step out of the car. 

This is Lindquist Beach: protected status keeps the vibe low-key. A single lifeguard chair, a block of rest-rooms and showers, a few picnic tables under sea-grape trees: that’s the whole infrastructure. There are no vendors, so everything you need for the day—water, lunch, reef-safe sunscreen—travels in your cooler. 

The payoff is the water. Cooling trade winds slide through the coconut palms, and the bay stays calm enough for toddlers to splash and for you to wade far out before the bottom finally drops. Look up and the view frames three little cays on the horizon; look down and the sandbar glows electric turquoise, clear enough to spot striped sergeant majors weaving through the grass beds. 

Walk the north end at low tide and you’ll see what the seagrass supports: tiny crabs skittering sideways, snails edging along the sand, and the odd wading bird hunting for lunch. Iguanas sometimes sun in the brush line, unbothered by passing towels. It’s all part of the preserve’s quiet agenda—wildlife gets first rights to the real estate, visitors adapt. 

On most weekdays you might share the beach with a handful of locals. The surf rolls in soft enough that families call it their go-to swimming spot, yet photographers still swing by for that famous Hannah Davis DirecTV backdrop—white horse moment and all—because the water really is that color.

The routine here is simple: claim shade early, snorkel the left side for the best grass beds, break for a picnic when the sun sits overhead, and linger until the late-afternoon light turns the sand a deeper blush. 

When you finally pack up, you’ll understand why this stretch of protected coast tops my St Thomas list. It isn’t flashiest or busiest; it’s the beach that still feels local, saved, and quietly perfect.

It’s my favorite beach in St Thomas, and it will likely be yours, too.