When I read about this, I was immediately intrigued. What a neat idea! I had to see it for myself. And so the Dude and I made our way to Trunk Bay one afternoon to try out the trail (read about the rest of my Trunk Bay experience here).

When we found our way to the snorkeling trail, the first thing we noticed was that it was much shorter than we’d expected. We’d read that it was about 200 yards long, and though 200 yards is not a whole lot, I’d pictured it at least spanning a respectable distance. Instead, the trail zigzagged and doubled back on itself, only covering one small reef in all its contortions. It wasn’t very well marked, either—the so-called "trail" just consisted of one or two dozen plastic-enclosed informational signs mounted on the seafloor, demarcated at key points by buoys. The signs gave basic information about the fish and corals in the reef. They were illustrated by drawings, but since the drawings were in black and white, they weren’t a whole lot of help in identifying the sea life surrounding us. Too bad, because we needed all the help we could get—visibility was terrible. Hundreds of swimmers kicking up sand all along the beach made for extremely murky water.

Most depressing of all, though, was the poor condition of the reef. The coral was badly damaged, and there were far fewer fish than I’d seen in most other snorkeling spots around the island. There was an underwater sign about damage to the reef, and the park service was obviously concerned about it—the lifeguard kept yelling at people not to step on the reef (they still did, of course). And yet, some of the signs on the trail were in very shallow reef with only a few feet of water above it, making it hard for even an experienced snorkeler to swim over them without grazing the coral. Bad planning on the part of the park service, I thought—despite all their fretting and scolding about the condition of the reef, the placement of the signs showed a careless disregard for the safety of reef and snorkelers alike.

So do yourself and the reef a favor—skip the Trunk Bay snorkeling trail. Only if people stop flocking to see it might it one day become worth seeing.

Trunk Bay is run by the Virgin Islands National Park Service, which charges a $4 entrance fee. As we rummaged for change in our beach bag, the Dude and I agreed that this was bogus—but we were soon forced to admit that the money wasn’t exactly going to waste. Convenient concrete walkways leading down to the beach (we’d been to some others that practically required hiking boots to get to) were just the beginning: we passed a snack bar, an equipment-rental place, and real bathrooms—and showers, too! What luxury!

And then we finally stepped out onto the sand and were greeted by two amazing sights: the most beautiful beach I’d ever seen… and 10 gazillion American tourists swarming all over it. Children shrieked. Parents hollered. A lifeguard (the first we’d seen on St. John) barked warnings from his lofty perch.

We were in shock. We’d just spent five days lying on beaches where a megaphone would have been required to politely pass the time of day with the other visitors. This place could have passed for Times Square on a Saturday night… and this was the off-season!

We managed to stake out a 6-square-foot patch of sand and sat for a moment to take in our surroundings. Trunk Bay really was stunning, featuring, yes, powdery white sand and crystal-clear turquoise water, and nicely enclosed by imposing cliffs, one with a ruined stone building perched majestically atop it. A tiny cay about 50 feet offshore further enlivened the prospect.

But then a braying female voice cut across our reverie. "JUNIOR, YOU ARE GETTING ON MY LAST NERVE! DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE!" We looked at each other and sighed. "I went on vacation to get away from all this," the Dude grumbled.

Wading into the water, we agreed that it was suspiciously warm—even for the Caribbean—and looked askance at all the little kids around us. After halfheartedly splashing around for a few minutes, we made our way over to the much-touted snorkeling trail. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be a disappointment.

As we rinsed ourselves off in the showers and made our way back up the concrete walkways, the Dude and I shook our heads sadly. It was the same old story: Trunk Bay’s fame had been its undoing. The lifeguard and facilities might make it a good choice for families with young children, but for the rest of you, save your four bucks for a smoothie.

Trunk Bay is great for swimming in the calm aqua waters, sunning on the warm sand or relaxing in the cool shade of a coconut palm. Be prepared that it is quite touristy and extremely popular. There is also an admission fee since it is part of the Virgin Islands National Park (including the fringing reefs). But thanks to the Park and conservation minded people, it still remains natural and unspoiled so it's popularity shouldn't deter you from a visit.

A hightlight of Trunk Bay is it's 225-yard, self-guiding snorkeling trail marked by underwater signs that identify coral reef life. It's very interesting and great for beginners. It's worth doing even if you do snorkle frequently. If you are experienced you can actually do the trail and then snorkel around the entire rock the sits in the middle of the cove to see some amazing sea life. You will undoubtably see parrot fish feeding on coral algae, purple sea fans, queen angle fish swimming around, probably a porrcupine puffer fish, possibly some squid, lobsters or a sting ray and if your lucky...a sea turtle.

The water on the day I visited was actually clearer than it was at Magens as well. As for the snorkeling, well, Magens is not a good place for it. At Trunk Bay, you’ll find a marked snorkeling trail with hundreds of fish (I saw barracuda, gar, parrotfish, yellowfin snapper, and dozens of others) and soft and hard coral formations. The fact that there are signs pointing the formations out on the bottom may bother many purists, but it does help educate many who wouldn’t see it otherwise and might hopefully educate them on the fragility of the coral. (For the record, most of the hard formations were dead, but there was still plenty of living coral.) Snorkels and fins are available to rent for $4 a day (with a $20 deposit), but for some reason you have to have them back by 3:30 or you’ll end up paying more. The bay is a five-minute drive up road 20 from Cruz Bay.