It is likely that most national parks visitors do not think of national parks located in the Caribbean. However, the National Park Service manages two major sites in the Caribbean. One is located in historic Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, the San Juan National Historic Site.

The other is in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the U.S. virgin Islands National Park. It consists of a collection of historic sites, recreational areas, ecological preserves, and monuments centered around St. John Island, Christiansted, St. Croix, and St. Thomas.

Underwater activities in the U.S. Virgin Islands national parks and recreational areas include viewing colorful marine life (Photo courtesy of the National Park Service).

Visitors to the Caribbean will find rich cultural experiences in both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In San Juan, for example, there is a long and old colonial history about which to learn, music, theater, food and drink, and exciting recreational activities to enjoy.

The historic old apartments and other buildings of Old San Juan are part of the experience when visiting San Juan National Historic Site (Photo by Bruce Garrison).

.

We focus on San Juan and the U. S. Virgin Islands.

In San Juan, we offer feature articles about the people and the historic nature of the San Juan National Historic Site's two forts, San Cristobal and San Felipe del El Morro. We also describe the life and culture of the surrounding area of Old San Juan, a community within the larger San Juan with a history spanning five hundred years.

We also visited the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park and several of its most popular sites on St. John Island and near St. Thomas Island. These features are being prepared and will be posted by the middle of December 2008.

The U.S. Virgin Islands National Park has numerous sites that offer spectacular Caribbean scenery (Photo courtesy of the National Park Service).