Start of the Interpretive Trail to the Saint Croix River from the Visitor Center at Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

The National Park Service highly discourages traveling out to and landing on Saint Croix Island for preservation reasons, but legally cannot stop anyone from going. Because of this, no tours are given, so you must have your own motorboat, canoe, or kayak, which eliminates most tourists. Thus, for most visitors to Saint Croix Island International Historic Site, the closest they will get to the island is a view of it from the shore of the Saint Croix River.

To reach the shoreline, take the .1-mile Interpretive Trail from the Visitor Center parking lot. Along the way are educational exhibits and seven statues of the type of people who would have been involved in the settlement on the island, such as a Passamaquoddy Indian lady, a French settler planting vegetables, a carpenter, and Pierre Dugua, the French leader of the 1604 expedition to the area.

Wayside exhibit and statue along the Interpretive Trail to the Saint Croix River, Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

Statue of Pierre Dugua along the Interpretive Trail to the Saint Croix River, Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

At the end of the Interpretive Trail is a gazebo that houses a model of the fort and village that the French built on Saint Croix Island. This model is based on the journals of Samuel de Champlain, and it is his writings that documented the history of the early French settlement.

Gazebo overlooking the Saint Croix River at Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

Model of the 1604 Saint Croix Island settlement on display at the gazebo near the Saint Croix River, Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

From the gazebo, Saint Croix Island is off to the left at the 10 o’clock position. It blends in with the Canadian mainland in the background, so it is actually hard to see.

View of Saint Croix Island from the gazebo at Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

Stairs next to the gazebo lead right down to the Saint Croix River.

Stairs lead down from the gazebo to the shore of the Saint Croix River, Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

View of Saint Croix Island from the bank of the Saint Croix River at Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

I spent about a half hour for my visit to the Saint Croix River, which included taking a lot of photos and reading the information on the wayside exhibits along the trail. Most visitors take much less time, for they simply walk to the water, glance out at the island, and return to the parking lot. In truth, there really isn’t much more to it.

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