Barkers National Park

Barkers is the only significant stretch of Grand Cayman's western side that has not been built on: around a hundred hectares at the northwestern tip declared a national park in the 1990s, with mangrove wetland, dry shrubland, ironshore and a run of beaches that are empty on almost any day. Tracks run through it and horse riding along the beach is the activity most visitors come for. Birdlife in the mangrove is good, with West Indian whistling ducks among the residents, and the water off the point is a kitesurfing spot when the wind swings north.

What you actually see

• The empty beaches - the least visited on Grand Cayman.
• The mangrove wetland - whistling ducks and waders behind the shore.
• Horse riding - along the beach, the main organised activity here.
• The undeveloped land - the only real stretch left on the west side.

When to go

November to May is the driest. Early morning and late afternoon are best for birds and for the horse rides, which run then. Mosquitoes in the mangrove at dawn and dusk are heavy.

Honest expectations

The park has no facilities: no toilets, no water, no shade beyond the trees. Access tracks are rough. Mosquitoes are severe near the mangrove. Development pressure on this peninsula has been a running political issue and the park's boundaries have been argued over.

Nearby

West Bay and the Turtle Centre are ten minutes; Seven Mile Beach is south.