Estate Little Princess

Little Princess was a sugar and cotton estate under the Danes and is now owned by the Nature Conservancy, which uses it as a base for conservation work on St Croix and opens it to visitors. The grounds hold the great house, the ruined sugar works, the windmill and the stone dwellings of the enslaved people who worked the estate, with archaeology continuing on the village site. Trails run through dry forest and mangrove down to the shore. Offshore, the organisation runs one of the region's coral restoration nurseries, growing elkhorn and staghorn fragments on frames for outplanting onto damaged reef.

What you actually see

• The estate ruins - great house, windmill, works and the village site.
• The coral nursery - fragments grown offshore for reef restoration.
• The trails - dry forest and mangrove down to the shoreline.
• The archaeology - continuing work on the enslaved community's dwellings.

When to go

December to April is the dry season. Guided walks and volunteer days run on a published schedule rather than continuously, so check before going. Mornings are cooler for the trails.

Honest expectations

Access is by scheduled walk or event rather than open all day, so turning up unannounced may find nothing running. The estate is a working conservation base and not set up as a visitor attraction. The coral nursery is offshore and seen on organised snorkel trips only.

Nearby

Christiansted is ten minutes east; Salt River Bay is further west.