Map by Neal Sullivan

The Caneel Hill Trail begins about twenty yards past the Mongoose Junction parking lot and goes to the summit of Caneel Hill.

It is a rather steep and steady incline. The 0.9 mile trail gains 719 feet of altitude to reach the top of Caneel Hill, so prepare for a bit of a workout.

Some locals hike up this trail for an aerobic workout as an alternative to the stair master. World records for the event have been recorded in the men's and women's category for walking and running up the hill. The current world records for walking from the head of the trail at the North Shore Road up to the viewing.cgiatform on top of Caneel Hill are: men's record 15 minutes and women's Record 19 minutes 15 seconds. The world records for running are: men's record 10 minutes 45 seconds and women's record 13 minutes.

The terrain is dry forest. Of interest are the penguin or false pinea.cgies [link to photo #3 - credit Gerald Singer], turpentine trees, mampoo trees, antheriums, bromeliads, small wild orchids, maran bush and guinea grass.

After about 0.3 miles, you will come to the intersection of the CANEEL HILL SPUR TRAIL. This trail is to the left and downhill and leads to the North Shore Road (Route 20) and then on to the LIND POINT TRAIL.

The trail to Caneel Hill is to the right and uphill.

Views to the north and west start to open up as you approach the higher elevations. There is a bench near the top of the trail which is a wonderful place to rest and enjoy an excellent view.

At the peak of Caneel Hill there is another bench and the remains (Hurricane Marilyn) of a wooden viewing.cgiatform built on stone pillars. The elevation is 719 feet above sea level.