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South Shore Park Bermuda: The Beach Trail
Updated: August 2026
The South Shore Park comprises of several lovely pink beaches and coves that are located between Southampton and Warwick parishes along the south shore of Bermuda. It has been designated as a national park since 1990.
South Shore Park Trail, Bermuda
A sandy walking trail starts from the east end of
Horseshoe Bay Beach, goes below the limestone cliffs and passes by various beautiful beaches and small coves and all the way up to
Warwick Long Bay Beach. The entire stretch is about 1.25 miles.
There are large spans of grassy areas as well on the trail that are great for family picnics. You will also find bushes and sandy dunes along the way.
I would recommend some kind of sturdy beach shoes, pack a towel, sunscreen and wear a hat to protect against the summer heat, if you decide to walk the trail.
The trail along the cliff offers wonderful view of the ocean at several places. You will come across tiny secluded coves that will simply blow your mind off. Some are surrounded by large rocks and open out to the turquoise sea. They are a photographer's paradise
The South Shore Trail
This half-day itinerary is ideal if you are willing to walk, looking for some swims and snorkeling while leisurely strolling along a lovely south shore trail.
The trail, as I mentioned, starts from the famous
Horseshoe Bay Beach at Southampton and goes eastwards to Warwick Long Bay Beach located in Warwick parish. You can also do the reverse hike, if you want.
Horseshoe Bay Beach, Bermuda
Photo: Captain-tucker, Wikimedia Commons, CC by SA 4.0
The first beach right adjacent to Horseshoe Bay is Butts Beach, a beautiful calm water cove with pink sands and rock formations... the bay here is like a pool that opens to the ocean.
A long rock goes into the water and separates the cove from Horseshoe bay beach. Butts beach is great for children to swim and snorkel, it is isolated and you will hardly find crowd here.
Next is the Middle Beach which too has rocky formations. It's great for swimming and you will hardly find any tourists here.
The next one is Water Rocks Beach... a lovely little gem. A large rock juts out to the water. This beach too is great for swimming or simply lounging on the sand. There are shades under the rock.
Next comes another secluded haven, the Angle Beach which too is easily walkable from the main Horseshoe Bay Beach. There is not much shades here. It's great for lounging as well as snorkeling. There is a large rock formation here that keeps the water calm.
Next to Angle Beach is the Hidden Beach. As the name suggests, it's literally hidden away from the main traffic and no other beach could be as secluded as this one. You can see large rock formations here as well.
The Hidden Beach is about 350 meters from the eastern fringes of the main beach at Horseshoe Bay. If you want to avoid the sunbathers and swimmers, you can easily walk up to this beach. You can always carry packed snacks and drinks from the cafe and bar at Horseshoe Bay.
The south shore park and the sandy trail continues further east to
Chaplin Bay... this small secluded beach disappears during the high tide. But the rock formations here are stunning and swimming can be a great experience near the shore.
Chaplin Bay Beach Imagery
Rotate the image for 360° view
You will then get to
Stonehole Bay (located right next to Chaplin Bay)... another picturesque little bay. The sight with rocky cliffs surrounding the bay is so beautiful that this beach is often chosen as a wedding venue.
Next is the well known
Jobson's Cove, a picturesque cove and a beach surrounded by rocks making its shallow water perfect for swimming and snorkeling.
Jobson's Cove
Below is an imagery of the South Shore Park and Trail taken where the trail passes Jobson's Cove. You can rotate the image and click/tap on the arrows to traverse the entire trail.
South Shore Park and Trail Imagery
The last beach on the South Shore Park trail and one of the most sought after ones is
Warwick Long Bay Beach. This too has rock formations and ample shades. The beach remains relatively crowd-free. It's excellent for swimming as well as snorkeling. It's a half a mile long beach and the longest one in Bermuda.
Warwick Long Bay Beach, Bermuda
Since there is no café or a beach bar here, this beach tends to be far less crowded than other popular beaches. You will almost always find secluded spots near many rocks that are scattered on Warwick Long Bay Beach.
South Shore Park ends at the eastern boundary of Warwick Long Bay beach. The terrain of the entire trail is fairly flat and not difficult.
If you want to walk the reverse route, ask the bus driver to drop you at the Warwick Long Bay (at the western entry where there is a car park). Walk down the hill side to the shore line and take the reverse trail towards west (i.e. to the right while facing the water).
Facilities at South Shore Park
Horseshoe Bay Beach has full facilities. There is a cafe serving beach fares. There is also a beach bar serving beer, cocktails, soft drinks etc. There are also facilities here such as bathrooms, showers, beach rentals like chairs and umbrella.
At Warwick Long Bay Beach, a concession stand above the beach (near its western end) rents chairs, umbrellas and snorkel gears during the summer season. However, you may not always find it. There is also a public toilet here.
For lunch, take bus #7 near the western entry of Warwick Long Bay. At the corner of South Road and Dunscombe Road you will find a nice seafood restaurant - Lost In The Triangle (LITT) about 1.5 miles away. It specializes in fresh local seafood dishes.
How to reach South Shore Park
Take bus #7 and get off at Horseshoe Bay stop on South Road at Southampton. From the bus stop, take the downhill road and walk down to Horseshoe Bay Beach.
You can also easily reach Horseshoe bay beach by beach shuttle minibuses (that operate from Royal Naval Dockyard) or by a rental scooter / electric minicar or even by a taxi.
It takes about 35 minutes by bus from dockyard to reach Horseshoe Bay Beach, and 30 minutes from Hamilton City.
About the Author
By Raj Bhattacharya
Raj has been writing about Bermuda since 2008, when he launched bermuda-attractions.com, one of the longest-standing independent guides to the island. A Certified Bermuda Specialist (Bermuda Tourism Authority), his work draws on personal visits, local contacts in Bermuda, and questions and trip reports from thousands of readers over the years.
Learn more about Raj Bhattacharya
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Visitors' Reviews and Comments
Patrick LaSalle (October 2017)
Hi Raj, Last year and this year we visited Bermuda for nine days as guests as the Southampton Fairmont. We loved our beach, but I remembered Jobson's Cove as our favorite from past visits. We will be returning next year and would like to walk to Jobson's along the park trail. What is the distance and is it an easy walk from Horseshoe bay? Thanks,
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) October 2017
Pat, it's about a mile between horseshoe bay beach and jobson's cove. It's a fairly easy walk along the trail (avoid walking along the beaches... rock formations can be difficult to negotiate in high tide). Not much shades, so take a hat or an umbrella.
Debbie Hoenstine (September 2017)
Hello could you please give us sort of an itinerary for walking the beach shoreline, we will take thebus from the naval dockyard to a drop off point and then proceed walking back to the dockyard. Where should we start if we want to go to horseshoe bay, chaplan bay, stonehole bay, jobsons bay, church bay, heading back toward the dockyard, where should we have the bus drop us off t that will include these beaches on our walk back.. thanks,
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) September 2017
Hi, start from Warwick Long Bay beach ... get off at the bus stop near the entry at the eastern end of the beach (i.e. left end as you face the water). This will ensure you walk the stretch of Warwick long bay once as you head west and walk towards Jobsons Cove and then all the way to Horseshoe Bay Beach.
Debbie Hoenstine (September 2017)
Thank you Raj, one more thing do you know about how long the walk would be from Warwick Long Bay heading back to the naval dockyard? This walk would be from east at Warwick heading west toward the dockyard right?
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) September 2017
Yes you will walk west from Warwick Long Bay towards Horseshoe. The trail is about 1.25 miles... time it takes to walk will depend on how much time you spend on the beaches along the way. Royal Naval Dockyard is further west of Horseshoe. It's not really a walking distance... almost 10 miles to the cruise pier plus there are hardly any sidewalks. Suggest you come to the main road at Horseshoe and take a bus to dockyard (or a minibus shuttle from the horseshoe parking lot).
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