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Morne Pavillon Nature Reserve

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Morne Pavillon WWII Us Navy gunrails being maintained by youth group

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Morne Pavillon Nature Reserve

Perched at the extreme northern end of Saint Lucia, the 18-acre Morne Pavillon was named by the French Civil Commandant, Baron de Longueville who developed a cotton plantation in the surrounding area in the 1700s. The site is now home to an easy nature hike, with signs identifying local plants and trees and their uses and views across the Martinique Channel, to the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and down to the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Pitons in Soufriere.

Status:

Open to public for hikes. Strictly NO vehicular access. Unstaffed.

What:

Hiking; nature reserve; views; WWII military history; whale-watching

Cost:

Free for personal use but if you enjoy this site, please donate towards the upkeep here; events – fees apply, please apply for permission at businessandevents@slunatrust.org

Location:

Northern tip of the island – Cap Estate, Gros Islet. Follow the main road along Cap Drive and up Bougainvillea Drive until a T-junction. Turn right, look left.

Opening Times;

None apply. This is an un-manned site.

Rules:

Take nothing with you except what you came with, your photos, memories. Leave nothing behind.

Contact: 1 – 758 452 5005, info@slunatrust.org

morne pavillon gunrails

When you visit, Morne Pavillon, you will be greeted by more local history – the grave of American, Colonel Harrison who from the mid-1950s, attempted to create a cattle ranch and develop the area as an upmarket residential area. The cattle ranch never succeeded, but the area did become Saint Lucia’s premier residential area.

Much of the surrounding land was leased to the US Miliary in WWII and at Morne Pavillon, you can find two 155mm shore battery gun emplacements from this era as well as remains of ammunition shafts and other related military buildings.

The site was intended to protect the US Air Base at Reduit from possible invasion by German submarines from the nearby base in Martinique.

The 18-acre Morne Pavillon site was donated to the Saint Lucia National Trust as a Nature Reserve and Heritage Site in December 2010 after access to the adjacent Mount du Cap viewpoint and designated “greenbelt” was lost to private developers. A group of concerned citizens and area residents formed the Friends of Morne Pavillon and worked for nearly 10 years to secure donation by the Lutz family who had owned the property since 1966.  The remnants of the Lutz family vacation home can be found near the summit, gradually being taken over by nature.