For most of every day, Ross Island is an island - but for a few hours, at each low tide, you can easily cross by foot, or by truck or other high vehicle. The island really only has one road, graveled and pocketed with large puddles which grow and recede with the tide. Access is by the Shore Road (just after you leave Woodwards Cove), or by Thoroughfare Road (just before you enter Grand Harbour village).

Like Whitehead Island, a rocky rim protects a soft marshy interior from being washed away by the sea. Ross Island was the first place inhabited by Europeans (New Empire Loyalists in 1774). Evidence of some of the earliest buildings still remain here and there. It also is one of the few areas on the islands where First Nations artifacts have been found - and had a spectacular old lighthouse prized by shutterbugs, amateur and professional alike. It unfortunately was destroyed in a storms in the winter of 2013.

The island is entirely privately owned, but by agreement with the Trails group, islanders and visitors have access. Trails circumvent the island, and a rough road cuts through the middle. At lower tides, the trek to the remains of the old lighthouse at Fish Fluke Point can be walked by beach or by the road in roughly two hours, return trip.

We took the the road route which was both gentle (it's fairly flat most of the way) and challenging (huge puddles to circumvent). It was much dryer on our return which was closer to the lowest tide - the water on the island not only seems to run away, but seep away as the tide goes out. It's very much a living system on the island with the sea providing pressure on the ground water.

The island has essentially become a sanctuary for birds and native animals - and is filled with extraordinary plant life. Our trek took three hours, which include a long picnic lunch at the old lighthouse.