Lifestyle
Baie Rouge, Saint-Martin
Baie Rouge is a large, dark-sand beach on the west coast of the French side, in Terres Basses near Marigot. ARS Guadeloupe rated its bathing water "excellent" for 2025.
By SXM Daily ·
Last checked: 14 October 2026
Next check: 31 July 2027
Baie Rouge, or Red Bay, is a bay and beach on the west coast of Saint-Martin, the French side of the island. It lies in the Terres Basses area, also called the Lowlands, and looks out across the channel towards Anguilla.
Photo: Richie Diesterheft / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Where it is
On OpenStreetMap, Baie Rouge sits at about 18.07° N, 63.13° W, in the La Belle Créole district attached to Marigot. Marigot is the nearest town. The beach is reached from the Terres Basses road, and a photo on Wikimedia Commons shows the view from the sand across the Anguilla Channel.
What the beach is like
Le Pélican, the French-side news site, describes Baie Rouge as a large beach of dark sand, with always enough room to lay down a towel.
At the end of the beach, photos on Wikimedia Commons show rocky outcrops with small grottoes.
Snorkelling
Le Pélican says the bay suits snorkellers when the sea is calm. According to the association Les Fruits de Mer, a local natural-history group, a snorkel from Baie Rouge towards Le Trou de David, between Baie Rouge and Pointe du Bluff, passes a natural arch.
Bathing water rating
ARS Guadeloupe, the regional health agency, monitors 12 bathing sites on the French side, and Baie Rouge is one of them. ARS rated the water at Baie Rouge "excellent" for 2025, based on samples from four seasons. No French-side site was rated poor in 2025, as Soualiga Post also reported.
That rating covers 2025 only. Because Baie Rouge is one of the French-side beaches with an official ARS rating, residents can check its status each season in the latest ARS report.
What this guide does not cover
We have not found official information on parking, facilities, swimming safety or currents at Baie Rouge, so this guide does not cover them. It also does not list prices or name beach bars, because we have not confirmed which are operating.
Sources
- https://www.guadeloupe.ars.sante.fr/la-qualite-de-leau-en-guadeloupe-bilan-du-controle-sanitaire-2025
- https://www.guadeloupe.ars.sante.fr/media/163647/download?inline
- https://www.soualigapost.com/fr/actualite/52595/sant%C3%A9/10-plages-pr%C3%A9sentent-une-eau-de-baignade-dexcellente-qualit%C3%A9
- https://www.lepelican-journal.com/un-coin-de-paradis/
- http://www.lesfruitsdemer.org/guides/saint-martin-snorkeling-guide/le-trou-de-david/
- https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/9571996
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_Bay_(Baie_Rouge)Beach_2_with_Hidden_Grottos(6544022901).jpg
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vue_du_Canal_d%27Anguilla_depuis_Baie_Rouge.jpg