Pillory Beach
Grand Turk
Found to the north of Cockburn Town, Pillory Beach is a quiet and sheltered coastline that offers soft white sand and clear ocean water. It’s the second best beach after Governor's Beach and doesn’t have the crowds from cruise visitors.
The beach here varies a bit. Some patches are excellent with a clean sandy bottom. Other areas tend to be a bit rockier. Casuarina trees provide shade at a few spots.
The coast continues two miles (3.2 km) towards North Creek and the North Reef bluff with the Grand Turk Lighthouse.
Some historians believe that Christopher Columbus made landfall on Grand Turk, and not San Salvador in the Bahamas. This beach is the probable landfall spot (if he did arrive at Grand Turk). Along with all the other west coast beaches on Grand Turk, Pillory Beach is part of the Columbus Landfall National Park
Shops and Dining
Pillory Beach is within close walking distance of restaurants, shops and craft stands located on the northern side of Cockburn Town. The dining establishments in this area tend to offer better island cuisine and Caribbean dishes, as opposed to the American favorites that are the choices at the Cruise Center. The low-key residential community of Over Back is also nearby.
Snorkeling
As is the case with Cockburn Town Beach, Pillory Beach doesn’t offer excellent snorkeling. Rock shelves and gullies, formed from ancient reefs, can be found off the beach in many places.
These conditions support small amounts of reef fish, along with the occasional coral head or sea fan. This terrain is interesting to explore, but there’s little in the way of large marine life.
Fish sightings include small schools of French grunts and yellowstripe goatfish, bar jacks, and some stoplight parrotfish. Squirrelfish can also be found in crevices in the rock. Southern brown stingrays and eagle rays may be seen gliding by as well.
The Pillory Name
The ‘pillory', similar to the ‘stocks', was a device used to secure a person so they could be subjected to punishment, such as by throwing rotten vegetables at them. It’s not known if this is the reason why Pillory Beach is named as such.
Although the name largely didn’t catch on, in 1992, Pillory Beach was renamed Guanahani Beach by the Turks and Caicos government in honor of the indigenous Taino’s name for the island of Columbus’s first landfall in the New World. Most people refer to the beach as Pillory Beach.
Beach Access
From most locations on Grand Turk, it will be necessary to either take a taxi or drive to this beach. Taxi rates from the Grand Turk Cruise Center should be $8 per person each way.
It’s easy to visit Pillory Beach if you have a rental vehicle. There’s ample (and free) parking. Simply follow Front Street in Cockburn Town to its conclusion to the north. You’ll find a small unpaved parking area hear at the Cockburn Town Access 🡓, which is the popular place to stop. See our Grand Turk maps for details.
There’s no official or developed beach access on Pillory Beach, yet several roads in the area lead directly to the coast. If you’d prefer more seclusion, simply pick a spot that looks great and park.