A GROWING ATTRACTION ON PORTLAND’S SWIFT RIVER
HOPE BAY, Portland; April 20, 2025
By Kevin Black
The tourist brochures and travel sites won’t tell you about Serene Rock, Portland. Yet, it’s one of the treasures -not hidden anymore — of the beautiful northeastern Jamaica parish of Portland.
Locals as well as tourists have been finding joy in spending time in the cool, clear waters of Swift River, west Portland. The bigger community is Chelsea, and a spot for those who just want to chill is Serene Rock, Swift River. Swift River is the name of both the river and the small rural community.
(A section of Serere Rock good enough for wading or for the little ones)
You get there by leaving the Portland Main Road or North Coast Highway at Hope Bay and heading into the hills, five or so miles away. The ride may seem longer because the roads are bad. Or, you can get to it from Buff Bay too, again, the roads are not good.
Serene Rock is operated by Byron “Ifa” Morse, who, a long time ago, rejected the view that Swift River and the wider Chelsea community was just to be a place for farming –, livestock and tobacco.
(It’s all outdoor)
The name Serene Rock was cleverly coined by the fact that there is a sizeable rock in the river that people sometimes jump from, depending on the state of the river.
Morse and his team have constructed a bamboo hut there, and it’s their base of operations. Essentially, it is a business where people pay to access a section of the river and to be served meals. Mr. Morse works closely with the nearby guesthouse, Riverside Retreat, across from Serene Rock, to ensure that visitors have a place to stay, if they wish to.
Mr. Morse says ever since the days of his youth, he has been seeing masses of people coming in and out of the community. This is how he knew that, despite what he calls the existing misconceptions about the area being just for farming, he would be able to get visitors to the Serene Rock area in Chelsea.
(Byron Morse, left, making a cold brew)
ESCAPE
“Swift River is not a farming area; it’s a tourist attraction. It just needed to be marketed as such,” says Morse. “You’d be surprised by the amount of people who book Serene Rock. On a regular day during the summer, it’s about 600-700 people. The biggest crowd has been about 2,000 people, which is pretty impressive if you ask me”, said Morse.
The main attraction of Serene Rock is that it is…well, serene, a place where one can enjoy the cool of hilly Portland, the vegetation nourished by very high rainfall and the river water that allows a little swimming and wading and even spots for the children.
Some people who come there say it’s a place where one can escape the trials of life and be at peace with their loved ones for a day.
Visitor Makonnen Johnson says he goes to Serene Rock for its serenity. “People come here most time to chill and have fun. The kitchen always has stewed and jerked chicken with either boiled dumplings or rice ready for consumption, not to mention coconut water to wash down the food. I come here all the time and would 10/10 recommend.”
Mr Morse has set up Instagram and TikTok handles @ Serene_rock and some people find it that way. But most find out about Serene Rock through word-of-mouth.
(Food preparation time)
And that has been driving the traffic – busloads sometimes – to Serene Rock, especially during holidays. Among the visitors to the area are some notable figures and celebrities who have found an ideal hangout spot.
“After booking occurs, we usually provide accommodations for people to stay here in Chelsea, and some big people come here all the time. People like Megan Thee Stallion and KKvsh (who came via Drizzy Burke on Walking TV) Andre Russell, Munga Honorable, Brysco, Top Banks, Ai Milly, Vershon, Bayka, Jermaine Blackwood, Kenroy Lewis, Prince Pine, etc.,” Mr Morse said.
Serene Rock continues to be a destination that simply combines a refreshing river experience with good food and excellent vibes to create countless rich memories for visitors.
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Kevin Black is a final-year journalism student at Northern Caribbean University.
You may reach him at [email protected]
