If you do make a stop in Key Largo, make sure it’s at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (305-451-1202; MM 102/5 Oceanside, Key Largo; 1/2 people $3.50/6, per additional person 50 cents; 8am-sunset), the first underwater park in the USA. Its amazing geography covers 75 square miles of ocean with living coral reefs, plus 170 acres of land with walking trails including the Wild Tamarind Nature Trail. The area is home to air plants, gumbo-limbo, wild bamboo, Jamaican dogwood, crabgrass, and wild tramarind.
The best feature, however, is the full ranger-led program, however, it’s the full ranger-led program, with a wide variety of options when it comes to exploring the Florida Reef. You can take a glass-bottom boat or snorkel sailing tour; go straight to snorkeling trips or diving excursions; or rent canoes or kayaks (305-451-1621) to travel through a 3-mile network of canoe trails. Motor boat rentals are also available.
In addition to the swirl of natural coral life below, interested divers can catch a glimpse of the Christ of the Abyss, an 8 1/2 ft. 4,000-inch bronze sculpture of Jesus – a copy of a similar sculpture off the coast of Genoa, Italy, on the Mediterranean Sea. And if getting in or out of the water isn’t for you, try what’s at the visitor center, which has an excellent 30,000-gallon aquarium displaying live corals, tropical fish, and plant life, plus a theater that shows non-stop video. of the nature. .
The park offers an excellent ranger-led program that includes nature walks through mangroves and hardwood hammocks, a campfire program, and a lecture series. Plus, you don’t even have to leave at closing time if you opt to go tent or RV camping (800.326.3521), but be sure to make a reservation, as all 47 sites fill up quickly.
