John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo

We decided to stop by here on our way out for a little kayaking on our last day in the Key’s. Perfect ending to our 2 week vacation down here 😢 The rentals were reasonably priced. The traffic getting in and the parking lot was pretty busy.. The staff working the kayak’s were super helpful and friendly. The waters were beautiful and navigating through all the mangroves was a lot of fun! Unfortunately, we didn’t see any Manatee’s, but still had a great time enjoying the scenery and being in the great outdoors! Would probably rent paddle boards next time we’re down in the Key’s. Definitely recommend checking out!

So much to like about this state park! Excursions were fun and well done, local exhibit was informative, and the beach area was great to snorkel at while waiting for our snorkel tour. The reef exhibit was a great place to take a break from the sun and learn about the nature of reefs and the creatures that live there. There is a bath house for rinsing off and changing clothes that’s spacious and well located The check-in shop sells a lot of things and we picked up a great tip that if you rented gear for a snorkel tour you have paid for the whole day so we grabbed the stuff and went out to cannon beach. The beach stand isn’t really loose sand until you get to the water, there’s plenty of rock an the mangroves offer a shaded side in the afternoon. There was MASSIVE Iguanas living in the mangroves and I posted a video of one that was about 3ft long just hanging out where we were sitting with our towels. Cannon beach is called that because if you swim out to the marker in the water and have snorkel gear there are a few cannons sunk out there with other maritime items and a plaque that explains the living museum… very cool. Tons of great creatures to see .. we loved it and it was a great way to be comfortable with the gear before heading to the reef off shore! Easy parking, but it is busy!