Snorkeling Pennekamp Coral State Park
As we mentioned on our Key Largo page, snorkeling Pennekemp Coral State Park is a mixed bag. We love the park itself. Key Largo is really not that great of a vacation destination, but we think hanging out in John Pennekamp State Park is wonderful. There are beaches to swim at, trails to walk around on, nice campgrounds, boats to rent, and generally it is the best place to be in Key Largo. Snorkeling Pennekamp Coral State Park Ideally we think it is better to do a snorkel trip from one of the boat companies located in Key Largo. But then come and hang out and go swimming and walking in John Pennekamp State Park. If you read our Key Largo snorkeling page, you will notice that really the best snorkel spots are not actually within the state park. They are outside the park. And the park boats take you outside the park, so they don't have a monopoly on the locations.
You will find that the park runs different boats for different trips depending on how many people they have to take. They use the boat above, and the ones below.
You will see lots of folks snorkeling off the beaches in Pennekamp, but while this is a fun way to learn how to snorkel, you won't be seeing any coral. You will most likely see a few fish, and it is a fun way to swim around, but it is not really the type of snorkeling experience you will have if you get out to the coral reef.
Planning on spending a day in the park is a great idea. Bring a picnic lunch. In fact we would probably plan on hanging out at the park every day of our trip that we are not out snorkeling.
On some of the hiking trails in the park you can find lots of interesting lizards like the one on the right. There is also a nice board walk that takes you out along the canal that you can rent canoes and paddle (see the two pictures below).
Sometimes it is a very busy park though. You may have to wait in line in your car just to get in. And hey, if it is a nice calm day, and you don't really mind going with a ton of other people, go ahead and take a snorkel trip from the park. Snorkeling is fun! Below you can read a review of snorkeling Pennekamp that is a little more positive than us. I think we are just kind of picky sometimes. Another Snorkeling Pennekamp Review And here is a link to the park website. And here is the website for the concession company that runs the snorkeling tours from the park.
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