John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Beautiful example of how much life is right beneath your nose. Off the beach is a huge dropoff that is home to parrot fish, hogfish, French angels, blue crabs, and other sea animals. Also off the beach is remnants of a sunken Spanish ship.
When you go on the Reef Tour, you see how beautiful the ocean is. The Reef includes sea fans, giant brain coral, and other forms of coral. I did not get to sea the undersea Jesus statue although. Some sea animals you might see are, barracudas, Reef sharks, nurse sharks, spotted eagle rays, parrot fish, angle fish, sea turtles and more! You might even see a grouper! Very fun highly recommend.

We camped at this park in June 2016. We really enjoyed all of the activities that were on site. We snorkeled at the reef, went out on the glass bottom boat, kayaked, snorkeled at cannon beach every day, fished everyday, watched the iguanas and all the coastal bird at our campsite. We loved it so much. I took off a star (I know this doesn’t seem fair) because of the noseeums and how miserably hot it was. The noseeums bit the crap out of us!

I felt like I was at the Allegheny River. Too many rocks. Water is very murky. Better beaches at Lake Erie. If you are wanting sand, pass this one by.
Though the employees are very welcoming and clean facilities.

I only came for the snorkeling although I know they offer much more. It’s about a half hour boat ride to the reef and the staff was very friendly and helpful. If you are looking for the type of snorkeling you find further south you may be dissapointed, but it’s still great. Saw many colorful fish and a few baracuda, but the majority of the reef is pretty deep down. My only frustration was with the masks. If you have gear you are even semi farmiliar with then use it. 2 of the 3 in our group had trouble with the masks and they got very foggy. We tried the usual tricks, but it was a pretty constant frustration.

The «beaches» suck so bad. No sand, rocks look like they came from the Rinker Quarry. Awful to walk on even with water shoes. Besides the beach floor, it is incredible dirty. Trash everywhere, seaweed everywhere, semi murky water. They say you can «snorkel» around the mangroves near the beach but I’ve snorkeled it and underwater visibility is non existent.
Kayak renting is alright but not worth it in my opinion. You’re also confined to designated areas and it can get crowded which takes away from the enjoyment of it.
Also don’t bother exploring the park, there is nothing to see at all.

My sister, dad, and I went for a snorkeling tour to the reef around Christ of the Abyss aboard the «Dolphin» boat at John Pennekamp with Captain Karl and Aaron. If there’s any chance you can get in on one of their tours, DO IT. Captain Karl and Aaron lead an incredible, informative tour. They operate with total respect for the environment, especially the coral, and acted as advocates for marine life in their every action. Aaron led a great class for beginning snorkelers and was very knowledgeable about the fish and coral. Captain Karl kept an eye on yachts and harangued them for littering or speeding in no wake zones. This is the perfect tour for an environmentally concerned snorkeler. Ridiculously cheap for what you get from the tour. Also, don’t be bungholes like us and forget to bring cash to tip.

What a great experience.
I have been here twice now and have enjoyed both times.
The first time we went on a glass bottom boat. Great for people who want to see wildlife but do not want to get wet.
I want to get wet. So I went back, on my own.
I took my snorkelling gear with me to save a bit on the rental equipment. I got to the park at around 2:00pm Sunday and went straight to the hut and booked myself on the 3:00pm 2.5 hrs snorkelling tour. It cost $ 32.00 which I was happy with.
You are issued with a life vest as soon as you board, then given a brief but informative description of the do’s and don’ts and how to wear and inflate the life vest.
After roughly a 30 minute boat ride you arrive at the reef. Again, do’s and don’ts are gone over once again then away you go. You get about 1.5 hrs on the reef which is about enough.
The amount of wildlife is fair but I have been spoilt in the past. I have been lucky enough to go snorkelling in the Red Sea, which I have been told is one of the best places to view marine wildlife in and around reefs.
At Pennekamp I managed to see a grey spotted eagle Ray on its own (which looked so majestic) and then three in a line together. That was pretty amazing stuff. There are lots of different coloured fish, shapes and sizes too to see but for me the eagle rays were the star of the show.
Tips
This is a great adventure for those who have never snorkelled before.
There is a basic toilet onboard, fresh drinking water and they also have free defogger for your mask.
Don’t go to Pennekamp thinking its a great place to go to the beach. This park has not been designed for that.
Go here and get active!
I plan to do the kayaking on my next visit.
Enjoy and have fun!

Do not go here unless you are planning on kayaking or going on the boat tour to scuba dive. The «snorkeling» at the beach was a disgusting experience. We saw a total of 3 fish. Spent $ 9.50 to get in for 3 people. $ 3 normal mask and $ 5 for corrective mask. Waste of time and money. Left in an hour or so.

An excellent adventure and way to spend the day in the upper Keys. This state park located inside Key Largo has many things to offer. A small aquarium to kayak rentals to a glass bottom boat excursion to snorkeling. Two of us did the snorkeling and two did the glass bottom boat. Both we saw fish and lots of them. There are a few reefs out there the one the snorkelers went on we saw the Statue of Christ. Amazing. Get here early or make reservations. Next time I think we will do an early trip and then rent a kayak. If you go on certain days the Rangers will even offer free educational classes.

Brought our boat to the Keys to snorkel and fish here & was thrilled to find out we could rent a boat slip to keep it in at the park! Secure, easily accessible 24/7…Dockmaster Scott was a fabulous wealth of knowledge & very helpful! We shall return next year here!

This particular park has all that you and your family can get! From the beach to fishing to snorkeling to kayaking there is so much to do here. Thy also have some fruit trees and a mangrove that you can trail through. They do charge per person to enter the park. I’m not so sure about the other rules of this state park but the rangers are nice and informative so ask them upon entering or maybe they have it online.

was raining and the seas were rough so couldn’t go snorkeling
but they were happy to accommodate us for kayaking
it was a lot of fun. its a self guided adventure through the mangroves
mary was very nice and gave us detailed directions and a map

Camp ground was nice. Racoons were a pain and GREAT at getting into your cooler. The beach was good and they have a decent marina.

Not a beach !!! Do not come looking for a beach.
Kayak and other water sports yes not a BEACH.

Everyone here is so nice! As a local, I like to walk my dog in different places. There are lots of nice trails here. My dog is wild for the different smells in walking among the hammocks and mangroves. If it has been rainy, you cannot walk the trails as the no-​see-​ums and mosquitos will be out. They can get really bad if there is no wind.
The beach is small and you are restricted to swimming about 10 feet out into Largo Sound. It is a good area for smaller children. You can keep an eye on them and it is shallow enough. There is no wave action here. There is also no shade, so plan accordingly.
There are small «pavilions» with picnic tables and grills scattered about the paved parking lot. You can bring your own food or buy snacks here. A reminder that as a state park, alcohol is prohibited.
I have kayaked here and there are endless trails. Lots of wildlife to be seen. It the winds are up, the dive and snorkel boats won’t go out, so most visitors want to kayak instead. There could be a wait. Reserving a kayak is recommended.
Entrance fee is $ 4.50 pp. if you plan to visit Pennekamp multiple days, or other Florida state parks, you might consider purchasing the $ 65 yearly pass.

My favorite Florida state park. I have been coming here for over 10 years (since I was a child). I have gone snorkeling, scuba diving and for the first time kayaking. The snorkeling is never EVER a disappointment. Even on the windy days. If you are an enthusiastic water person such as myself, I recommend doing the snorkeling with the 3 dives. It’s a bit tiresome, but totally worth it. Be wary to come during the colder season as there are usually more jellyfish. I recently went kayaking. I thought it was going to be the normal «kayak through the mangroves» experience. I am a native Floridian, and although I find mangroves beautiful, they get a little old. I was very surprised by how much wildlife I saw. All the little nooks and crannies you can kayak through. The day we went kayaking was the busiest I had ever seen it. All the snorkeling and scuba tours were cancelled due to the weather so EVERYONE went kayaking. But we received a kayak immediately. They gave us a map and recommended which places were worth seeing in the two hours we went kayaking. We went to this area called the cathedral which was an area full of mangrove roots that encompassed you all around. Very majestic. We also went to an area called spider creek which did indeed have large spiders and is for more experienced kayakers such as myself. We saw stingrays, birds, fish and there were so many places to kayak through (off the map). Loved this experience!

This was an awesome way to spend an afternoon. Technically it’s just a state park, but the atmosphere is worth it if nothing else.
Key Largo has a ton of stuff to do in its own and the beaches make it worth it, but activities are more fun in my opinion. This is a family friendly park that has enough stuff to do for everyone and then some. What I found odd was the pricing for admission. For 2 people it was $ 9, which was fine seeing as I think a single was $ 4.50. But 3 people and 4 people respectively were 9.50 and 10.00, essentially being 50 cents for the 3^rd and 4^th people. Then oddly enough it was $ 2.50 a head after person 6? I think this is based on a «parents and 2 kids» model but what if it was a van full of adults? Just charge differently for kids to make it easy.
We went kayaking here which was super easy and we got one of the most gorgeous days I’ve seen in a long time. I highly recommend taking the laminated map with you even if you think you know where you are. We didn’t take a cell phone with us to avoid potential water damage or loss but then keeping track of time was a little tougher, and they charge you for being late (thankfully we weren’t). If you get lost apparently it’s tough to «rescue» you, so be careful! Regardless it was super serene and fun. 1 hour is long enough, 2 would have been way too long.
They have paddle boarding as well, which I’ve done but not down here. There are snorkel cruises but they were sold out and the jellyfish are DENSE when the water is cold (and I didn’t want to go swimming in super cold water in January). Glass bottom boats would have been my next choice but the next one didn’t go out for hours. There is also a swimming dock area, boat slip, concession stand area/​gift shop and RV and camping area. Basically anything that you could think of for a park near a body of water, it’s here.
The staff really get an A for friendliness and education, the guy setting up our kayaks was great about telling us about trails and where to go for seeing specific things, and telling the dad with the younger kids next to us how to keep them in easier areas while teaching them how to steer.
I would love to come back here again-​coming back to the Keys in March, so I’m sure we will scope out some other activities here in the meantime!

Really enjoyed my time at this place!
Great for all ages, different type of activities, and never a dull moment at this large park.
Went kayaking and there are many different entrances and places to jump off and go snorkeling. Some areas are a bit more narrow than others but its easy to navigate around.
A definite must try when you in South Florida.

Der Eintritt in den Park und das Parken haben 9 $ gekostet.
Die Fahrt inkl Schnorchelausrüstung inkl Brille, Schnorchel, Flossen hat 80 $ für zwei Personen gekostet! Wir haben für 18 $ noch eine Einweg-​Unterwasserkamera gekauft.
Am Boot wurde einem der Ablauf genau erklärt, die Leute waren wirklich sehr nett und bemüht. Jeder musste eine Schwimmweste tragen beim Schwimmen, macht auch Sinn da es wellig ist, und Crew vom Boot aus ja beobachten müssen ob jemand Probleme hat. Bevor man ins Wasser geht wird jedem noch die Brille eingestellt und für die Unerfahrenen gibt es auch noch eine kurze Einführung zum Schnorcheln. An Bord gab es gratis kaltes Wasser zum Trinken!
Wir sahen Einsiedlerkrebse, Quallen, Baracuda, Rochen und viele andere bunte Fische!
Es war ein toller Ausflug und man konnte wirklich was sehen. Der Preis ist auch angemessen da das Equipment gut ist, die Leute lustig und bemüht sind.
Man sollte vorher anrufen und einen Termin reservieren um sicher zu gehen dass man zur gewünschten Uhrzeit auch einen Platz bekommt! Man sollte sich informieren wie viele Quallen zur Zeit unterwegs sind bzw ob es Quallensaison ist!

Fantastic place for snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding, glass bottom boat tours, and diving. There are also plenty of picnic tables and beaches if you just want to relax.
I prefer here to Oleta river park for kayaking. They have plenty of single and double kayaks available throughout the day. There’s an area you kayak to with an incredible amount of jellyfish, very cool.
For snorkeling, I think it’s better to come earlier, lines start around 8am and you should try to book ahead if you can. They have extended tours, which take you to two coral reef sites for 4 hours, or the regular tour, which is about 2.5 hours (1 hour boat ride both ways) and goes to one site. The reefs are beautiful with plenty of creatures to see.
A must visit place for anyone coming to the Keys!

Beautiful park very well laid out and organized. Great spots to snorkel off the beach and a reasonable boat tour to snorkel the coral reefs.
Bathrooms are pretty clean and they have a snack stand and nice tables near the parking area and beach to get some shade and grab a bite. We went on a Friday but it was still packed, probably best to get in early.