John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

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John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Campsite # 41

   Tuesday, May 13 – John Pennikamp Coral State Park – Site 41 (but if you go take site site 38,39, or 40). 47 sites plus some hosts sites

    We left Long Key State Park on the most beautiful day we have had sunny, clear skies but it was cool enough with a nice breeze that you could stay outside all day. Picked up some food items and gas and arrived at John Pennikamp around 10:30 in the morning. We could not get into our site so we parked near the beach and rode our bikes around, ate lunch, visited the visitor center and checked out the campsites.

    When we got our site around 12 we went snorkeling at Cannon Beach. They sunk an old Spanish ship here and the coral is has created brings in beautiful fish and tons of them. Got even George to get out there in the deeper water to see these fish.  Beautiful parrot fish and others. The only thing is that this beach is all rocks, coral, shells.

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    I can not say I am in love with the beaches in the Keys – South Carolina, North Carolina, Viginia, Maryland and Delaware beaches are better but they don’t have that blue water for snorkeling. John Pennikamp has the best snorkeling beaches unless you take a tour on a boat somewhere – they do this all over the keys and that snorkeling is great.

    John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo, Florida $26 plus taxes

  The last time we camped here was close to 18 years ago and it was raining, cold and windy. We stopped for an overnighter in May this time and there was a nice breeze, sun and clear skies. The camp sites are ok not as nice as some of the other ones in the keys and none on the ocean but the rest of the park is great. Mangrove trails, boating, scuba tours and snorkeling tours. A visitor center with all types of fish, information and movie. Three beaches and at Cannon Beach a Spanish ship was sunk for a coral reef. You can see tons of fish and old cannons there – we had a great day snorkeling.

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    The last time we were there my oldest daughter about 10 at the time and I went out on the snorkeling tour and there was a storm – it was tough snorkeling and the boat swung around and almost hit us on the head so this time my husband and I stayed closer to shore and it was great. Beautiful weather and a great place to camp. What was interesting though we just spent a week in the Keys camping – Bahia Honda, Curry Hammock, Long Key and John Pennicamp is the only one that had a campground full sign out and it was full yet if you make reservations it is easier to get into this campground then the other three.

   We enjoyed staying here and plan to return.