Florida Bay Forever is a charming spot with Old Keys style. Filled with native plants, walking…read moretrails, and all sorts of wildlife, it also has a kayak launch and a very nice pavilion where I'm sure the view of the sunset is spectacular! The gift shop is wonderful and the people there are even more wonderful. They have guided bird and nature walks, and the staff is so knowledgeable and just plain NICE. A great spot to take the kids, or just go by yourself or with friends to enjoy the wildlife and maybe learn something while you're at it. I guarantee you will come away from the experience with a renewed appreciation of the Florida Keys.

This was hard to find but it was so nice and so perfect, I gave it 5 stars anyways. Great for a…read morepicnic when you're in the area. They also had a kiddie play area in the front and more parking spots in the front. I would highly recommend the spot. My friends and I enjoyed it immensely.

We stayed at an airbnb up the street and decided to go and check this park out just before sunset…read more We are sure glad we did, it was really nice and well kept. We went out on the dock they have and you can tell they maintain it well or it must be real new, great views. We watched as a few people we snorkeling in the shallows off the quaint beach area they had there. Saw some of the fish you see at petco in the saltwater section in the water around so of the rocks. Just before sunset people came out from all over the neighborhood to watch the sunset. Great place to sit on a bench and have your moment of zen. Hidden gem.

This is a beautiful place to watch the sunset! We got there about 30 minutes before the sunset and…read morehad a small picnic. It is a very clean park with lots of benches and picnic tables. There is a small beach where some people were wading and looking at shells. People start showing up right before the sunset and enjoy it from the benches or the dock. The dock is long enough for several groups to spread out on and see the sunset and take photos. We even saw a huge stingray right below us on the dock.

We visited Library Beach Park in the morning with our two toddlers and it was such an easy, low-key…read moreouting. The playground was the highlight for us. Plenty of space to run, great swings, and enough shade that it felt comfortable even earlier in the day. There are picnic tables nearby making it easy to have a snack or take a break. Parking was easy and free, and there are bathrooms nearby as well. We didn't go near the water at all, but loved that the park sits right next to the library. Popping in afterward was a perfect way to extend the outing without getting back in the car. It's not a big destination park, but it's a really solid option if you have little kids and want a relaxed, family-friendly stop.

Came here off the 1 because it's free. The other place down the road is a park that charges $8,…read moreworth it if you have kids and gonna spend a whole day at the beach. This place not only is a library but behind it you can find a bit of parking for the children's play area that also has a small inlet for access to salt water swimming. Very small though and weeds throughout, still it was quiet and a pleasant experience for free. Currently under renovation so water is cut off but they have restroom to change etc.

This is a nifty little state park that has some nice manicured trails and tons of examples of coral…read morefossils in the stone. They used this area as a quarry for stone to use in construction in the early 20th century. There is an entire guide that the rangers can give you which covers not only the history of the area, but all of the plant species, and the different kinds of fossils you can find. This can be a fun stop on a road trip if you like geology and this kind of thing.

This little noun and yet amazing State Park is definitely worth a visit. I don't know why more…read morepeople don't come here, except maybe because there's a lot of mosquitoes. There's trails to walk, and exhibits related to the flora and Fana, wildlife, and of course the quarry, and the machinery used to mine coral for use in building. You can either take a tour with the guide or you can get a book from the Ranger and walk around with the book and read the descriptions at each of the plaques. There are something like 75 around the park, some have only a paragraph or two about what you're seeing, others have several pages.

Secluded beach area. There was only one car in the parking area when we pulled in. I was excited…read moreabout the prospect of having the beach mostly to ourselves, and was hoping to snorkel a little. The beach was covered in sea grass, which is fine because nature and whatever. I didn't care about the smell of said decaying sea grass. But we waded out about 10 ft and were stuck in mud because the sand had run out. All we were doing was kicking up silt and mud. Almost lost my water shoes in the sticky mud. We left after 5 minutes in the water. This is a great option for someone who just wants to take their dog for a walk or stroll along a beach. But not at all good for swimming or snorkeling, and not even basking on the sand because of all the sea grass and the smell. The restroom and shower were nice, but we didn't use the restroom for anything but changing and the shower for anything but washing off the mud. There are so many beaches in the keys, this one was super disappointing.

If you're looking for sugary sand or beautiful beaches you're going to have to head North out of…read morethe Keys to almost any one of Florida's other 800 plus miles of beaches unless you're on a curated or private resort beach where they've brought in lots of sand and routinely scrape off the sea grass. You'd be better off at Sombrero, Smathers, Higgs, or Fort Zachary beaches for something like that sort of experience but still need water shoes and consider smelly sea grass is just a thing down here. You do get used to it, but it's an acquired Conch thing. Coco Plum's quiet and worth exploring. Sunrise is Great here (as almost anywhere in the Keys) and there's a trail amongst the canopy and brush worth checking out. People do like to bring and unleash their dogs here, so you might want to sort of expect that. Over the years, it's been really nice here after it's been scraped and new sand's been brough in. It's a bit rough for the weary after the last few storms now.

This beach area is near the campgrounds of Bahia Honda, but was hit by Hurricane Irma in 2017. The…read morehurricane did quite a bit of damage as well as dispersed a lot of the sand. Both the beach and campgrounds reopened in 2022. This beach is also a long stretch of sand and is located just past Loggerhead Beach. I have heard great things, and in photos, it was great, but when we reached, there were lots of seagrass on the shore, like really a lot, and it was disappointing to see, so we turned back to Loggerhead Beach. Parking: Right on the beach, there is parking for 50+ cars.

The water was clear and it was great for shelling. One of the best beaches I've ever been to. Just…read morebe wary of the sand fleas they are bad in some spots.

IMPORTANT: You need to come prepared to this key If you expect to enjoy everything it has to share…read more The state park does not treat the island with pesticides. Bring: water, bug spray, and maybe a hat. There are bathrooms past the house on the right with a ramp. COST: $2.50 and $2.00 for access and tour. HOW TO GET HERE: We moored on the other side of the island and took the dinghy to the dock. Their Website has information for transportation to the island. We had a private tour of the island it the history is just unreal. The vegetation is massive and I had no idea how large this key actually measured. Because you can't swim or fish 100' from the dock or mangroves, it acts as a nursery for a ton of fish. I saw barracuda, sheep's head, yellow fin, ciro.

Lignumvitae Botanical state park is one of the last remaining natural keys. This park has a strict…read morepolicy on visitation and only offers restricted access due to its natural preservation efforts. Like others, I recommend to come in the winter months, due to the amount of mosquitos. This island is not sprayed like the residential keys, due to preservation, so you can imagine the number of hungry mosquitos. We came over in late October and it was still pretty buggy. There's a neat old house on the island and the ranger will give you the history of the house and the residents who maintained it. There is a long hiking trail but we only made it about 20 minutes in before turning around due to the bugs. And I do have a fairy high threshold for bugs. We did get to see some Golden Orb Weaver spiders, so that was totally worth the trip. It was cool to get the history of the Key. I'm looking forward to come back hike the entire trail in the winter!

Found this place online, and it is a great local beach for snorkeling. You have to be looking for…read moreit in order to find it, but its well worth a stop. It has extremely calm and clear water. Along the mangroves and large rocks, we were able to see several types of fish and crabs. Someone there saw a stingray but we weren't able to find it. Other people were fishing and grabbing hermit crabs. Note it is very rocky so flippers or water shoes are necessary. Definitely one of the best sports for snorkeling from shore we found in the Keys.

Hidden gem. Spent over an hour snorkeling here with no one else around. So many fish.read more