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    Rowell's Waterfront Park

    4.2 (15 reviews)

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    Beautiful day
    Angel F.

    This place was so quiet and empty when we arrived. It's not huge, but it's big enough to separate yourself from others. We didn't walk around too much (it was HOT, and there wasn't much shade in the area we were in,) but there are a few benches and places to sit and relax. There's an area designated swimming, but it's rocky (bring aqua socks), and it has a drop-off so you have to know how to swim. It looks like there are walking trails, I'm not sure, but we'll be back to find out!

    Welcome sign
    Julie F.

    The four stars are for their potential -- right now it's a 3 star. But as we speak (and while we were there), they were in the middle of building new facilities (bathrooms); have added a couple new metal picnic benches. And had potted plants that they were ready to put into the ground. They should be there by this evening. This is small (under 10 acres) County park that is dog friendly. They even have bags to clean up after your pet should you have forgotten to bring one. It has a wide open grassy area. When we stopped by, they were readying the park for a July 4th event. They had already put out the potable potties around the perimeter of the grass. There are a few shaded areas, but most are in the sun. There are several picnic benches right along the edge of the water. The water itself has been cordoned off and forms a deep pool. To access the water, there are a couple of metal ladders. There is also supposed to be a boat launch, but we didn't see this. This off the beaten track is a locals park at the moment and big very busy. With its transformation and upgrades, that may change in the very near future.

    Haleigh P.

    Nice public park to walk or swim at. Lots of parking too. The park was well maintained. I came here around 930/10am on a Monday so there wasn't a lot of people at the park. Nice way to spend an hour or so.

    Chi H.

    This place has had a lot of construction work and improvements since 2022! They have been adding grass, picnic tables and plant more trees. Bathroom is now working along with parking. We've had many many fun summer nights watching sunset and people and dogs here. Hopefully they will complete the work this year so local and tourists will have a nice place to visit and play.

    Lagoon to fish

    Pros Not many visitors so it almost feels private in comparison to so many beaches and parks in south Florida. Refreshing to have found a go to beach park that's dog friendly and not crowded. We've never heard anyone bring loud music or yell either. Very relaxing as the beach should be. Everyone has been very respectful and haven't trashed the location. Enough parking and building a new restroom for the park. Cons Wish the park picked up the trash more frequently and trash cans don't overspill so close to the water. A few concrete blocks that should be removed to make it safer for kids. Some of the park tables and benches should be replaced as they're falling apart. Wish there was sand on the beach not just coral rocks.

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    Review Highlights - Rowell's Waterfront Park

    A few concrete blocks that should be removed to make it safer for kids.

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    Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park - On the trail with Velcro

    Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park

    3.2(28 reviews)
    2.2 mi

    The Good: a good length of flat paved pathway that would accommodate those with wheelchairs, mostly…read moreshady, fresh air, lots of benches along yellow path. Good place for dogs and baby buggies. The Meh: the only thing to see is a rock wall. We saw 1 small bird, one small lizard in the parking lot, some berries & deer poop. Yeah there's plenty of botanical specimens if that means trees. If you're looking for flowers or wildlife, you might be disappointed.

    Nice trails to walk, no bugs in February, small parking lot, an employee in a truck told us to pay…read morea fee with an envelope, put it in the box, so we did, just $2.50, we had the cash. He left. So we walk in and look at the map, there's trails to walk, a river to see. We didn't know what to expect, but we weren't seeing much of anything to write home about, so we decided to go off trail to get a closer look at a pretty little stream nearby. Just then a woman in a yellow vest comes walking out of the brush calling out, "Don't worry, I'm a human, not an animal!" She was the most interesting thing we'd seen so far, so we asked her if she worked at the park and she told us the most fascinating story. She's a python hunter! She catches invasive python snakes with her bare hands and puts them in the bags she had tied around her waist, takes them back to a place where they humanely euthanize them, and then the hunter has the option to collect the skins, which she does and makes jewelry out of it. She gets more money catching pythons in the Keys rather than the Everglades because the Keys are harder to get to and find the snakes. She told us more about her life and story to go into here, but I just want to say that while I was polite and listened to her, I am animal rights activist so I am 100% against catching even invasive animals and killing them. Hopefully one day we'll come up with a better solution to this problem. We didn't see any snakes while we were in the park, but just know that they are there. She said they'll probably scurry away from you, but some are big enough to take down and eat whole deer and gators. If you run into her there and she finds a gigantic snake, she may call on you to help her catch it. At least, that's what she told us.

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    Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park
    Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park
    Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park

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    Glass Bottom Boat - Pennekamp Park

    Glass Bottom Boat - Pennekamp Park

    4.4(38 reviews)
    1.9 mi

    We purchased our tickets online for the Glass Bottom Boat Tour which allowed us to pick the day and…read moretime and avoid the check-in lines at the park once we arrived, we also have our Florida State Park annual pass which allows easy entry into Pennekamp Park. We found a seat under the blue tent next to the dock which is used to stage the guess, they start boarding 15 minutes before the departure time and it's really a simple task even though they still manually check-in each guest as you board the vessel verses simply scanning the QR Code on the ticket or app. The 65' Catamaran is clean and spacious and the crew is extremely friendly, the tour guides are very knowledgeable and bubbly so they make every effort to make it fun. You can bring your non-alcoholic beverages on board since they no longer operate the snack bar, they do have (2) heads at the rear of the boat (restrooms). Once the boat leaves the dock it's a slow ride through the mangrove lined canal to the open water, the no wake zone continues until you pass the last navigational buoys, then he kick it up to about 18 knots until he approaches the reef I think that ride was about 25 minutes, it a nice relaxing ride, the interior cabin is air conditioned but the real adventure is on the open air top deck where the breeze is refreshing and you get the real outdoorsy experience. Once the boat arrives at the reef the captain brings the vessel to an idle and the viewing wells turn crystal clear exposing another world, the water depth over the coral reef is between 10' - 25' and the tour guide explains the viewing well numbering system so you know where to look while she explains what the boat is crossing over - she is very knowledgeable and explains everything you see - all the colorful fish and sea-life which is abundant as well as the coral types and objects that rest on the bottom. The tour runs about 2.5 hours and they take no short cuts so you get the total experience. They allow just enough time to get you back to the dock on time and honestly as much as I enjoyed it I was ready for it to be over, the ride back was not as exciting as the ride out and I found myself looking at my watch often - I thought it was a good value and worth the time but once is probably enough for me - the boat was about half filled so it wasn't crowded with about a third being kids and there's no doubt they loved it...

    What a nice ride! We were afraid the weather wouldn't let us go! Thanks Mother Nature!…read moreEverything was on time. Clean boat, pleasant guides! In fact, the guide who described the plants & aquatic life while we were cruising over the reef was amazing! Knowledgeable & quick to identify what she saw & its location. They gave lots of info on avoiding seasickness & I didn't see anyone suffering. We took a camera but there wasn't a need. Cell phones are enough. I used my binoculars & only used them a bit to see birds in the mangroves. You can take plastic bottled drinks on board. You might not want to wear a hat. We stood on the front deck & it was perfect. It's with the $36 ticket for a 2.5 hr. excursion. Masks required inside.

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    Glass Bottom Boat - Pennekamp Park - Coral and fish in the reef below

    Coral and fish in the reef below

    Glass Bottom Boat - Pennekamp Park - WAKE SIGN

    WAKE SIGN

    Glass Bottom Boat - Pennekamp Park - Beautiful reef

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    Beautiful reef

    Rowell's Waterfront Park - parks - Updated May 2026

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