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.

It's a nice boardwalk right by the coast. It's free to visit and there's restrooms and pavilions…read morewith tables and trash cans. One can eat a picnic here. Due to the ecology of the Keys, this beach isn't like what one may think of when they hear the word "beach." It's not like the beaches in more Northern parts of Florida or the artificially constructed ones at some of the local resorts. There's no fine sand or rolling waves. A lot of the sediment near the water is clay-like, and the nearby ocean is shallow and, if I recall correctly, dominated by seagrass. The boardwalk is surrounded by mangroves and other plants, which are home to lots of life. One can see crabs, lizards, and various insects darting around. There's occasionally various species of birds here. At the time of writing, this beach, like much of the Keys, is covered in sargassum, which anaerobic bacteria decompose, producing foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide in the process. This can make visiting the place a bit unpleasant. I'd suggest checking to see if sargassum is a problem before visiting. There's also often biting insects in the area. I'd recommend bringing insects repellant. Overall, I think it's a nice, free place to walk and enjoy the local environment. Just don't expect an idyllic beach.

It was our first stop while en route to KW. it easy to see why this would be a popular beach for…read morefamilies with small children or for people with pets. one of Islamorada's best attractions for the avid beachgoer. While the Florida Keys in general do not offer a large variety of sandy beaches, this little stretch located at Mile Marker 73.4 Oceanside offers a beautiful place to relax and enjoy the day, sunbathing We reached around 9:30 AM, and it was almost empty. With a few clouds in the sky, the place had a very serene and peaceful vibe. No crowds at all. In summer, the beach area is probably a bit wider, but during our visit, it was smaller. Still, that doesn't take away from enjoying this beautiful beach. Parking is right there, and there are restrooms nearby, which makes it very convenient.

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.

Norman is the best! He has all the fun toys to use and knows everything there is to know about the…read morearea. Was able to stay at 2 of his rentals and both were clean and comfortable.

Kawama Yacht Club sits on nearly 40 acres close to everything downtown Key Largo has to offer…read more. there is two pools, sandy ocean-front beach (walk 50 yards) and a large saltwater llagoon teaming with fish (which you can feed and swim with). There is also a children's playground and tennis courts too. Our host Norman was awesome. He own about 10 of the units and take great care of them. He also keeps pool toys, bikes, kayaks, tennis / pickleball rackets for use.

When we did the swimming practice they said "don't touch the floor or wall" and I only touched the…read morewall with my huomeris because I was close to the wall and they gave m orange and my friend got a green and the didn't let her go on the high diving board and they didn't let us swim in the water cuz they got green and for the people that had orange or red were in the kiddie pool with floaties that basically choke us and the water is freezing cold the people that were doing the swimming lessons they didn't even try to help all they said was " just swim to the end" and a worker told a kid to shut up this is by far the worst place I have ever gone to

This is a huge super family friendly aquatic center that I've visited over the years. Although it…read moredoes not have an Olympic size pool it makes up for it with three quality pools. Located just 45 minutes from Miami with hotels in the area. The complex built in 2002 offers swim competition in their 8 lane 25 meter Myrtha swimming pool. An electronic scoreboard is available. Depths are 5-7 feet. A second Myrtha pool measuring 24x44 is a multi-purpose and can be used as warm up/cool down at swim meets. The third pool is interactive for young children and includes a pirate ship and sprayers. The complex also has one 3 meter and two 1 meter diving boards. The entire facility is well maintained with a lot of staff on hand Jacobs has a concessions stand, so it's understandable no outside food or drinks are permitted. There is an entry fee and memberships are available. Local residents get a discount last time I was there which was a few years ago. Jacobs offers amenities such as: * pool lane rental for traveling club teams * USA swim team * masters swim * swim lessons * water aerobic * life guard training * summer camps * scuba classes offered by outside vendor I would absolutely recommend Jacobs to anyone finding themselves in the Key Largo area.

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.

This is one of those old Keysey legends that everyone knows about but not many have been to. It's a…read moregreen lagoon oceanside that's been blocked off and somewhat protected. Unfortunately, that has also caused the silting problem to get pretty bad. That said, it's got so many amazing businesses operating within this Undersea Park. First, there's Jules' Undersea Lodge, a submersed hotel underwater (~21 ft below the surface) that can only be accessed via scuba diving. It sits in the far back corner (look for the bubbles). The lodge is fully equipped with a shower, bathroom, beds, coffee machine, wifi, and pizza delivery (sometimes by a free-diving mermaid, if you're lucky!). Jules also has a small garden underwater growing actual living plants! It's rad, and the goal is to show that we can harness the underwater world and natural condensation processes to grow food to feed the masses. Next to Jules is my favorite dive operator in the keys -- Island Ventures! They're "Stress free diving!" motto is so true. Every trip out with them is full of excitement and joy, even if it's choppy seas and cold weather. They live and believe that the worst day on the water is still better than the best day in the office, and it shows. Finally, there's Marine Lab, a cool educational outfit with old undersea laboratories on site for viewing. The land leading to the underwater park has lots of random underwater memorabilia (like a shark from an old Shark Week feature coming through the fence), Old escape hatches painted to show Hurricane Irma's damage, and old school research laboratories. Underwater, there's several structures within the park (long tubes, big oil drum, etc.) that staff will tour you around to see. Wildlife that's been seen in the underwater park: manatees, fish, moray eels, jellyfish.

I highly recommend the night tour! They have the availability of LED single and tandem kayaks as…read morewell as paddleboards. We met at Harry Harris Park in Mile marker 93. If you're not familiar with the keys it's a little hard to find the location, but Jen (our guide) was beyond helpful and was always quick to answer my phone calls. You'll be parking your car behind her set up of paddleboards. There's no parking fee and I'd say it's a safe place to park. We left our cars there and nothing happened not to mention she left her boards there as well. I would recommend wearing sandals and shorts since you'll be walking through a few puddles. If you get cold easily wear a light sweater and bring some mosquito repellant. She also does a quick instructional session for those who are new, but in terms of conditions the water is very still and shallow throughout most of the tour so this is perfect for newbies. She's got a good eye so she found tons of crabs, barracudas, nurse sharks, jellyfish, and so many lobsters!! You get to go through mangroves as well as between houses and a little out into the ocean. We went after it rained a little and the sky became crystal clear with stars and the moon. Just absolutely beautiful! The price is $60 for the night tour per board doesn't matter tandem/single kayaks or paddleboards. She can also rent out and deliver to you the boards for $40 for 24 hours which is crazy, because 90% of places charge you $30 for 1-3 hours max. Double check me on the price though! If you do the night tour just remember to call ahead of time. We got lucky and called and went the same day where someone already scheduled for the night, but if they don't have reservations ahead of time they won't have someone available to do the tour.

Jennifer was VERY friendly, accommodating and efficient! She delivered our paddle boards to our…read morelocation and recommended a route to check out. Definitely would recommend this business to anyone looking for some adventure!