John Pennekamp has so many activites and it is wonderful or families, self, picnics etc. You can rent canoes, kayaks and travse the ocean until your hearts content. You can snokel and see the world famous jesus in the water. The picnic area are well stocked. However the beach area is not the white sandy area that Miami Beach has

Although we did not dive here, we had fun snorkeling off the shallow beaches. The water is cloudy due to the muddy bottom and sea grass but there are plenty of fish to be seen. Also we saw several manatees surfacing and tried out the sea kayaking too (only $17 for a two person kayak for one hour) through the... More

The dive to the Christ of the Abyss was great but it is a shallow dive of about 20 feet. Better to try Molasses Reef where the Coral is better or Mikes wreck where large fish and turtles are everywhere

Visited both the park on land as well as by sea via a snorkel tour. Don't miss the aquarium at the visitors center and the trails though the mangrove forest. Snorkeling was wonderful - lots of colorful fish.

We went to Pennekamp to try out kayaking in the mangroves. It was May and pretty sweltering for South Florida already, but it wasn't too buggy. The entrance to the park is pretty steep, about $4/person. The tandem kayak was $17/hour. We thought the price was pretty good for a kayak rental. After paying at the concession stand, we picked... More

State park area was beautiful but if you think you are going to lay on a nice sandy beach you will not be satisfied. The beach, like most of the rest of the Keys, is a very hard rocky area. There was a ton of other stuff to do around the park though and we enjoyed our snorkeling trip very... More

One of the best snorkeling locations on the east coast is John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. From the visitor's center, you can board a catamaran to be taken out to one of the various snorkeling sites in the park. The site you'll be taken to is dependent on the weather and ocean for the day, so you never know... More

Travel out to the coral reefs by boat and either snorkel or travel on the glass bottom boat. Reefs and wildlfe are astounding.

We visited John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in May 2013. It's a very nice state park with much to enjoy....beach area, boat tours, kayak rental, paddleboard rental, a glass bottom boat (which we went on), and many hiking trails. A perfect family park.