America’s first undersea park, John Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park offers visitors an unforgettable glimpse into the diverse underwater world of the …
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May 20, 2025
Got on a snorkel tour at the last minute. Sundance trip with Captain Ed, and First Mate Ty. Had excellent service. They were friendly throughout with great instruction and felt very safe. We went to …Full review by Mike P
May 20, 2025
The crew was fun and friendly and the spot they bring you is excellent .. spent an hour snorkeling and it was so great the time flew by and felt like 20 minutesFull review by Joe J
May 20, 2025
We are avid FL state park campers! This was our first visit to John Pennekamp Coral Reef SP but certainly won’t be our last. The camp sites are well kept as well as the camper bathrooms and other fac…Full review by Kayla C
It depends on conditions. Check with the dive shop when you arrive. You can also call and talk to a dive shop before you arrive. Lightweight wetsuits are generally available for rent …
It depends on conditions. Check with the dive shop when you arrive. You can also call and talk to a dive shop before you arrive. Lightweight wetsuits are generally available for rent that can help protect you. You can also think about wearing lightweight gloves, but you shouldn’t be touching anything anyway. The boat captains are excellent, and will generally steer clear of anything that has a known hazard like lots of jellyfish. No guarantee though. I’ve only been stung once in my 20+ years of living here, and that was on a trip to the Bahamas.
Itcwas not a catamaran, it was a pontoon boot. For older folks or less athletic folks, there were no wide stairs to use to get in an out of the water. There were two very thin and steep …
Itcwas not a catamaran, it was a pontoon boot. For older folks or less athletic folks, there were no wide stairs to use to get in an out of the water. There were two very thin and steep ladders which were difficult to cimb up.
I’m an avid fisherman from NY and visited the park last week for the first time in 30 years. Back then it was vibrant and full of life below the surface with schools of giant yellow fin tuna 30’ …
I’m an avid fisherman from NY and visited the park last week for the first time in 30 years. Back then it was vibrant and full of life below the surface with schools of giant yellow fin tuna 30’ down, 3’ barracuda were a common site as well as schools of many larger fish…1000’s in total were seen in just an hour both in the park and from the reef snorkeling trips back then. Now it’s an entirely different story! The reefs are 90% dead or dying and the number of larger fish are minimal at best. I saw more fish in the bay at our hotel in 30 minutes snorkeling than I seen in 4 hours in the water at the park. That’s 3 hours on the reefs (3 different locations) and an hour at the park beaches. This saddens me so much it teared me up then and now as I read why and how the reefs are dying. To answer your question when I first got to the park last week I tried fishing after talking to a few of the locals. They suggested the spot and even gave me some of their frozen shrimp….wonderful folks!! After a few minutes I realized that something wasn’t right and 15 minutes later I put on my snorkeling gear and went to see where the fish were hiding. There was absolutely no catch and eat size fish to be found in the park after looking for an hour. Mostly very small baitfish and tiny immature fish the kind that you would possibly use as bait ocean fishing. I can’t imagine how the State of Florida allowed and continues to allow the death of their beautiful underwater ecosystem by exploiting it…ironically killing there golden goose. They claim to have “protected reefs” and yet hover over them with boats burning 100’s of gallons of diesel fuel daily and allowing 100’s to snorkel on these “protected reefs”. I have a completely different idea of protecting something and they should as well. Another local visitor told me “it’s all about the money”. If you are planning on going there be prepared for a disappointment at the very least. After being asked to post a review on here I found many others have expressed their sadness and concerns as well. If you take a few moments to read the negative reviews you will constantly find a response from the parks staff saying “I’m puzzled by your negative review” one after another. I’m puzzled how a person in the position of protecting this beautiful gem can be so corrupt to actually make false statements in the hope of making further profit. If you are planning on visiting the Keys you should do it soon. There are volumes of information online that say the reefs will be gone in the next 10 to 20 years. Once the reefs die the ocean begins to die and once the ocean dies it’s going to effect everything and everyone on land. I’m truly sorry to have to write this and for caring folks like yourself to have to read this but it’s the simple truth. The reefs have been there for 1000’s of years and we are about to kill them…I think it’s called extinction…
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