John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
Have you ever been to the Florida Keys? If not I suggest you make it happen. U.S. 1, the interstate that takes you to the keys is literally one of the coolest drives you’ll take if you love the ocean. As you start actually getting to the islands you come to the realization that you’re island hopping. One after another. The water is beautiful and you have a clear view of the horizon for miles and miles. In the distance you can see your whole route as you make your way across the multitude of bridges. It reminds me of playing an old video game. Not one of these new open world games that you explore and go where ever you please. No, this is a video game where the story and route are laid out for you. Your only purpose is to enjoy the trip.
The boys had rosy cheeks from all the sun we were getting
Christina’s cute lil’ smile
To start, pulling into this park already sets the tone for the type of adventure you’re going to have. As you enter you drive through a tunnel that has been basically carved into the trees. If feels secret and sacred. You’re greeted with State park rangers that are ready to help you navigate the park. There is plenty of parking throughout the park so no need to worry. Our plan of attack when exploring a new space is firstly to find a map and try to grasp the size of the new place. On the map we located the visitor center so we navigated there. When you walk in, models of local fauna and fish fill the room. In another room there is a theater playing a movie about how the park was established.
The pictures I took in the visitor center were not the greatest… lol
Bodhi takes after me… always off in a flash to see what’s around the corner!
We didn’t take many pictures in the visitor center but I recommend going in to get acquainted with the local critters. From there we made our way through the park to the kayak launch. The young lady attending was very helpful with giving us directions and a map of all the different pathways you could take though the mangroves.
Ezzie showing his big brothers a fish in the water
Launching into the waters was somewhat of a hassle for us as we invested in our own blowup kayaks in order to save money while we were travelling. This meant we unloaded all our gear, blew up the kayaks and got the kids situated. After moving the truck to the designated parking lot we took off!
Lil’ Ezzie ended up taking a ride with Dad
Dylan desired the water constantly!
The waters initially opened up into a wide body of water before closing into the many creeks and pathways through the mangroves. Intimate. Winding through the innermost parts of the grove felt very private. Other than a couple that made their way toward the kayak launch we were the only ones wandering around. In the largest part of the body of water we were exploring boats were allowed to travel through, but we didn’t see any. It was very nice not having to worry about the kids and large vessels.
This picture made me laugh out loud because apparently Christina and Dylan laid their eyes on something that they did not want to get near
There were hundreds of these tiny mangrove tree crabs climbing through the branches as we literally travelled underneath them. It was actually very difficult to get a picture of these elusive creatures because they did NOT like the lens of my camera coming anywhere near them.
The majority of the pictures I took of the crabs looked like this…blast those these little buggers
These little crabs loathed the site of my camera lens slowly making it’s way toward them. They would literally stay exact opposite of my camera as I tried to snap pictures. Funny enough though if it was my face or one of our other faces they wouldn’t try to scurry away. In one of the pictures above you can see one of the boys clearly eyeing a crab in distaste. Not only were we dodging crabs in our faces but in some of these tight spaces we worried that a branch might puncture one of the kayaks. We were in close quarters, using the branches to navigate some of the spaces as it was too tight to attempt to use our paddles. If I’m being honest I enjoyed it thoroughly. The boys and Christina did as well although when the journey ended they were relieved.
Ezzie wanted to get his hands on everything!
Smiling at the predicament she’s found herself in
Bodhi bravely browsing the bold but bitty biosphere
After finally making it through all the mangroves we were greeted with this really cool bridge. We took a moment to rest underneath the bridge out of the heat of the sun and snagged a family picture. Our adventure in the water ended there. There was a food truck that we were able to snag a pretty decent burger from and some drinks. Overall our experience at the State park was more than positive. It was not very busy and parking was very easy to find. The paths through the mangroves were such a pleasure to discover. If you’re looking for a cool place to take your kids I’d recommend this wholly. Thank you so much for following along with this adventure! If you’d like to stay in the loop for future posts please join our email list by clicking here. Safe travels!
Funny little side note about Bodhi’s kayak is that it was not actually meant for him in the beginning. This one he’s using was supposed to be for me (Dad) but it just fit him so well. Originally I purchased a hard kayak for him but I ended up using it so that if one of the kids fell out of the inflatable kayaks I could rush to them quickly. The inflatable kayaks do not move the best through the water.
This bridge actually connects an island to the rest of the park. It sounded WILD when people were driving over… the boys loved it!
We stayed in the back yard of this wonderful family who hosted their property on Hipcamp in Homestead Florida
