John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (Florida)
Helpful Travel Information for Visitors
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park located in Key Largo, Florida.
John Pennekamp State Park is famous for its Beaches, camping, boating, kayaking, fishing, Coral reefs, the marine life, and remnants of an old Spanish shipwreck.
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park includes 70 nautical square miles which also extends 3 miles into the Atlantic Ocean.
Established as a state park in 1963, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was the first undersea park in the United States.
By car, it takes about 2 hours from South Beach Miami area to reach this John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo, Florida.
Park entrance is located left at Mile Marker 102.5 Overseas Highway or US Hwy 1 in Key Largo with clear signs on Hwy 1.
John Pennekamp State Park Entrance Fee
There is a Florida state park fee of -
- Single occupant Vehicle - $4.50
- Double occupant Vehicle - $8 plus $.50 cents per person up to 8 people
- Pedestrian or bicyclist - $2.50 per person
- Over eight (8) people in one vehicle - $2.50 per each additional person (over the 8)
So a family of 4 in a car will cost $8.00 plus $2.00 for a total of $10.
John Pennekamp State Park Hours
Open from 8:00 a.m. till Sunset (365 days a year)
Concession Building and Visitor Center at John Pennekamp Park are open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
John Pennekamp State Park Parking and Visitor Center
Parking is included in the entrance fee in the designated area in the parking lot.
Parking usually gets full fast in the morning, especially on weekends and holidays.
However, many people come and go into this parking lot so just be patient if there is no parking until a sport becomes available.
John Pennekamp coral reef visitor center and Aquarium building (open 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) is located next to the parking lot.
The information center with the park ranger and aquarium are located in this John Pennekamp state park visitor center.
John Pennekamp coral reef visitor center aquarium features a 30K+ gallon saltwater tank with marine life.
Next to the visitor center is a Concession Building store with a restaurant, gift shop, beach equipment rental store, and a boat tour counter.
Free 24-hour Wi-Fi is available at the concession building and dive shop building at this state park.
Available Activities or Things to do at John Pennekamp State Park
A popular activity is to see the coral reef. There are various options provided by the park’s concessionaire coral reef park company.
They offer several kinds of tours: glass-bottom boat, snorkel boat, and scuba diving boat.
Most tours depart several times a day in the morning and take about 2.5 hours.
There is also a 9 am extended snorkel tour which is 4.5 hours long.
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park’s glass-bottom boat tours depart from the park's docks three times per day, 365 days a year, weather permitting.
The snorkel boat trips depart four times per day.
Both these tours last 2.5 hours. wheelchair-friendly boat tours are also available.
There is also a 9 a.m. extended snorkel tour that lasts 4.5 hours and visits at least two locations.
The park has a PADI Five-Star Gold Palm dive shop, offering a full range of scuba courses from open water through the instructor.
The Resort Course introduces the fledgling diver to diving and the coral reef in one day.
The four-hour scuba diving tours offer divers two-location, two-tank dives.
You can also rent powerboats, canoes, and kayaks from the same concessionaire at this John Pennekamp state park.
Reserve online or call (305) 451-6300 to book your activity.|
John Pennekamp State Park Beaches
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park has two man-made beaches, Cannon and Far Beach.
Cannon Beach is located adjacent to the visitor center and parking lot.
Cannon beach has cove lined with trees and calm waters to swim or just sit and enjoy the sun and provides Wheelchair accessibility.
Visitors can snorkel at snorkel out 100 feet or so you can find the remnants of an early Spanish shipwreck.
The John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park will take at least half a day or more and definitely worth stopping to enjoy Key Largo’s natural oceanic beauty.
visit to see marine life up close, scuba diving, snorkeling, canoeing, and kayaking.
Visitors can also enjoy walking on short trails through amongst the mangrove laden trails, picnicking, and of course swimming at the beach.
John Pennekamp State Park visitors can even fish in designated areas.
 | Half Day Snorkel Trip on Reefs in the Florida Keys - $65.00 Come join us snorkeling some of the most beautiful reefs within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Pennekamp State Park. We have many possible reefs to explore: Molasses, Elbow, French Reef and the famous Christ of the Abyss on Dry Rocks. These protected areas offer an opportunity to see turtles, spotted eagle rays, moray eels and a variety of different fish. These special reefs are part of the 3rd largest living reef system in the world and the ONLY living coral reef in the US. We stop at two different locations on the reef. Each stop is determined by the captain based on the day's conditions. We cannot guarantee any specific site. |
