Located in Florida between Key Biscayne and Key Largo, the 173,000 acres of Biscayne National Park is one of the area’s longest stretches of saltwater mangrove swamps. Within the tropical, and often very shallow, waters of this park, an incredible habitat exists for the manatees, sharks, fish, seat turtles, jellyfish, and other ocean and swamp species. Although the visitor center lies on the mainland, the park can only be accessed by boat, canoe, or kayak, and our recommendation is to take at least a half day trip out to explore the park firsthand via one of these modes of transportation.
Following our time in Dry Tortugas National Park and the Florida Keys on our New Years 2021 Road Trip, we headed North to Biscayne National Park, near Miami again, to spend the day. Since most of this park is found out in the water off the coast of Miami, we had planned to take a boat to explore. We had a sailboat and tour guide all to ourselves for the day, and it was a fantastic way to learn and see everything. Our tour was organized through the Biscayne National Park Institute, and we arrived there at the Park Headquarters first thing that Sunday morning to meet our Captain and get outfitted for our snorkel gear and wetsuits.
From the mainland, we sailed east across the park to Adam’s Key, an island within the park, where we only encountered two other people.
From the dock at Adam’s Key, we boarded kayaks and paddleboards to venture through the mangrove trees to a lagoon, where we were able to snorkel and see all of the wildlife of the area. We saw tons of fish, and even a baby black tip shark, which was thrilling for our kids. It was quite the adventure!
After paddling back to our sailboat, we continued our sail back toward the mainland, learning more about the park from our incredibly-knowledgeable skipper, and he also let our kids take turns guiding the wheel of the sailboat on our journey. What a wonderful day exploring the park together!
