*This post contains affiliate links.
Several years ago we drove to Key West and made some stops along the way. One of them was John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. We were quite taken by it and quickly made reservations to camp there. We had such a good time that we planned to come back. Life conspired against us and here we are almost three years later and we’re just finally making it back there.
We took along our kayaks, goggles (no snorkels though), and our underwater camera (that we bought right after our last trip there…we also bought a floating strap for it). We left around 11:30 and planned to take our time driving across the state. We drove across on 41 which cuts through the Everglades. There are so many places to pull off, but with the camper behind us, I’m reluctant to pull off unless I’m sure I’m not going to get stuck. We did stop at the Big Cypress National Preserve visitor center. They had rv parking spots that were perfect for easy in, easy out, no backing up.
It’s funny how you forget little things, but when you see them again, you immediately remember. These lubbers were one of those things. My kids instantly remembered them and were fascinated by them…well, all except my daughter.
We learned a lot about Big Cypress and the different habitats there. There are also plenty of photo ops at the visitor center.
It was looking pretty stormy, so we decided to focus on getting across the state and only making a stop for gas when we got to a convenient station. Along the way there was a detour (which we knew about) and instead of following the detour signs, I listened to Siri. I’m not sure why – I had been following the detour signs, but for some reason when Siri said to turn, I did. Then I realized that I was supposed to be following road detour signs instead of listening to Siri. So, we got a tour of Homestead. Eventually we made it back to the right road, found a gas station, and continued on our way with no major problems.
The campsites are long and narrow at John Pennekamp. We’ve been spoiled by the larger sites at other Florida state parks. However, we don’t plan to spend much time at our site, so it doesn’t matter.
There are a couple swim areas roped off. Last time we didn’t have anything for the kids to float on – although they can swim, we spent a good portion of time where it was over their heads and they tired out quickly. This time we took along a couple noodles and took turns holding on to them. It also makes looking at the plant/animal life easier since you don’t have to worry about staying above water. This time there was a lot a seagrass that had washed in and the water wasn’t nearly as clear. It didn’t slow us down. My boys still wanted to swim over the deep part (there’s a drop-off in the main swimming area and normally it’s pretty clear and you can see lots of fish).
My daughter is a cat person and was thrilled to discover a campground kitty. It was a little skittish and she didn’t get to pet it, but she did convince me to buy some treats at the store.
Turns out campground kitty has some friends!
There are two hiking trails that are open. The first one we checked out was the citrus grove trail. We loaded up on bug spray (they don’t spray for mosquitoes so they are ferocious!).
It’s a nice walk and ends at, you guessed it, a citrus grove. It is still maintained and some of the trees had fruit on them.
We didn’t stay for long since the mosquitoes were out in force. We took a quick stroll around the grove and then beat feet back to the camper.
At the end of each day, we walked to the docks and the main swimming/concession area and enjoyed the peace, looked at the boats docked, and looked for fish.
Stay tuned for our kayaking adventures…
*This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more details.
Leave a Reply