Retirement Dreams: John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

We arrived at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park on March 10th, and will be here until March 22nd. I like this park much better than I had in the past because they improved the sites. They added sewer to the sites two years ago, and it is the only park that offers full hookups. The other parks offer electric and water only. Also, they filled all of their sites in with gravel. Although the sites are still a bit tight, they are just fine, and we have been enjoying our stay so far.

John Pennekamp is probably the biggest snorkeling and scuba park in the Keys. They have daily snorkeling trips as well as a glass bottom boat that takes you out to the reef. You can also see plenty of fish by just snorkeling in the water off of the beaches. The park has two nice swimming beaches as well as a convenient place right down the street from the campsites to launch our canoe. We enjoyed a canoe ride on Monday, although it got a bit wild because a whole school of prep school kids were kayaking with us. We were using our electric motor, so it was a little more difficult to navigate than if we had been simply paddling. I think we'll take at least one more canoe trip before we leave.

Kayakers on Mangrove Trail, John Pennekamp State Park

Fortunately for Mirra, there is a dog park in Islamorada (in Founders Park) which is only 11 miles from our campsite. We have taken her down there three times so far, and will probably go at least another 2 times before we leave. The dog park is right across from a beautiful swimming beach, and has a great atmosphere. It even has a place to wash your dog if you so desire.

Dog Park at Founders Park, Islamorada

Founders Park is a wonderful place to go if you're looking for a good place to swim and hang out for the day. They charge a $5.00 fee for non-residents, but you get to use their pool, tennis courts, swimming beach and dog park for that fee. We use the dog park after hours, and you can get in for free at that point.