Bahia Honda State Park, Marathon Florida

We pulled into Bahia Honda on Thursday, the 19th.  Since then, we've been doing what we do best - laying on the beach, reading books, and just living the lazy life, as you can see below.

Bahia Honda has the best swimming beach in the Keys, and so we make sure to take advantage of it.  We did notice that the beach is eroding pretty badly, but it's still great.  The weather has been beautiful, although we had a full day of heavy rain on Saturday.   We may get more rain over the next few days, but hopefully it won't deter us from beaching out.

The campsites at Bahia Honda vary greatly as far as length and width.  Some are too narrow to put a screen tent up, but fortunately the one we got is just big enough.  We didn't even bother putting the canoe in the water, as it's been a little too windy and rough.

We leave here on May 2nd, and will start winding our way up the coast.  Our first stop is Jonathon Dickinson State Park, where I thought we'd stay for a couple of days just to check it out.  I'll be sorry to leave the Keys - it really is paradise.

Bargain Camping in the Florida Keys

sunset at Bahia Honda State Park

The Florida Keys are notoriously expensive for campers, with many campgrounds charging over $100.00 a night. However, there is a bargain to be found – the state parks. There are four state parks in the keys – John Pennekamp Coral Reef, Curry Hammock, Long Key and Bahia Honda. Each of these are wonderful parks that charge $38.50 nightly for sites with electric hookups and water. John Pennekamp offers sewer hookups as well. Bob and I have stayed in all but Curry Hammock, and we are looking forward to staying there for two weeks in April 2012. Out of the other three we think that Bahia Honda is the best for swimming, but Long Key has all waterfront sites that have spectacular views. Bahia Honda has waterfront sites, but we have never managed to book them since they are in such high demand. In order to get reservations at these parks you have to log into Reserve America exactly 11 months before the day that you want to start your reservation. My advice is to log in about 15 minutes before 8:00 AM, pick out your campsite and get everything set up so that you are able to click on the button to reserve the campsite at exactly 8:00. It is very difficult to get these sites, and so you may have to try over a period of a few days. We have managed to get reservations for three years now, so it just requires a little patience and determination. Believe me it's worth it to get these great sites

view from our campsite at Long Key State Park