It is a permanent haven for more than 650 species of reef fish. On scuba trips you can visit caves, rays, moray eels, and shipwrecks. Snorkeling trips, requiring no diving experience, leave daily from the park and from nearby dive shops. Reservations are accepted. There are 43 sites, some with hookups, at the state park.
Camping here is noisy and cramped.
Once paddlers reach the reefs, they can tie on to one of the mooring buoys designed for that purpose. Encompasses an area of about 178 nautical square miles, most of which lies out in the Atlantic Ocean north and east of Key Largo. Most visitors come to see the coral formations, seagrass beds, and spectacular marine life of the reefs, either by scuba diving, snorkeling, or taking a glass- bottom boat tour. The land section of the park acquaints visitors with mangrove swamps, a tropical hammock with many varieties of indigenous plant life, and numerous shore birds. An excellent visitor center, featuring an underwater marine life garden, a touch tank and other interpretive exhibits allow even those who prefer staying on dry land to experience the underwater world.