Florida state park info...

[NadMat]

Planning an eventual trip to Florida, this year or next, intending to camp in state parks for most of trip,looking for any info on camping and facilities in Anclote Key, John Pennekamp Coral Reef and St Andrews Parks and the diving and other fun stuff nearby, family oriented as will be at least one couple with young kids along.

Will possibly have hard bottom inflatable boat and/or kayaks to assist in near shore dive locations and also plan on doing some local charter days as well. I am going through a wealth of information trying to narrow down the must do dives for this trip. Some of divers quite happy to 120+ and some are good to around 60-70 max. Most of adults dive, some more fanatical than others. We will need air fills for a mix of lp to hp tanks near each of parks(unless I find financing for portable compressor I want before then ).

Any help from natives or regulars of area would be a great planning assist.

Time frame is later this year to more likely spring/summer of next year(2010)

We will be traveling with one or more dogs as well so any info on top notch doggy daycare type places in those areas would be nice as well as info on any dog ok beach areas nearby.

Thanks, Matt

 

[cyberfed]

State parks shouldn't give you any trouble for camping, its pretty popular to do so, and cheap.

In the Keys there really isn't any shore diving, you can snorkel around but there isn't much to see. All diving is done off shore at the reefs.

Depths for reef dives are anywhere from 30-70 feet. With most of them being in the 40 feet average depth. There are a few deep dives most of which are wrecks. Those go anywhere from 70 to 130 feet with the average depth around 90-100 feet.

There are tons of charters and people here will give you their two cents as to which ones are better ect... I dove with most of the charters down there and they were all great.

Key Largo is your best spot to setup for diving. You can camp at Pennycamp too. Many people think Key West is the spot to dive but its really not. You will have no problem getting your tanks filled, LP or HP, you can get nitrox too if you are certified for it. Just a tip I found that in the Key's getting a heavy fill is pretty impossible. You will get exactly 3000psi (or whatever your rated pressure is) possibly short filled too
I'm used to diving in North Florida and getting "Cave" fills which are awesome.

Most of the hotels will have a small beach you can go with your family. Key Largo itself isn't great for beaches, head a little more south for better beaches.

You can rent jetskii's kayak and parasail all over the keys, fun stuff for the family

Don't speed on the main road, cops patrol it year around and give tickets like madmen.
Have fun!

 

[siikik]

Here is one of the websites I use to get state park info... Welcome to the Official Florida Online Parks Guide

Depending on how long you are going to be here and how many state parks you want to visit, an annual pass might be a good investment.


Ken

 

[sportxlh]

this thread has some good information about kayak diving in the keys (or the lack thereof). With that being said, there are fun non-diving kayak locations in key largo.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-kayak-divers/253301-kayaking-around-key-largo.html

 

[darylb]

Book your campsites early - they fill up fast! Dogs are allowed in state parks but not on beaches (in most places).

The reef is 3 miles out, so you might not get there in a kayak, but you can find patch reefs closer in. Pennekamp runs a dive boat out to the reef. If you make it down to Islamorada, "hens & chickens" is a good patch reef close to shore, there are others as well. Lobster season is closed from April until late July/early August & you can't harvest in state parks or sanctuaries. BUT - if you're here during season and are diving/snorkeling in a legal harvest area, you might be able to pick up a few "bugs".

We had a bad experience with "The Classy Canine" (now called "The Pet Motel" I believe). When we picked up our dog he appeared to have been drugged. He slept for 3 days, was listless and limped very badly for a week. I would not recommend them!

Hope this helps.

 

[deepstops]

State parks shouldn't give you any trouble for camping, its pretty popular to do so, and cheap.

In the Keys there really isn't any shore diving, you can snorkel around but there isn't much to see. All diving is done off shore at the reefs.

Depths for reef dives are anywhere from 30-70 feet. With most of them being in the 40 feet average depth. There are a few deep dives most of which are wrecks. Those go anywhere from 70 to 130 feet with the average depth around 90-100 feet.

There are tons of charters and people here will give you their two cents as to which ones are better ect... I dove with most of the charters down there and they were all great.

Key Largo is your best spot to setup for diving. You can camp at Pennycamp too. Many people think Key West is the spot to dive but its really not. You will have no problem getting your tanks filled, LP or HP, you can get nitrox too if you are certified for it. Just a tip I found that in the Key's getting a heavy fill is pretty impossible. You will get exactly 3000psi (or whatever your rated pressure is) possibly short filled too
I'm used to diving in North Florida and getting "Cave" fills which are awesome.

Most of the hotels will have a small beach you can go with your family. Key Largo itself isn't great for beaches, head a little more south for better beaches.

You can rent jetskii's kayak and parasail all over the keys, fun stuff for the family

Don't speed on the main road, cops patrol it year around and give tickets like madmen.
Have fun!

Agreed, none of the charters suck but we all have our favorites.

The issue with speeding tickets will become worse as the state and local governments look to increase their revenue. :depressed:

 

[NadMat]

Thanks for the replies, so far it sounds like State parks will work fine, I have been checking them out online. It looks like Anclote key is primitive camping only, we will be traveling with a pop up or two which don't have to have all the hookups, but do have to be driven into area to set up, does anyone know if that is possible at Anclote.

Also sounds like we will have to bring the inflatable if we want to do offshore diving, or charter(which I enjoy, especially smaller charters, but will impose more time constraints) and bring the kayaks more for exercise and fun in surf. Any big worries getting out to reefs on a 16' zodiac? Will have gps and radio on boat.

Also, Rocket would never forgive me for taking him to Florida and not getting out to play on a few beaches, so any dog allowed beach or shore area info would be appreciated.

Thanks again,
Matt

 

[deepstops]

Also, Rocket would never forgive me for taking him to Florida and not getting out to play on a few beaches, so any dog allowed beach or shore area info would be appreciated.

Thanks again,
Matt

Your resource for dog-friendly beaches in Florida:
DogFriendly.com - Florida Beach Guide for Dog Owners

 

[DebbyDiver]

We had a bad experience with "The Classy Canine" (now called "The Pet Motel" I believe). When we picked up our dog he appeared to have been drugged. He slept for 3 days, was listless and limped very badly for a week. I would not recommend them!

Hope this helps.

While I have only had good experiences with Classy Canine, I want to clear up that it is now under NEW OWNERSHIP and NEW MANAGEMENT. I do NOT have any experience with the new owner, although I have spoken with her on the phone and she cleared out most of the old employees. This is not an endorsement, I'm just saying don't avoid them simply because the previous owner gave you a bad experience.

Friends of mine board their dogs at a vet in Key Largo and they are happy with that, but I'm not sure who the vet is. Maybe a local can tune in.

You can take your doggy to Anne's Beach or Founder's Park.

 

[Speargirl]

NadMat as long as they don't bite you can leave them at my house. I have a big fenced in back yard they can run and play in and when you are all done for the day and come to visit you can take them to our homeowners park that allow dogs, there is a great beach he/she can play in the water. If you stay at Pennkamp you are only 3/5 min from my house.