Bahia Hondo State Park: About 40 minute drive from Key West. A fee to enter but worth it. Small beaches but we were there to kayak. Can rent kayaks right there. Can also rent snorkel equipment which we did as this was touted as a great place to snorkel. Quite frankly didn't see much ocean life at all - in fact I saw more fish at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park by just swimming out to the rocks and peering down. There were thousands of what I call "sand fleas" at the waters edge, but the state park calls "amphipods", and insist they are not fleas but a small crustacean. Whatever they are called, several hundred of them crawling up your swimsuit aren't fun - stay in the water!
It's fun to walk out on the "bridge" to look across the ocean. Pretty park, beaches not great but the water is calm and clear. Great for kayaking.
Traveling in the Florida Keys and visiting beaches we found that most of the beaches had a rocky, shelly, coral filled bottoms in which you needed water shoes. We also found out that because the Keys are surrounded by reefs,there are not a lot of waves but there is a lot of sea weed. So we were on a hunt for a beach that didn't have either of those problems, and we found it. The beach at Bahia Honda State Park was amazing, you could walk out 80 feet or so and still be in knee high clear water. The sand was white and there wasn't a lot of rocks or rough objects in the water. We traveled with a 9 and 14 year old and this was the perfect beach to just relax, and where the kids could have fun. It wasn't crowded, the water temp was perfect and all around it was the perfect beach. They also have bathrooms with stalls to change in and outside fresh water showers to rinse off under. We also visited Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West and be prepared for your feet to hurt if you don't have water shoes, there are coral rocks and small boulders in the water where people swim. The waters get deep quickly and the water temp for what ever reason was very warm. Beach chair rental was outrageous. It was something like $30.00 for 2 lounge chairs for the day. There is a cafe with a pretty good variety of sandwiches, drinks, salads, and wraps and many picnic tables under shade trees. There were a lot more people than at Bahia Honda, but Key West is a bustling town so that was to be expected. If and when we do go back to the Keys, Bahia Honda is where we'll be spending most of our time.
We drove to BHSP from Islamorada and felt it was well worth the trip. We packed a picnic, had our beach gear and bikes. So we were able to make a day of the park. Biking was ok, but the beach and snorkeling from the beach was great. We saw lots of life off the beach (snorkeled out to the buoy) and even saw a guitar fish (shark). We also saw some other small sharks (off the reef) and they were not nurse sharks. We did see one lionfish and told the Rangers about it with the location (they need to know this so please report it if you see one). The water was clear and the beaches were clean. We parked at the first parking lot in Sandspur, had lunch in the picnic area and then set up our chairs and umbrellas on the beach. We parked there because it was close to the bathrooms. The bathroom at Sandspur has a changing room and outdoor shower.
We were able to hike on some of the paths. One path leads up to the old railroad bridge, great views and we got some great pictures. Great place for all beach goers and next time we would like to rent kayaks and see more of the area. Visited the gift shop and that is where you sign up for the snorkel trips (extra cost) and you can rent gear, grab some food and of course purchase gifts.
Spent most of the day at Sanspur beach. Teenagers with us to watch the little one and decided to walk down the beach for privacy. Beach was way to busy for privacy even on a weekday. Kiteboarders everywhere. There were fun to watch though. They were from beginners to advanced. Boats parked at the end of sandspur having cook outs on the boats and kids playing ff the boats50 ft from shore and you could walk past them on the sandbars. Sandbars 100 yards from shore. It was windy so the water was a little murky but the kids found everything in the water. Small crabs clinging to sea grass Small shrimp clinging to a different kind of sea vegetation, to a stingray drifting in the water and a coconut my 6 year old was quite proud of. We grilled at the pavillion and then went toLoggerherad to shell in low tide and the kids buried themselves in the sand on the sandbar offshore. We went to Calusa beach to finish the day on the other side to finish the day because it is a small beach and the sunset was there and it was was way too crowded during the daytime. The sunset is occluded by the old bridge, but makes for intersting sunsets. It was quite cool,
If nudity and thongs bother you don't go past the bath houses at sanspur because it is quite tollerated there. They are quite nice about when a child has to come near though when my little one had to go to the bathroom and come in off the sandbar offshore and get to the bathroom quick they saw her coming and were nice evoungh to turn around. I was happy they treated us that way.
Don't be surprized at the smell of low tide. It is not good but it is normal for places where the water recedes a lot.
We did not go into the camping or cabin areas. I suggest up go to thier website to see all they have to offer.
This is, hands down, our favorite beach. The Sandspur beach side of Bahia Honda is fabulous. We plunked down our chairs and umbrella and stayed a good part of the day. We've been here a few times and the water is always beautiful. Love how it is shallow and clear! We saw hermit crabs, conchs, and fish when we were snorkeling. The kids loved it here. And it was nice to have the bathrooms close by. The rain chased us away, otherwise we would have stayed all day. We also drove over to the other beach and checked out the little nature and history center, gift shop and the old bridge. Beautiful place to spend the day!
