Snorkeling Fun in The Lower Florida Keys

For those of you looking for a good place to take your family snorkeling, I highly recommend you visit the Newfound Harbor Keys Sanctuary Preservation Area in the Lower Florida Keys.  It is located near Little Palm Island, easy to access by boat and very family-friendly. It’s a perfect site for young children and novice divers alike.

We spent a nice morning-afternoon and were able to tie up to a mooring buoy. It is prohibited to anchor in these protected zones, so you must tie up to one of the mooring buoys available at the site. If no mooring buoy is available, you are allowed to anchor outside of the no-anchor zone, on sandy bottom. The site was somewhat busy in June, so try to get there early during summer.  Depths range from 8-18 ft., and our kids LOVED snorkeling and identifying all the fish and sea life they came across (parrot fish, snappers, angel fish, eels, sea urchins and grouper, among others). We had good visibility and plenty of coral to explore. It was a great learning experience for them and made them better acquainted with snorkeling.

Happy Travels!

Mariela

Sanctuary Coordinates and other Information- Courtesy of floridakeys.noaa.gov