2bikes1boat

We arrived at Long Key State Park mid afternoon on Tuesday.  Today is Friday and I’m wishing I never had to leave this park.  It is truly amazing.  Our camper butts right up to the water.  The water  is shallow for yards and yards out.  It is warm and clear and underneath is a world that I would never had guessed was there. 
Snorkeling seems to be the prevalent past time here and for good reason.  Because of the shallow warm water even young children can safely swim and snorkel.  Myself I have always had a deep fear of going under water.  I watched Jim last year go under in his mask and snorkel and was so jealous.  This year he talked me into going to a dive shop and trying on prescription masks.  The guy at Discount Dive in Marathon, the first shop we went to, was very kind and helpful.  I explained my situation and he told me how to ease into it.  We didn’t buy from him however only because the mask he had didn’t fit quite like the one I ended up buying from Tilden’s Dive Shop / Hawk’s Cay Resort Marina. 
Once I became comfortable with the mask and snorkel I truly fell in love with this place, because not everything is visible to the unmasked eye.  I will hopefully later be able to post some pictures I took with Jim’s underwater camera.  I will save that for a later post.
I would recommend this park for anyone looking to really relax and have fun.  There are about 50 sites, some just for tents and others for campers.  They aren’t extremely deep but we had very little trouble backing in and setting up.  Be aware the sites are sandy. 
Anyone that knows us also knows that we love biking.  There is a bike trail that runs off and on throughout the keys.  The one that runs in front of Long Key State park is a little run down but from what we could tell they are working on repaving the trails.  At least in parts of the keys they are.  Hopefully the one here is on the list.  We have only ridden in the park so far but perhaps we can ride later today and have a more positive report on the trail than what we can see from the road.
The only other real negatives are sand spurs and no see ums.  Definitely bring some Avon Skin So Soft as that does work.  Bring a fan to set up outside too to help deter the little buggers.  Otherwise ENJOY!

Tags: Avon Skin So Soft, bike trails, biking, camping, Discount Dive, Hawk's Cay, Hawk's Cay Resort Marina, Keys, Long Key State Park, Marathon, no see ums, snorkeling, swimming, Tilden's Dive Shop