The Key West Marine Park entrance to the underwater world
In most places in the U.S.A., when you say “I’m headed for the park,” it usually means a green space near your home where you can go and be outside and take walks, play with the kids, throw a Frisbee for the dog, maybe feed the ducks, have a picnic … But in Key West, it can also mean that you’re going to the underwater Key West Marine Park. With all the things to do in Key West on land, living on a tropical island offers a whole new fantastic set of park adventures in the water.
The Key West Marine Park is on the ocean side of the island of Key West. This underwater tropical park was established to help protect the coral reef system found near-shore, to help educate people about the delicate and beautiful underwater systems, and to provide compatible use of this area by swimmers, boaters, and beach goers.
In this park, you’ll find areas that are buoyed for swimmers and snorkelers and closed to motorized vessels, with designated lanes where vessels can come in and out of. Posted park signs, like the one shown in the photo above, can be found at the Mary Spottswood Pocket Park near the Casa Marina Resort, and at Higg’s Beach near the White Street Pier. These will help you find and identify all kinds of interesting underwater living creatures like brain coral and fan coral, sponge, sea star, queen conch, shrimp, lobster, crab, sea anemone, and sea urchins. And lest we not forget all the beautiful tropical fish, from tangs to grouper, from red fish to grunts, from cardinal fish, to damsels to angelfish … they’re all beautiful to see up close in their own home waters.
So when you think about going to the park in Key West, don’t forget the option of ‘taking the plunge’ and discover the beauty of the tropical underwater world that surrounds us.
