Biscayne National Park 

Park 29/59 wasn’t that great and I hate saying that about a National Park. While doing the research for this park, we came across this:

(From http://www.nps.gov/bisc/index.htm)

Boat Tours, Paddle-craft Rentals and Select Conveniences Temporarily Unavailable

Glass-bottom, snorkel, diving and island boat tours, and rentals for canoes and other paddle-craft, are temporarily unavailable. The park is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible and regrets the inconvenience.

So….we went anyway and found that there isn’t much to do at Biscayne when you are land-locked. The park Visitor Center looks like a small marina and there is a short walking path that leads out towards the bay. Nice quick stroll down this path, and while you have a nice view of the bay, to your right you will find boats pulling out of the marina adjacent the park as well as a great view of a power plant. Jets from the nearby Navy Base do provide some entertainment as they made several passes while we were there. Pretty loud, but interesting to watch as they went about their business.

Because we were staying in Florida City we did make another attempt (Perhaps we missed something?) at the park on a Saturday, and wow, was it packed! Picnickers, and birthday parties filled the grounds! It looked like any local city park on a summer’s day. Not exactly a National Park experience.

I get the fact that this park is to protect the bay and that most of the park is under water. I’ve seen images that are very interesting and places that I might like to explore. Perhaps it is a great place for local schools to come and learn about the bay but for visiting park guests from out of state, not really worth the stop without being able to experience the bay itself. Take a pass.

More images here.