Six miles offshore, the view is beneath the waves. It’s Molasses Reef, the most accessible living coral reef in the United States, a slice of the Caribbean in the Florida Keys.
And it’s the main reason that John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park exists.
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Overview
Location: Key Largo
Trailhead: 25.1270, -80.4092
Address: MM 102.5 Overseas Highway, Key Largo
Fees: $2.50 cyclist or hiker, $4.50 individual in vehicle, $8.50 per vehicle (2-8 people). Includes per-person Monroe County surcharge
Restroom: At the concession area
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 305-451-1202
Open 8 AM until sunset daily. Leashed dogs welcome but not at beach. Both campsites and docking slips are available for overnight stays. Reserve online.
03/2023 update: The Mangrove Trail boardwalk remains closed. There are no signs of rebuilding.
Directions
Located at MM 102.5 along the ocean side of the Overseas Highway (US 1) in Key Largo.
About the Park
Established in 1960 to protect the reef – with onshore lands added after 1963 – it’s a 70-square-nautical-mile wonderland of corals, sponges, and tropical fish.
Molasses Reef is easily visited on a dive or snorkeling trip with a park-sanctioned outfitter or can be seen through the windows of a glass-bottomed boat.
Spirit of Pennekamp Cruising on the Spirit of Pennekamp is how landlubbers - and snorklers uncomfortable with ocean swells - get to experience the living coral reefs of the Florida KeysNot up for the open ocean? A small beach and snorkeling trail serve up a place to splash near shore.
The park offers landlubbers fun as well. Start off at the visitors’ center to see the saltwater aquariums, including a 30,000-gallon tank, that orient you to the sea life found on the reef.
Then explore the park’s nature trails to look for tree snails in the tropical hammock and (non-native but huge) iguanas hanging out in the mangrove forests.
A small native plant and butterfly garden adjoins the visitor center, with identified trees and plants.
You’ll find a picnic area on the north side of the parking area, close to the mangrove forest.
Trails
Two very immersive interpretive nature trails, the Wild Tamarind Trail and Grove Trail, begin at the west side of the parking area and burrow into the dense tropical hammock.
While you can’t see it from the trails, the Florida Overseas Heritage Trail is between the park boundary fence and US 1 for the entire length of the park. No fee is required to ride it.
Follow the park road all the way into the park for a hidden beach with a boardwalk to an observation deck in the mangroves. Nearby is the trailhead for the Mangrove Trail.
Once a highlight of the park as an accessible nature trail, the Mangrove Trail has been closed for over a decade, leading us to wonder if it will ever reopen. It didn’t look promising on our 2023 visit.
Pennekamp Wild Tamarind Trail Tunneling into the deep shade of the Key Largo Hammock, the Wild Tamarind Trail provides a close-up look at a not-so-common forest. 
Pennekamp Grove Trail If you've ever wondered where Key limes came from, take a walk on the 0.5-mile Grove Trail at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park to see of one of the historic groves of Key Largo.
Overseas Heritage Trail, Upper Keys 26.8 miles. Through the most heavily populated part of the Florida Keys, the trail quickly leaves water views behind for tropical forests between residential and commercial areas.
Pennekamp Mangrove Boardwalk At John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the Mangrove Trail is an accessible boardwalk that gets you right into the heart of a mangrove tunnel along a tidal creekCamping
In the southwest corner of the park, the campground is somewhat of a tight fit and optimized for RVs and campers.
It’s an important camping stop for long distance cyclists and hikers along the Overseas Heritage Trail, which in turn makes up part of two routes following the entire eastern seaboard.
If you are on foot or traveling by bike along the East Coast Greenway or Eastern Continental Trail, call ahead or check in at the park entrance station about pitching a tent for the night.
Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail Spanning from Key West to Key Largo, this 108-mile linear state park corridor is an island-hopping slice of tropical paradise along the former route of the Florida Overseas Railroad.
Eastern Continental Trail A hiking route spanning more than 4,800 miles along the East Coast, the Eastern Continental Trail spends nearly 1,300 miles crossing Florida from its southern terminus at the Southernmost Point in Key West. Trail Map
Explore More!
Slideshow
See our photos from this park
Nearby Adventures
Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge Protecting more than 6,700 acres of Key Largo to provide prime habitat for the endangered American crocodile, Crocodile Lake NWR has a small visitor complex where you can learn about species conservation at the refuge.
Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park A botanical treasure rescued from developers, Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park has the highest concentration of National Champion trees in the United States
Biking the Southern Glades Trail Taking a ride through the Everglades on one of Miami-Dade's most remote offroad bike trails made for "Bill and John's Most Excellent Adventure." 
Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay is a shallow estuary bounded by barrier islands and coral reefs along the Miami shoreline, more than 63,000 acres of placid salt water.
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