Snapshot Planning Your VisitWhen we visited the park We visited this park the second week of March. The weather seemed fine, however getting on the ocean was a challenge. The weather was a toss up for us, and we didn't anticipate having major weather patterns disrupt so many of our plans. A large weather front had pushed through and caused unsafe conditions on the water, and prevented us from getting out to the keys here. So, we made the most of our time on the mainland while we were there. We had only planned on spending a half a day here, before we moved on to the next thing, so we didn't make it out to any of the keys.  weather-us.com Things to Consider 1. The first thing to know is, to be able to experience this park, you need to be comfortable with getting in the water. Either by boat, paddleboard, kayak, or swimming. There is a shoreline, but there are limited things to see there. 2. Visiting Dante Fascell Visitor Center is a great way to learn about the different areas of the park and the best place to see wildlife. 3. Book tours ahead of time if possible. Biscayne National Park Institute has a lot of tour options available, so you can experience one or more different parts of the park. I would recommend booking with them. The link to their tours is below. 4. Try to make it out to one of the surrounding Keys. It will be the best way to experience the park! Our tour was canceled due to ocean conditions, so we saw very little of this park.  How to Get There From the North - From the Florida Turnpike take exit 6 (Speedway Boulevard). Turn left and continue south to SW 328th Street (North Canal Drive). Turn left on 328th Street and continue for four miles to the end of the road. The park entrance is on the left just before the entrance to Homestead Bayfront Marina. From the North - Drive south on US Highway 1 Homestead. Turn left onto SW 137th Avenue (Speedway Boulevard). Continue south for five miles to SW 328th Street (North Canal Drive). Turn left and continue for four miles to the end of the road. The park entrance is on the left just before the entrance to Homestead Bayfront Marina. From the South - Drive north on US Highway 1 to Homestead. Turn right on SW 344th Street (Palm Drive, the last light before the Florida Turnpike entrance). Turn right on SW 328th Street (North Canal Drive) heading east. Continue for four miles to the end of the road. The park entrance is on the left just before the entrance to Homestead Bayfront Marina. Additional Maps offered by the Park Where to Stay Inside the Park Boca Chita Key is the park's most popular island. The only way to get here is by boat. The campground is $25 per night and $10 to dock a boat. The campground is first-come, first serve and has toilets, but there are no showers, sinks or drinking water. The harbor entrance at low tide is approximately four feet. You need the recreation.gov app to be able to pay for a campsite. Elliott Key is the park's largest island. The only way to get here is by boat. The campground is $25 per night and $10 to dock a boat. Restrooms with sinks and cold water showers, picnic tables and grills are available. Drinking water is available, but bring water as a precaution if the system goes down. Elliott Key harbor is approximately 2 ½ feet at low tide. There are 33 boat slips in the marina. You need the recreation.gov app to be able to pay for a campsite. Outside the Park Miami Visitor Bureau There are countless places to stay in the Miami area. The Miami Visitor Bureau has a user-friendly website that can help direct you to places to stay and activities to do while you are in the area.  What We Did On our trip, we had more of our boat reservations canceled than we were able to use. We had originally planned a Pirate Ship Tour around Biscayne and Miami. We thought the kids would love this themed and guided tour. We felt it would have been a little less formal than some of the tours in the area. The pirate ship tour did not happen though because of the conditions in the water. So, instead, we headed straight to the visitor center. There we talked with the rangers and explored the different specimens placed around the center. We learned what we could about the wildlife seen in the park. Then we went out and walked the Convoy Point Jetty. This is about a half a mile walk along the coast. When you make it to the end, there is a great lookout. You can watch for wildlife along the coast, but also different birds. If we return to this national park, I would make sure to book a boat or kayak tour out to Elliott Key. This is a longer Key that has shallow waters for the kids to play and splash in. At low tide, you can also search for different wildlife here. There is about a mile long hike on the island as well if the water is at high tide. There is also a campground here that could make for a fun night at sea.
Where this fit in our Road Trip This was the first stop in our Florida road trip. We flew into the Miami area, and headed directly to this park. We only planned on spending the afternoon here, so when our original plans got canceled, we spent more time in the visitor center and talking with the rangers. We then headed down to the Keys a little earlier than we had originally planned. This worked out well, because we didn't anticipate the large amount of traffic that would be heading to the Keys as well. NPS App and All Trails Maps I highly recommend using the National Park Service (NPS) App, as well as the All Trails App for hiking. There is limited service in the park, so planning ahead is helpful. These two apps allow you to download sights, maps, and trails so that you can access information anywhere. The NPS app also links to the full National Parks Website, with a plethora of information.
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