Biscayne

Ninety-five percent of Biscayne National Park is underwater. So if you want to see it, you’re going to need a boat.

The Biscayne National Park Institute offers several really cool options for adventure, ranging from guided kayak trips to overnight camping on several of the islands, to sailing and boat cruises.

We wanted to get up close and personal with the world’s third-largest coral reef system – the Florida Keys Reef – so we opted for the “small group snorkel experience.” It was $109 per person, plus $16 apiece to rent the gear – a mask, snorkel, fins, and float. The boat left from the Dante Fascell Visitor Center, and the trip lasted 3 ½ hours.

They are not kidding when they warn you that it is a bumpy ride out to the reef. But the guide and captain were fantastic, giving us history and biology lessons while the boat was in no-wake zones.

Then, they let us jump off the boat and explore on our own. Depending on the weather and conditions, visitors snorkel at the reef, at the mangroves, and/or at a shipwreck.

I was the last in my family to jump in at the reef. I knew we were in for a treat as soon as I did. My son excitedly said to me, “Look down! It’s amazing!” And it was.

My husband kept hearing him shout through his snorkel, “This is awesome!”

We saw brain coral and soft coral, purple sea fans, and conch shells. We watched as a sea cucumber inched its way across the bottom. As we investigated the reef structures, we saw plenty of fish, including rasses, sergeant majors, damsel fish, blue tangs, and grunts. I swam with a school of parrot fish.

Then we loaded back into the boat and rode to the calmer waters of the mangroves. The boys were ecstatic to catch a barracuda swim fast as a torpedo here. I was fascinated by the bright orange sponges.

There’s something odd and yet wonderful about Biscayne National Park’s location. The visitor center and jetty trail are between a nuclear power plant and a huge landfill the locals have nicknamed “Mount Trashmore.” Just on the horizon, you see the tall buildings of Miami, home to 9 million people.

Biscayne is a sanctuary in the middle of the hustle and bustle and consequences of modern civilization.

The park hosts 200 species of fish, birds, and corals. Sixteen are endangered – including manatees, green and hawksbill sea turtles, Schaus’ swallowtail butterflies, and smalltooth sawfish.

The park was established as a National Monument in 1968 and upgraded to a National Park in 1981. During that time, park leaders encouraged the power plant to stop its practice of gushing hot water into the bay, which was killing the corals and fish who rely upon them. Since then, the corals and wildlife have made a comeback, including the once endangered American crocodile.

This is exactly why we need National Parks.