Discover Hidden Treasures at Biscayne National Park
Fix My Hog EditorsCertain fantasies will only exist in our minds, forever unrealized and only dreamed about. Others come to life before our eyes, magnificent, inspiring, almost unbelievable. Such are the islands of Biscayne National Park, where “Paradise on Earth” is more understatement than exaggeration. This small chain of islands anchored in the Florida Keys sits just a short hop from the bustling and vibrant hub of Miami, and it offers up its own grand display of beauty, life and adventure.
History and mystery in Biscayne
Of the roughly 200 square miles that make up Biscayne National Park, nearly all of them are covered by water, making this one of the largest marine parks in the United States. Among the crystal and aqua bays and coves spiders an intricate network of mangroves, which give sanctuary to a vast array of coastal birds and sea life.
Stemming from these trees is one of the world’s most miraculous and pure coral reefs, an underwater civilization where visitors can discover bountiful opportunities for scuba diving and snorkeling. If you’re more interested in keeping your feet dry, you can also opt for an excursion on a glass-bottom boat or maybe Biscayne National Park’s most popular activity: canoeing. Go alone, go with friends, go for the first time — the choice is yours, but just go!
Once you’ve uncovered your inner tranquility on the calm waters of Biscayne, you can meet up at Dante Fascell Visitor Center to board a boat and take a guided tour of the sunken ships left behind in the once pirate-infested waters that hug the islands of Biscayne National Park. At Biscayne, you can search for gold and imagine yourself locked in a furious battle with Blackbeard and his cohorts, or you can unearth treasures of a very different sort by paddling your way to a beautiful sunset in paradise. It’s your journey, you pick the route!
Biscayne National Park Anchored in the Florida Keys, just 30 miles from bustling downtown Miami But, light years away in bountiful bliss Though graced with a garland of small islands, most all of the park's 200+ square miles are covered by water. This is one of the largest marine parks in the National Parks system. On the bay's shoreline, grow forests of spidery mangroves giving sanctuary to thousands upon thousands of coastal birds. But there's more than bird watching to delight the park visitor. The Dante Fascell Visitor Center at Convoy Point is a launching point for many excursions Off the mainland, there is scuba diving Biscayne's coral reefs offer some of the best underwater exploring in the entire United States.
Or explore the deeps, while keeping comfortably dry on a glass-bottom boat. There's sail boating, and excursion boating to offshore keys including Boca Chita Key. The popular destination includes a 65 ft ornamental lighthouse, Biscayne's de facto symbol But, by far, canoeing is the park's prevailing activity There are canoe rentals, canoe instruction, and guided canoe trips Canoe solo, and canoe social These inviting waters, sky blue, aqua marine, were once opaqued by blood slick These were pirate infested waters English Sea Dogs, the likes of Blackbeard and Captain Kid laying in ambush for square-rigged Spanish galleons laden with treasure. Today, those park visitors seeking treasure can join a guided tour of the sunken wrecks The real treasures of Biscayne: vivid coral reefs, thickets of mangrove, ariel ballets of sea birds, these, are for everyone
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