Accessible State Parks in Southeast Florida

By Julie Landry Laviolette

Imagine snorkeling a colorful coral reef, exploring an historic 1800s fort or kayaking a mangrove swamp. If you have mobility challenges or use a wheelchair, the Florida State Parks system has worked diligently to make those experiences - and more - accessible to you. Here’s a look at accessible ways you can enjoy state park amenities in the southeast region, from Palm Beach to the Keys.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Paula Russo will never forget the experience of seeing underwater life through a glass-bottom boat. Russo, 70, had polio as a child and uses a mobility scooter.

Looking through clear blue water to see swaying coral and schools of colorful fish is a highlight at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo. It’s the first undersea state park in the country, created to protect the only living coral reef in the continental United States.

“I love the glass-bottom view,” Russo said. “You see these fish and you see colors that you had no idea they had. It's just marvelous.”

An outdoor enthusiast, Russo has a mission to see every Florida State Park. Now director of services with the Florida State Parks Foundation, Russo started tracking the state parks she visited in 1999. She’s up to 166.

“If you can't dive with a mask, then looking through a glass is your next best thing,” Russo said. “Because you're never going to see all that, never. The glass-bottom boat gives you the opportunity to have that experience.”

Besides a wheelchair-accessible glass-bottom boat, accessible snorkeling and scuba diving boats can take you to offshore reefs, said Elena Muratori, park services specialist at Pennekamp. You must be able to swim and get in and out of the water independently or have someone with you who can help, she said.

“It’s about a 45-minute ride out to the reef,” Muratori said. “It's a lovely little boat ride, and you might see, depending on the day, turtles or dolphins or just a nice view.”

Want to look for marine life without boarding a boat? You can swim or snorkel from hard-packed Cannon Beach, which has protected, calm water, a seagrass bottom and artifacts from an early Spanish shipwreck 100 feet offshore.

“The park has a special wheelchair with pontoon-like sides that can go on the beach and in the water,” Muratori said. “It can be checked out from the Visitor’s Center for free.”

An accessible kayak launch with a floating dock leads to an extensive map of trails, both through mangroves and open water. Inside the Visitor’s Center are a 30,000-gallon saltwater aquarium, coral reef exhibits and a theater showing nature videos. The park’s 360-degree underwater coral reef camera livestreams the reef in brilliant detail. There’s also a rustic outdoor café with picnic tables overlooking the water and three paved, accessible campsites. Large-print literature and assisted listening devices are available.

When You Go…

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
Mile Marker 102.5 Overseas Highway
Key Largo FL 33037
305-676-3777

More Acessible State Parks in Southeast Florida

John D. MacArthur Beach State Park

Raised in South Florida, Paula Russo regularly hung out at MacArthur Park, a serene barrier island where she used to watch her young nieces and nephews play on the beach.

The park is a haven for rare and endangered native tropical and coastal plants, and is popular for swimming, birdwatching, fishing and kayaking the calm waters of the park’s estuary.

“They have a terrific boardwalk that spans over a lagoon and you pass through some mangrove trees,” Russo said. “It's all flat and accessible.”

She remembers taking the ramp all the way to the sand to watch the kids play. “You're going to see everything from mangrove tree crabs to ospreys nesting in the mangroves to raccoons.”

The accessible Visitor’s Center is family-friendly and has nature exhibits and activities. There is a wheelchair-accessible tram to the beach, a water wheelchair with floating armrests that can be taken out in the surf, beach wheelchairs, a kayak launch, picnic areas and grills.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Take a ride on a pontoon boat on the wild and scenic Loxahatchee River to see an historic trapper’s cabin, learn about a secret World War II training camp or spot bald eagles from a nature trail. It’s all waiting at Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

Candy Harrington, an accessible travel expert and author of Barrier-Free Travel: Favorite Florida State Parks for Wheelers and Slow Walkers, stayed in an accessible furnished cabin in the park’s campground. “I loved sitting out there in the evening and enjoying the sunset,” she said. “We slept with our windows open and with a cabin, you really get the flavor of the park.”

The Trapper Nelson boat tour has a couple of steps to get on the boat and is a relaxing, scenic boat ride, even if you are not able to get off the boat to explore the cabin, Harrington said.

More than 150 bird species have been seen at the park, so don’t forget your binoculars. From the paved two-mile multi-use trail, you might spot sandy cranes, deer, alligators and bald eagles. The trail ends at an accessible boardwalk that overlooks a creek.

When Paula Russo visited with her family, she used the park’s track chair – an off-road power wheelchair with treads instead of wheels – to go on a trail. “If it had it not been for that chair, I would have been excluded from that experience,” she said. “So instead of feeling disconnected from the family's activities, I joined right in.”

Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park

Just 15 minutes past glitzy downtown Miami, on the southern tip of Key Biscayne, is Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Perhaps best known for the 1825 lighthouse jutting from its landscape (it has a video feed downstairs of the view from the top), the park has world-class beaches, open-air dining and views.

Bill Baggs has two beach wheelchairs and two swimming wheelchairs with floating armrests. They are available at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis at the bicycle rental area inside the park. A Mobi Mat is located at Beach Access No. 6 next to the Lighthouse Café.

If you want to be one with nature, take advantage of the paved pedestrian/bike path shaded by native plants in the middle of the park. Bill Baggs is a popular birding site, with a checklist of more than 260 species.

If you’re all about the view, a flat, hard-packed sand trail along Biscayne Bay will treat you to scenes of boaters, jet-skis and even Stiltsville off in the distance.

The seawall along Biscayne Bay is the perfect shoreline fishing spot, dotted with small accessible fishing piers. Head to the paved sidewalk around No Name Harbor to see yachts and party boats anchored for a day of fun in the sun. Grab a bite at Boater’s Grill on the harbor or watch the sunset from open-air picnic tables along the water.

Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park

Travel back in time at this unassuming park in a former rock quarry. You’ll see the fossilized coral reef known as Key Largo limestone that was used to build Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad in the early 1900s. Here, along the eight-foot-high quarry walls, you’ll see cross-sections of the ancient coral and historic quarry machinery.

It's a unique setting to see huge coral blocks and winding, shaded trails through a tropical hardwood hammock. Paula Russo used the park’s track chair for the experience. “You talk about rough terrain - that was a real challenge - even in the track chair because it’s an incredible limestone ground surface that’s all rocky and craggy,” she said. “But the chair made it over fine and it was a treat to be able to get out there.”

The dense hammock attracts a variety of birds and is home to more than 40 plant species native to the Florida Keys.

Bahia Honda State Park

An iconic Florida Keys park, Bahia Honda boasts not only an historic bridge now used as a scenic overlook, but clear turquoise water, palm-lined sandy beaches and popular campsites.

The campground includes a cabin on stilts overlooking the bay with a wheelchair lift and a ground-level wooden deck with a grill and picnic table. You can book up to 11 months in advance and spots fill up quickly. Visit the Florida State Parks reservations website or call 800-326-3521.

Want to see colorful coral and marine life up close? Snorkel the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, 12 miles from Bahia Honda, from an accessible snorkeling boat. You must be able to swim and get in and out of the water independently or have someone with you who can assist.

Snorkeling and beginning scuba diving from the beach is available in shallow water over seagrass beds and the shore’s rocky bottom, where you might get a peek at spiny lobster, starfish or queen conch. A free beach wheelchair is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you are lucky enough to be an overnight guest, Bahia Honda is the darkest location in the Florida Keys for stargazing. Head to the old Bahia Honda bridge, walk the shoreline or just look up to take in the mesmerizing night sky.

From the top of the Old Bahia Honda Bridge, now a pedestrian walkway, you see sweeping views of the entire island, and if the water is calm, you can see fish and sea turtles swimming beneath the surface.

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

The southernmost state park in the continental U.S. has more to offer than the best swimming in Key West (free beach wheelchairs are available) and a popular site to enjoy the sunset.

You can explore an imposing 1866 historic fort, which holds the largest collection of Civil War seacoast cannons in the U.S. The fort’s accessible ground level allows access to cannon and gun ports, plus interpretive panels about how soldiers lived as they defended the nations’ southeastern coastline during the Civil War and Spanish American war. Living history volunteers create historical re-enactments on the third week of each month and free fort tours are daily at 11 a.m.

The accessible Cayo Hueso Café offers beach fare and rentals of snorkeling gear, chairs and umbrellas are available.