Florida Keys · John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo, Florida Keys, Florida

Pennekamp Reef Explorer

America's first underwater park - coral, fish, mangroves, and sea turtles.

Turn your Florida Keys trip into an adventure

Explore John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park through eight missions - America's first reef park, the Christ of the Abyss statue, living coral, reef fish, coral bleaching and resilience, mangroves, sea turtles, and the people who protect it all.

Where: John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo, Florida Keys, Florida
Time: 1-2 hours
Missions: 8 · complete 6 to finish
Collection: Florida Keys

Coral Reef
State Park
Marine Life

What this adventure explores

A Living Coral Reef
Reef Life & Habitats
Protecting the Reef

Missions

8 missions at Pennekamp Reef Explorer

Mission 1
America's First Reef
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo is famous for one big reason: most of it is underwater, protecting a living coral reef offshore.
Mission 2
Christ of the Abyss
One of the reef's most famous sights is an underwater bronze statue with its arms raised toward the surface, visited by snorkelers and divers.
Mission 3
Living Coral
Coral reefs are built by tiny animals over a very long time, creating branching, mounded, and fan-shaped "buildings" that shelter thousands of creatures.
Mission 4
Reef Fish Parade
The reef is home to a parade of colorful fish - striped sergeant majors, blue tangs, yellow snappers, and rainbow parrotfish.
Mission 5
Bleaching & Resilience
Sometimes coral turns pale or bright white - a warning sign called bleaching - but with cooler, cleaner water, some reefs can slowly recover.
Mission 6
The Mangrove Wall
Along the shore, red mangrove trees stand on tangled roots that rise out of the water like stilts, forming a living wall between land and sea.
Mission 7
Sea Turtle Crossing
Sea turtles glide through the waters around the Keys, coming up for air and grazing near the reef and seagrass.
Mission 8
Guardians of the Reef
The park works hard to keep the reef healthy, using special buoys, clear rules, and rangers so that visitors can enjoy the reef without harming it.