Far Beach

Far Beach is a small, human-made swimming beach on Key Largo, with palms along the water at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Choose it for a shaded swim or a break beside the lagoon. Cannon Beach is the snorkeling stop: artifacts from a 1715 Spanish wreck sit about 100 feet offshore there.

Far Beach's sandy area is small and the shallow bottom is rocky; water shoes help. Visitor reports on water clarity, seaweed and smell vary, so don't count on reliably clear water.

A Mobi-mat reaches the waterline, and beach wheelchairs are available by request at the visitor center or aquarium. The day-use area has restrooms and outdoor showers. There are no lifeguards, and swimming is limited to marked areas.

The park says its parking can fill by early afternoon on weekends and holidays, so arrive earlier if Far Beach is a priority. The Blue Heron Café serves grill food, drinks and ice cream at the boat-embarkation area; the refillable water station is at the Visitor Center, away from the beach.

The 0.3-mile Mangrove Trail loop starts at the south end of Far Beach's parking lot. Its boardwalk passes through mangrove swamp and follows part of the park's paddling trail, an easy way to add a short land walk to a swim stop.

For a photo, let the palms frame the lagoon and mangrove line rather than pointing straight out at open water. The bench beneath the palms gives the shoreline view a point of scale.