March 13, 2022 —
Spring Break is the most important week of the year for MANY college students. Whenever I think of Spring Break, I think simply of wild parties on the beaches of Florida or the Gulf Coast. It’s a stereotype that movies, social media, and the news have enforced for a long time. For the last several years, I wanted nothing to do with it. Why would I spend the week getting drunk in a tropical climate when I could be climbing a mountain in Colorado? Or Utah? Or California? It’s not that I’m opposed to parties – my spring break trips typically include plenty of alcohol – I just prefer a chilly mountaintop over a hot beach.
However, I knew I’d have to endure Florida eventually. There are three gorgeous national parks in the state – Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, and Everglades – each in danger of submersion in the coming decades. With rising sea levels, all of these unique places may be inaccessible before long. It’s a scary thought, but it motivates you to see those places sooner rather than later. As an aside: it baffles me that most Floridians are inclined to vote for people that put their very own natural backyards in danger. But, it’s not my place to judge. Anyway…
After postponing it for years, Maria & I finally agreed to trek to Florida for a week. We were ready to see the national parks that we often overlooked in favor of their mountainous cousins. We were ready for beaches. Ready for sun. Ready to relax. For Maria’s 2022 Spring Break, we drove down to Florida to see what it could offer. The journey began in Biscayne National Park.
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From Winter to Paradise
After visiting a friend in the frigid North Carolina, we spent a whole day driving to North Palm Beach. Gradually, the 20-degree weather became 70-degrees, and palm trees usurped the pine trees. After a night at Maria’s cousin’s house in North Palm Beach, we arrived at Biscayne at 9 AM on Sunday, March 13th. We met our ship’s captains – Anthony and Mike – exchanged introductions, and then we were off.
Biscayne’s surface is 95% water. It sits off the eastern coast of Florida, just south of Miami. The park contains the southernmost tip of the Atlantic barrier islands and the northernmost of the Florida Keys. Under and around its waters, visitors can find mangroves, coral reefs, and shipwrecks. The park is home to dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, crocodiles, and over 500 species of fish. It’s a beautiful, watery haven.
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The easiest way to explore Biscayne is through paid, guided Eco-Adventures, which is the option that Maria and I opted for. Unless you have your own boat, you will have a hard time seeing the whole park. The Eco-Adventures allow you to snorkel, sail, and paddleboard around the park and take you to places like Elliott Key and Boca Chita Key – both staples of the park. Due to high winds on the day we visited, we weren’t able to visit the coral reefs like we wanted. However, it also prompted a family of four to bail from our tour, leaving Maria and I as the only passengers. So, the wind was a blessing and a curse.
Stopping to Snorkel
After Captain Anthony told us about the history of Biscayne (which is fascinating, check the Wikipedia article for more), we moved along to our first stop: snorkeling. Thanks to the wind, we settled for a calm spot shielded by the sturdy mangroves that line the shores in the park. There, we geared up and jumped into the shallow water, where we saw plenty of fish living among the branches. We had to return to the boat fairly quickly: the water was so chilly that Maria and I started shivering uncontrollably.
To Boca Chita Key
After snorkeling, our captains turned the boat towards Boca Chita Key, one of the park’s most photogenic spots. On the way there, we passed through miles of blue-green water. The wind was kicking up sizable waves, making for a bumpy (but fun) ride in the late-morning sun. We could see Miami in the distance to the north, its sprawling metropolis cut off only by the park boundary. Since we were still so cold from the water, we didn’t think to put on sunscreen. That decision would come back to haunt us…
We pulled up to Boca Chita Key to find the “party spot” of Biscayne. Once owned by Mark C. Honeywell (yes, founder of Honeywell), the key features an historic guesthouse, garage, and ornamental lighthouse. It also includes a developed dock, which is where many boat owners dock to camp, party, and relax. After we docked, our captains set us loose to enjoy the island for a couple of hours. We walked around to the sounds of music blaring from various groups’ speakers and the stiff wind coming from the north. We ate lunch and began taking photos on the nearby beach, capturing Miami in the background.
Exploring Boca Chita Key
While we were on the island, one of the park rangers opened up the lighthouse, allowing us to join a few other visitors at the top. From our elevated perch we were able to get a clearer perspective of the key’s location and surroundings. We could see Sands Key and Elliott Key to the south, which were the more “wild” islands in the area. We even spotted a starfish down below, barely visible through the choppy water.
We spent the rest of our time on Boca Chita Key studying a beach filled with seashells, hiking along a short half-mile trail in the forest, enjoying the silence offered by a couple of secluded alcoves, and photographing ourselves with the lighthouse. It was a peaceful and relaxing couple of hours, much more low-key than our usual adventures.
Paddleboarding
Upon our return to the boat, Captain Anthony took us to an isolated spot within Sands Key known as “the Keyhole.” The feature – a mangrove-lined channel leading to a pond protected from the wind – was created decades ago through dredging that originally was meant to create a marina for visiting boats. However, those plans were abandoned, leaving a deep channel of water where wildlife now thrives.
Anthony anchored our small boat in the bay and unloaded several paddleboards. Maria, Anthony, Mike & I paddled vigorously against the wind to reach the safety of the mangroves. Once we entered the channel the winds ceased, leaving only the calming sounds of water splashes and nearby bird calls. We paddled across the water at a leisurely pace. During the stop, Anthony educated us about a jellyfish that he picked up with his paddle, several types of coral, crocodile & alligator attack statistics in Florida, and some herons standing along the water’s edge. The detour was a much needed “nature break” that I had been looking forward to since entering Biscayne. No one else was there to disturb the peace.
We spent about 30 minutes within the Keyhole before returning to the boat. It was mid-afternoon at this point, so Anthony and Mike began hauling us back to the visitor center on the mainland. It had been a peaceful day. Maria and I hadn’t seen much exciting or done anything strenuous, but the relaxing activities were much needed after two days of driving.
Back on Land
40 minutes later, we returned to the Dante Fascell Visitor Center. After bidding farewell to our captains, we went about our usual national park business: we acquired a passport stamp, bought a couple of souvenirs, and took an obligatory photo with the park sign. We had spent about 7 hours in the park, 6 of which were in Biscayne Bay. Overall, I was pleased with the day despite the hassle that the wind caused.
As I mentioned earlier, the cool weather had tricked both of us into neglecting sunscreen. Upon returning to North Palm Beach, we realized how huge of a mistake that was. What I thought was wind burn on my face was in fact a horrendous sunburn. It was so bad that it hurt to touch my face, and I could barely even step in the shower or in Maria’s cousin’s pool without wincing. It was a harsh lesson to learn on our first day back in Florida. Thankfully, it encouraged us to apply sunscreen liberally throughout the rest of the trip. While my face peeled for many days afterwards, both Maria and I avoided any further skin damage from the sun.
In Conclusion…
Biscayne National Park was a pleasant and relaxing experience. The latter descriptor is a rarity in my national park adventures, so I still look back on the day with reserved appreciation. While we didn’t see and do everything we would have wanted to thanks to the wind, both of us enjoyed our day in the watery wonderland.
Warming waters, rising sea levels, and pollution from nearby population centers are all threats to Biscayne. It was an honor to visit the park while it was still in its healthy state, but I fear it won’t remain that way for long. The visit was a reminder of how our actions as humans have affected and will continue to affect the planet. More often than not, we as individuals don’t realize the effects our actions have. Being in Biscayne – and in the other Florida national parks – provided first-hand evidence of those “trickle-down” effects. It gave me additional consciousness of my actions, which I hope to carry atop my shoulders into my daily life.
So, here is my friendly reminder to readers to do your part in fighting climate change. Let’s choose sustainability, reduce the waste we generate, and minimize our carbon footprint however we can. If you want tips on how to do that, feel free to leave me a comment or contact me directly: I’ve got plenty of suggestions. Long live Biscayne National Park and the millions of creatures that call it home.
— Paul
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