Paddling on Jones Lagoon in Biscayne National Park
The Biscayne National Park Institute, an authorized concessionaire for Biscayne National Park, offers a number of excursions that depart from the Dante Fascell Visitor Center at Convoy Point in Homestead, Florida. They have tours that take you paddling, and they have tours that take you snorkeling. They even have a tour that takes you both snorkeling and paddling on a sailboat, but all this is done off the shore of Boca Chita Key. However, there is only one tour where you can go paddling in Jones Lagoon and snorkeling at the reefs and shipwrecks in the open Atlantic Ocean, and that is the Snorkel and Paddle Eco-Adventure. According to my guide, who has worked all the tours offered by the Institute, this is the best. I must agree.
Fish on the Mandalay wreck in Biscayne National Park
The 6-hour Snorkel and Paddle Eco-Adventure is for those 12 and older. It departs once a day year-round, typically around 10 AM. The boat is small and space is limited to only six people, so it is best to make a reservation in advance on the Biscayne National Park Institute’s Snorkel and Paddle Eco-Adventure web page (the current schedule and fee is given on this page as well). You can also book the tour on the day of your arrival at the Institute’s office inside the Visitor Center, but with such limited space, you are taking a chance. I say this even though I was the only one on the tour I did in late January.
Boat used for the Snorkel and Paddle Eco-Adventure in Biscayne National Park
For the snorkeling part of the excursion, you can bring your own mask, snorkel, and swim fins, or you can rent a set for an additional fee. I believe you can add this to the tour fee when making a reservation online, but if not, just request the gear and pay the fee at the office when you check in.
The default mode of transportation for the paddling on Jones Lagoon is the paddleboard. The only other things you need to bring are food and drinks. The boat has a cooler with ice to keep your items cold, and water is provided if you don’t have your own.
Paddleboards loaded for the Snorkel and Paddle Eco-Adventure at Biscayne National Park
Before departing, all participants must sign a waiver. If you make a reservation online, you will get instructions about filling out the waiver online. However, I found the instructions to be confusing—I couldn’t even find the link in the email—so I just signed one at the Visitor Center.
In addition to the waiver, everyone must register at the Visitor Center prior to departing to let the tour guide know you have arrived. Once registered, wait outside near the restrooms at the bottom level of the building. There may be other tours departing at the same time, but your tour guide will make an announcement when the trip is ready to depart. You don’t need to arrive way ahead of time. As long as you can sign the waiver and register before the tour begins, you’re in like Flynn. Fifteen minutes should do the trick (add some extra time if you need to rent snorkeling equipment or request a kayak).
On my trip, we went snorkeling first. The weather will dictate where you can go, but be sure to request snorkeling on the Mandalay shipwreck if possible. This is what made my day, and in truth, if I couldn’t have snorkeled there, the trip would not have been as good. You’ll see more fish on the wreck than on any of the reefs, plus seeing a shipwreck is just about the coolest thing. When I was a kid, I dreamed about finding sunken treasure ships, and so far this is as close as I have gotten. Anyway, back to the wreck in a moment.
Mandalay shipwreck in Biscayne National Park
There are three tourist-friendly islands in Biscayne National Park. These run north to south, with the northernmost being the rather small Boca Chita Key, the middle island being the 7-mile long Elliott Key, and the southernmost, another tiny island called Adams Key. To get to the Mandalay shipwreck from the Dante Fascell Visitor Center, if you could fly, you’d cut right through the middle of Elliott Key and head about four miles out into the Atlantic Ocean. However, since flying is not an option, the boat will head towards Boca Chita Key (assuming you are snorkeling first), the most popular of the islands. While you won’t go ashore, the captain can pull up close enough so that you can get a photo of the ornamental lighthouse and the boat harbor.
Boca Chita Key lighthouse and harbor in Biscayne National Park
The boat swings around Boca Chita and heads for the Mandalay where the snorkeling begins. As mentioned, I did the trip in late January, the dead of winter. Water temperature at the wreck was supposedly 72° F. I know from measuring temperatures in my neighborhood outdoor swimming pool that 72° F is the coldest water I am willing to get in, but that’s me. I’ve seen kids swimming in 50° F water at Acadia National Park, so everyone’s tolerances are different. It is December through February, sometimes March, when the water temperatures are in the very low 70s. The rest of the year, the temperatures range from 75° F to 85° F.
For those who can’t swim well, buoyancy vests are provided. You can inflate them as much or as little as required to float on top of the water. However, because of the salt in the water, most people naturally float with no problem—I couldn’t sink if I wanted to. I mention this because the Mandalay is in about 20 feet of water, and while you can see everything just by swimming on the surface, if you know what you are doing, you’ll want to dive down for a closer look at the wreck, fish, and corals. You can’t do that while wearing a buoyancy vest.
Fish photographed on the ocean floor near the Mandalay shipwreck in Biscayne National Park
The only real danger on the trip is running into a jellyfish. They won’t kill you, but they do sting. Thus, take a good look around before diving, surfacing, or changing directions. Although jellyfish supposedly just float with the current, the ones I ran into seemed to have magnets on them, and I was the steel.
Jellyfish near the Mandalay shipwreck in Biscayne National Park
Mandalay shipwreck in Biscayne National Park
Mandalay shipwreck in Biscayne National Park
The guide also offered to take me over to the nearby Lugano shipwreck, but he said there wasn’t much left of it. After a half hour of snorkeling around the Mandalay and now getting very cold, I declined the offer, but did agree to stop at a coral reef just tent minutes away where the water temperature was 70° F. Now, two degrees doesn’t sound like much, but I was in and out within five minutes, and pretty much shivering from the start. I got a few photos of the corals, but I didn’t see many fish.
Coral reef in Biscayne National Park
Coral reef in Biscayne National Park
Coral reef in Biscayne National Park
After snorkeling, it was time to go paddling, and the destination was Jones Lagoon near Adams Key. While the lagoon is on every Biscayne National Park paddler’s radar, you need a boat to get there, so you won’t run into many people. There was one other boat when we were leaving, but my guide said that his boat is usually the only one when he does the tours.
Jones Lagoon is like a hole in a donut, surrounded by Totten Key and Old Rhodes Key, both just south of Adams Key. Motorized boats are not allowed in, so most anchor on the north end near Porgy Key and everyone paddles into the lagoon. Water levels range from two feet to no more than six feet deep.
Approaching Jones Lagoon in Biscayne National Park
We paddled across the shallow and crystal clear waters of Jones Lagoon where I saw fish, baby nurse sharks, and Cassiopea jellyfish (upside down jellyfish that lie on the bottom). Though I’ve paddled plenty of times on mangrove-lined rivers in the Everglades, I had never been in a saltwater lagoon and thus had never seen these types of sea creatures.
Open waters of Jones Lagoon in Biscayne National Park
Jones Lagoon has many small ponds connected together by short and narrow channels that are lined with mangroves. Here I saw for the first time sponges growing on the mangrove roots. They look like rocks, but when you whack one with your paddle you don’t hear an expected clank. You don’t hear a thing because it is a soft sponge.
Paddling through the mangroves at Jones Lagoon in Biscayne National Park
Sponge growing on a mangrove root at Jones Lagoon
I was ready to depart after about an hour of paddling around Jones Lagoon. Since I was the only one on the trip and there was time to spare, I requested a stop on both Adams and Elliott keys so that I could get some updated photos for National Park Planner. Scheduling may be different with a larger group, but don’t be afraid to ask to go somewhere if there is time.
Since the guides for the Biscayne National Park Institute are not National Park Service Rangers, and thus not federal employees, they can accept tips. If you enjoyed the tour, be sure to give them a few bucks.
With a few exceptions, use of any photograph on the National Park Planner website requires a paid Royalty Free Editorial Use License or Commercial Use License. See the Photo Usage page for details.
Last updated on November 2, 2023
