Enjoying Bahia Honda State Park in the Lower Keys

Bahia Honda State Park is one of those Florida Keys places that’s beautiful, iconic and great for recreation. Located on Bahia Honda Key not far after the Seven Mile Bridge, it’s an easy place to skip over because by the time you’re here, you’re ready to make it into Key West. It’s worth your time though, I promise, between the beach, the kayaking and the picnic areas it’s a wonderful stop on the Florida Keys road trip. Oh! And there’s camping here too!

We’ve got lots of great information to share all about Bahia Honda State Park, the things to do and details for planning a Florida Keys camping experience here. If you have any questions about visiting or are looking for more fun things to do in the Lower Keys, please leave a comment or send us a note. We’re always happy to share more and help you plan your Florida Keys vacation!

Highlights of Bahia Honda State Park

One o fthe reasons Bahia Honda State Park is so popular is because it’s one of the best places to enjoy some beach time in the Florida Keys. I’ve said it many times that the Florida Keys aren’t a beach destination, and it’s true, bu there are a few good beaches. At Bahia Honda State Park there are actually a few swimming areas and picnic facilities to go along with them. If you’re on the way to Key West or if you’ve had a few days of partying and museum and just need to have some beach time, this is the perfect spot.

Bahia Honda State Park also is one of the best places to launch a kayak in the lower Keys. There are also kayak rentals on site, which is nice because it’s actually not very common to find easy paddle gear rentals in the Keys. If you have your own gear, you can launch here too, but you need to be wise about the currents and tides, as the Bahia Honda Channel is a dangerous one with strong currents and sometimes lots of wildlife. That’s right, one of the coolest things about visiting Bahia Honda State Park is that in the spring there is a migration of hammerhead sharks and other wildlife that clows right through the Bahia Honda Channel, making it a wonderful place for wildlife watching. True, animals and fish can be present at anytime, but when this migration happens there are a lot more wildlife sightings.

One more thing we love about spending time at Bahia Honda State Park is walking up the Old Bahia Honda Bridge. As you’re driving on the Overseas Highway you’ll see the original railroad bridge that was destroyed in the great Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. It’s a really cool sight today, especially from Spanish Harbor Key’s point across the channel, but here in the state park you can actually walk to a great viewpoint on the old bridge. This is a wonderful spot to watch for wildlife and birds.

Tips for Visiting Bahia Honda State Park

Camping is one of the most popular reasons for visiting Bahia Honda State Park. While there are a fair number of campsites, you have to remember that this is South Florida and if there’s one thing that’s a hot commodity here it’s a good campsite. If you know you want to camp here at Bahia Honda, Long Key or anywhere else in the Keys, be sure that you secure your campsite far in advance. People watch camping availability like hawks and all the snowbirds make it really hard to get campsites on short notice.

For day visiting, you should be fine to have access to beach areas, picnic tables and shouldn’t have any trouble launching your kayaks. You may have to wait to enter though, depending on the day of the week and the time of day. There are times when the wait to enter Bahia Honda is more than an hour. There is only so much space in the park and there are only so many parking spaces, so once the park is at capacity for the morning, they’ll start queueing up cars for entry as others leave. If this is an important activity for you, just wait it out and eventually you’ll make it in.

While you’re at Bahia Honda State Park, pay attention to the warning signs around, from the crocodile warnings to the dangerous surf flags. This is a beautiful spot, but due to the currents moving through this area it comes with the need for some extra caution.

Being Prepared for Bahia Honda State Park

There is a camp store within Bahia Honda State Park and there is a manned ranger station, but you’ll still need to arrive prepared for whatever may befall you during your visit. Our general packing list for a day at Bahia HOnda State Park includes lots of water and snacks, usually a picnic lunch, reef safe sunblock, our kayaks, paddles and PFDs, and beach towels. Basically, whatever you’ll need for a beach day or kayaking trip, you’ll need here. And even though it can be windy here, if you have a good sort of shade, that can be useful because this part of the Florida Keys can be toasty.

If you’re camping at Bahia Honda State Park, there are both tent sites and RV/camper sites. While there is a good system for water, I also always like to bring our own drinking water. The hot sun and salt can make camping gear a bit icky after a day or so, so having dedicated clean drinking water and associated supplies helps me no t stress about camping. But it’s a great place for it and if you’re more low key than me you’ll be fine, I’m sure.

Getting to Bahia Honda State Park

You cannot reserve your entry into Bahia Honda State Park, but you can beat the crowds by arrive when the park gates open. Like I said, if you miss the first group of cars allowed in, you’ll just need to wait a bit before you can enter. The entrance to Bahia Honda State Park is on the north/east side of the Bahia Honda Channel just before you cross the bridge if you’re coming from Marathon (and after the Seven Mile Bridge), or if you’re coming from Key West it’s just after the Bahia Honda Bridge.

If you’re not in the mood to wait for entry, you can always cross the Bahia Honda Bridge and head over to the point Spanish Harbor Key where you’ll be able to check out the old bridge ruins and the amazing tide pools. This is a wonderful spot to explore with kids, and you may even get to see even more wildlife than at the State Park. We were tide-pooling here once and actually had two huge spotted eagle rays hanging out with us just off the beach.