Cannon Beach for Key Largo shipwreck snorkeling?! 🐠 + swimming 🐠 John Pennekamp State Park, Florida Keys

Hi there!

 

So you have heard of Cannon Beach in Key Largo!

Cannon Beach is located in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park which is one of the state parks in the Florida Keys.

As you can imagine, the reason to go to this state park is for the coral reef.

But this coral reef is not located directly along the shoreline.

Instead, the state park extends far out into the water, and the coral reef of the state park requires a boat to get to… and out there is where you find the best snorkeling in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park!

This means that there is no coral reef at Cannon Beach.

 

Is Cannon Beach any good for snorkeling in Key Largo?

Well, if you want to do a little bit of shipwreck snorkeling, then Cannon Beach is the John Pennekamp State Park beach to go to.

There is a small shipwreck located not far off the shores of Cannon Beach.

It’s a relatively shallow shipwreck, so Cannon Beach can be a perfect Key Largo shipwreck snorkeling spot for beginners!

 

👆 Key Largo shipwreck snorkeling at Cannon Beach: Spot the shipwreck ruins!

 

👆 Key Largo shipwreck snorkeling at Cannon Beach: Spanish shipwreck 1715.

 

If you want to see some cannons underwater, then you can do that without swimming too far!

When you arrive at Cannon Beach, first you’ll see some “cannons” on the beach.

 

 

To find the cannons underwater, you can look out towards the water and you will see a buoy indicating the site of a Spanish shipwreck from the year 1715.

So bring your snorkeling gear and you can swim out that way and go snorkeling at Cannon Beach!

 

 

And, you might even see some little fishies swimming around!

 

 

In general, when snorkeling in the Florida Keys from shore, I saw the most fishies around rocks and other “structures”!

In this case, the “structure” is the shipwreck!

But I do think I heard someone yelling out about seeing some cool stuff further away from the shipwreck too.

So, you can try snorkeling around to see if you can find different types of fish and other sea life!

 

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Amazing Key Largo snorkeling tour you need to consider:

• Florida Keys reef snorkeling trip from Key Largo

 

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Swimming at Cannon Beach

 

Yes, you can go swimming at Cannon Beach.

There is a designated swimming area at Cannon Beach that is roped off.

The shipwreck snorkeling is located within the Cannon Beach swimming area.

 

 

Cannon Beach is the main beach of John Pennekamp State Park.

 

 

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How to get to Cannon Beach

So you will enter John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in order to go to Cannon Beach.

The state park entry is off of the main road, so you can look for signs.

Once you enter the state park, you will just keep driving and you will see where the main beach parking lot is, and that’s the parking for Cannon Beach.

Once you are at the Cannon Beach parking lot, you will see Cannon Beach right in front of you.

You don’t need to walk far from the parking lot to the beach.

There is also a bathroom and outdoor showers nearby.

 

 

Seaweed at Cannon Beach

 

It is common to see seaweed along the shoreline of the Florida Keys, and that includes Cannon Beach.

Seaweed and sea grass are considered to be an important part of the coastal ecosystem, so most of the time it doesn’t get removed and it’s just a part of your Florida Keys snorkeling experience!

And well, when I went to Cannon Beach… there was a lot of seaweed! (Seaweed levels can change, so your experience may vary!)

This doesn’t need to stop you from getting in the water though!

But once you get past the initial shoreline, it’s fine!

 

 

Cost to go to Cannon Beach in Key Largo

 

There is an entry fee for John Pennekamp State Park, which means that it is not free to go to Cannon Beach.

 

 

The cost of John Pennekamp State Park entry is around $5 if you are alone. It will be $9 if there are 2 of you, and then from there it will increase 50 cents per person for more people. This will get you a one-day pass. See current fees.

 

👆 In 2022, the cost of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park started at $4.50.

 

If you plan to make this a year of going to a ton of Florida state parks, then there is also the Florida state parks annual pass.

Although, even if you have a Florida state park pass, John Pennekamp State Park won’t be free for you.

This state park charges 50 cents to enter even with a Florida state park pass. This fee is assessed for the Monroe County fee. (aka the county of the Florida Keys.)

 

And that’s a bit about going to Cannon Beach!

I went to Cannon Beach in April 2022. Your experience may vary!

 

See more for your trip to Key Largo and beyond:

• Best John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park snorkeling
• John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park glass bottom boat tour
• Key Largo to Key West
• Best snorkeling in the Florida Keys

 

HAPPY SNORKELING AT CANNON BEACH!