Biscayne National Park

Biscayne National Park lies at the southern tip of Florida, 21 miles south of downtown Miami, between the city and the open Atlantic. The park covers 172,971 acres, of which 95 percent is water — Biscayne Bay to the west and the ocean reef tract to the east. Between those two bodies of water sit 27 mangrove-covered keys, the northernmost chain of the Florida Keys. The park protects the only living coral reef in the continental United States, part of the third-largest coral reef system in the world. Biscayne ranks 43rd among the 63 national parks by annual visitation, drawing about 565,000 visitors in 2023. Most of the park is accessible only by boat; the Dante Fascell Visitor Center at Convoy Point is the only mainland facility and the departure point for guided tours.

The only living coral reef in the continental United States, running along the eastern edge of the park on the ocean side of the keys, with hundreds of coral and fish species including parrotfish, angelfish, and queen triggerfish. The Maritime Heritage Trail, six protected shipwrecks ranging from 19th-century sailing vessels to a 1960s freighter, accessible by snorkelers and SCUBA divers. Boca Chita Key's ornamental lighthouse, built in 1937 by private owner Mark Honeywell, one of the most photographed structures in the park and the embarkation point for a loop walk through tropical hardwood hammock. Nesting and feeding grounds for green sea turtles, loggerhead turtles, West Indian manatees, and American crocodiles.

By car to the visitor center: The Dante Fascell Visitor Center at Convoy Point is the only road-accessible facility in the park. From Homestead, take SW 328th Street (North Canal Drive) east for about 9 miles to the park entrance. From Miami, take US-1 or the Florida Turnpike south to Homestead, then follow SW 328th Street east. The drive from Miami International Airport is approximately 45 minutes (25 miles) in normal traffic.

To the islands: No roads connect to any island in the park. All islands are accessible only by private boat or through guided tours departing from the Dante Fascell Visitor Center. The concessioner offers glass-bottom boat tours, snorkel trips, and occasional island-landing excursions. Elliott Key is about 9 miles from the visitor center; Boca Chita Key is about 10 miles. A boat ramp at the visitor center is available for private vessels.

By air: Miami International Airport (MIA) is approximately 25 miles north and is the nearest major hub. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) is about 45 miles north and offers additional connections. Car rental is available at both airports.

Biscayne National Park sits atop the Miami Rock Ridge, a formation of oolitic limestone that underlies all of South Florida. This rock formed about 125,000 years ago during the last interglacial period, when sea levels were higher and the area was a shallow tropical sea. The limestone at the surface of the Florida Keys in the park is called Key Largo Limestone and is actually ancient coral reef — the same biological process that builds today's reef once built the solid ground the keys now stand on.

The current reef began growing roughly 6,000 years ago as sea levels rose after the last ice age and flooded the limestone shelf again. Today's living reef sits on top of that ancient fossilized reef foundation. The coral animals — tiny polyps that secrete calcium carbonate skeletons — build on the remains of previous generations. The reef grows slowly, typically 3 to 15 millimeters per year for massive corals; branching corals like staghorn can grow several centimeters per year under good conditions.

Biscayne Bay itself is a product of the same rising sea levels. The bay averages only 6 to 9 feet deep, with a flat sandy bottom and dense seagrass beds covering most of the floor. The seagrass meadows are among the most productive ecosystems in the park, supporting everything from sea turtles and manatees to the juvenile fish that mature and move onto the reef.

The keys are extremely low-lying — Elliott Key's highest point is only about 8 feet above sea level. Storm surge from hurricanes can submerge the islands entirely. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 caused severe damage to both the hardwood hammock habitat and the coral reef, though both have partially recovered in the decades since.

West Indian manatees use the bay's seagrass beds year-round, with the largest concentrations during warmer months. Manatees are slow-moving and frequently injured by boat propellers; the park enforces strict slow-speed zones in key areas of the bay. Bottlenose dolphins hunt in small groups throughout the bay and are regularly seen from the visitor center seawall.

American crocodiles — a federally threatened species distinct from the more common American alligator — use the park's shallow coastal mangrove areas year-round. An estimated 500 to 1,200 crocodiles live in South Florida, and Biscayne protects critical habitat for the species. Green sea turtles and loggerhead turtles nest on the ocean-facing beaches of the keys from May through October; the NPS monitors nests throughout the season and protects hatchling emergence events.

The reef supports more than 500 fish species, including parrotfish, queen angelfish, French angelfish, grouper, snapper, and the colorful queen triggerfish. Nurse sharks rest on the sandy bottom between coral heads during the day. Caribbean spiny lobsters shelter under coral ledges and in reef crevices; a sport-fishing season operates under Florida state regulations.

Birdlife is diverse along the bay shore and the keys. Brown pelicans, magnificent frigatebirds, double-crested cormorants, and osprey are year-round residents. Roseate spoonbills, great blue herons, tricolored herons, and snowy egrets feed in the shallows at low tide. Bald eagles nest in the park, with a small number of nests on the outer keys.

The Tequesta people inhabited the Biscayne Bay area for thousands of years before European contact, living on fish, shellfish, and the resources of the bay and reef. Their settlements clustered near freshwater sources on the mainland and on the protected western shores of the keys. Artifacts and shell mounds throughout the park record their presence over at least 2,000 years before Spanish arrival.

Juan Ponce de León explored the Florida coast in 1513 and subsequent Spanish expeditions mapped the area. The Tequesta people did not survive the colonial period; European diseases, displacement, and conflict reduced their population to near extinction by the early 1700s. Spanish Florida was ceded to the United States in 1821.

In the 19th century, the Florida reef became notorious among mariners. Sailing ships moving through the Florida Straits frequently ran aground on the shallow reef. A wrecking industry grew up in Key West, with licensed salvage crews racing to be first to stricken vessels. Several of the ships on the park's Maritime Heritage Trail date to this period. The Cape Florida Lighthouse, built on Key Biscayne in 1825 just outside the park's current boundary, guided ships around the reef's northern end.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, South Florida development pushed toward the bay shore. Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway reached Homestead in 1904, opening the area to agriculture and settlement. The outer keys were used by fishing camps, sponge harvesters, and private retreats. Millionaire Mark Honeywell purchased Boca Chita Key in 1937 and built the ornamental lighthouse and harbor that still stand on the island.

By the 1960s, proposals to develop the northern Florida Keys as a Miami suburb and construct a large jetport near the Everglades prompted a conservation campaign. President Lyndon B. Johnson established Biscayne National Monument on October 18, 1968, protecting the bay and keys from development. Congress expanded the boundaries and redesignated the area as Biscayne National Park on June 28, 1980, under President Jimmy Carter.