Biscayne National Park Options

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HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Gray skies, early dusks, and biting cold—not to mention
snow, sleet, and slush—can give the blues to residents of temperate zones
and regions farther north. Although winter doesn’t officially start until
the solstice on December 21, the strategies with which our furred and
feathered friends cope with the season already hold appeal.
Hibernation—taking a day off from work for “a long winter’s nap”—sounds
tempting, but you’ll probably have more fun if you opt for migration south,
even in the abbreviated form of a getaway trip.


At Biscayne National Park in southeast Florida, you can exchange winter
blues for the sun-flooded blue of a subtropical sky and the glittering blue
of Biscayne Bay. This color-saturated park—nature’s version of Marc
Chagall’s America Windows—provides a home for animals like manatees,
crocodiles, and dolphins. You might spot a peregrine falcon while
bird-watching, and a guided trip to one of the park’s keys—former coral
reefs, which, since sea levels sank in the last ice age, have become
forested islands—will introduce you to mahogany, gumbo limbo, and other
tropical plants.


Rangers lead daily walks and talks with subjects such as wildlife (think
sharks and manatees) and the items that wash ashore in the park. Like
ranger programs, Biscayne’s annual Family Fun Fest, which starts this
weekend, combines learning and fun. The event, now in its 10th year, runs
on the second Sunday of every month from December through April.


You can get a panoramic view of Biscayne from the top of the lighthouse on
Boca Chita Key, and you can surround yourself with the park by camping on
one of its islands. You can even immerse yourself in this special place by
snorkeling in the waters of Biscayne Bay or on offshore reefs.


For a moment, think of yourself as a casting director, assigning roles for
a pageant in which the national parks appear as cities of the world.
Yellowstone might be London, with Old Faithful as iconic as Big Ben.
Biscayne would surely be Venice. This marine park, like that city’s
network of canals, lends itself to boat travel. Boat trips generally run
daily. Concessioner-operated boats take visitors to campsites, and campers
who own their own vessels are welcome to use them. Another watercraft, the
canoe, can carry crocodile-watchers along the park’s shoreline of
mangroves.


If you’d rather be under the water than on its surface, however, Biscayne’s
coral reefs await you. There you’ll discover not only the corals
themselves but also sponges, fish, and other inhabitants of a world as
intricate and colorful as Venetian glass.

NPS

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