Bahia Honda

[rjla67]

The area in the map that has the red area is what my wife and I called Nursery Rocks (I have a video on my YouTube link above in the playlist of what is in this area). Its very rocky hence the nickname we gave it and you can see a ton of baby fish there. Also, we saw LOTS of Scorpion Fish too so be careful for they will blend in very well here so you don't want to put your hands on the rocks unless you look first! The other area that is pretty cool is the area in between the main marina inlet and the inlet to the Buttonwood campsites. Lots of fish will hang out here as well especially where the Buttonwood inlet is for we ran into several Nurse Sharks here. Be aware of your distance from the shore for there is a very strong current away from the beach towards US1 and especially under the Old Bahia Bridge and when I mean strong I mean strong. You can see floating debris usually and gauge just how fast it is.

Directly on the other side which indicated on the map as Loggerhead Beach is where you will find lots to explore such as a multitude of tropicals, reef fish, lobsters, conchs, corals etc and it goes out as far as you want to go. Do use a dive flag here as boats do travel in this area parallel to the shore.

Also note on the opposite end of the key indicated as Sandspur it is little more hit or miss but you can find lots of Queen Conchs here as well as Bahamian Star Fish which is pretty cool to see. We will be here in September for 4 days in the waters there for it is great to explore.

Also to note, another good spot believe it or not is Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West right from the beach. Go to the beach, walk in on the right side of the beach area by the rock wall and follow it out and around and you will see a lot there as well. Last time we ran into huge schools of Bermuda Chubs that swam with us, Lionfish, all kinds of Parrot and Angel Fish, Cudas all adults.

Lastly, there is a little know park known as The Key West Marine Park located at Higgs Beach and if you snorkel under the pier out along the old wall that you can see barely sticking out of the water is all kinds of corals and fish here as well too. I have videos of all these hotspots on my YouTube page

 

[Trigger-F]

Does anyone know of any other beach or ocean access areas in the lower Keys, i.e. South of the 7 mile bridge, suitable for snorkeling? I can only see what looks as an abandoned park on Google maps (on Sugarloaf Key, Old St Rd 4a-939A). Mainly interested in shelling spots.

Google Maps

 

[rjla67]

We haven't really found that many shells in all the places we have been in and around the water anywhere in the keys except for common type shells and clams. Nothing real exciting but that's not to say they aren't any there.

 

[Trigger-F]

There's a lot of sea life down there. I've found various shells over the years, 'dead or fresh dead' but have heard from a few shellers that south of the 7 mile bridge there's some good areas that can yield highly prized shells(i.e. Deer cowries). Problem is there are no public spots/places to park.