Snorkeling with Kids in South Florida?

[trigfunctions]

Hi all - I have some non-diving friends with younger kids (ages 8 to 11) in town this weekend and I'd like to take them snorkeling in the tri-county area. I know some of the good spots - Blue Heron Bridge, Peanut Island, Red Reef Park, Lauderdale by the Sea (although that swim might be a little to far).

What are other good spots to see tropical fish that are easy to get to and a short swim? Is there any thing to see off the beach at Singer Island? Is there any good snorkeling place in Miami-Dade county? Thanks.

 

[sportxlh]

If the ocean conditions are decent, MacArther state park on the north end of Singer Island isn't so bad though Peanut Island and BHB are better Welcome to Florida State Parks I saw a nurse shark while snorkeling here a few years ago and my daughter saw a small moray.

You can also snorkel the rocks at Carlin Park in Jupiter

I've heard all those artificial reefs (e.g. rocks) installed on the south end of Singer Island are decent to snorkel: I've never done it myself though.

 

[danvolker]

Hi all - I have some non-diving friends with younger kids (ages 8 to 11) in town this weekend and I'd like to take them snorkeling in the tri-county area. I know some of the good spots - Blue Heron Bridge, Peanut Island, Red Reef Park, Lauderdale by the Sea (although that swim might be a little to far).

What are other good spots to see tropical fish that are easy to get to and a short swim? Is there any thing to see off the beach at Singer Island? Is there any good snorkeling place in Miami-Dade county? Thanks.

Walk down the singer island beach ( ? from the public beach at the ocean mall, unless you have access closer to the south end ) to the extreme South end of the beach at the pumphouse. Time this to get there at just before slack high tide.
Snorkel the area along the pumphouse to the rocks going out toward the point, but DO NOT let the kids make the head into the inlet--requires about a 20 foot wide traverse across the rocks, so not that hard to prevent.

See the jetty video from last Sunday Beyond the BHB...Shore diving the Pumphouse at the South end of Singer Island - YouTube

 

[SinkFloridaSink]

Danvolk, great video. I need to check out that site soon. I'm not too familiar with anything north of Delray. can you send me a link to more information on that dive site, please?
I looked at Mapquest, is it inline with Jupiter Beach Blvd?


trigfunctions, one of the sites I snorkel frequently is Turtle Reef, which is on the Deerfield/Boca boarder. It's an easy 500-foot swim from the beach. I've explored this reef countless times and ALWAYS see sea turtles. Recently I've been seeing more puffer fish than usual, lobster, crab, eel and a few flounder. I hope to scuba it this weekend.

Here's a link to information and an interactive map of the reef.
Turtle Reef | Sink, Florida, Sink!

 

[trigfunctions]

Thanks for the ideas. Anyone else have good spots for kids that are close to the shore?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

[video=youtube_share;mT-p-COBVxo]http://youtu.be/mT-p-COBVxo[/video]

 

[mntlblok]

trigfunctions, one of the sites I snorkel frequently is Turtle Reef, which is on the Deerfield/Boca boarder. It's an easy 500-foot swim from the beach. I've explored this reef countless times and ALWAYS see sea turtles. !

Hadn't heard of this one. Is it pretty similar to Lauderdale by the Sea? TIA

Kevin

 

[SinkFloridaSink]

Hadn't heard of this one. Is it pretty similar to Lauderdale by the Sea? TIA

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Turtle Reef is very different from LBS. TR is a man-made reef which looks like boulders were just dropped into the ocean. LBS is natural and looks like a honeycomb to me lol.
I need to revisit LBS. I've explored there 3 times - I only enjoyed it once on a night dive.........it's probably my luck,

Next time you're down, drop me an e-mail Info@SinkFloridaSink.com. I'll show you Turtle Reef.

Here's a video I found on YouTube of the reef:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdXYpFjZARQ

---------- Post Merged at 01:52 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 01:27 AM ----------

better video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNTg-dxQnrE&feature=related

 

[mntlblok]

Thanks, Greg! Don't think LBTS nor Turtle will pull me away from my BHB addiction. My OCD also compels me to point out that the second video had numerous missed ID's. It *did* show some pretty cool critters for being so shallow and close to the beach.

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Turtle Reef is very different from LBS. TR is a man-made reef which looks like boulders were just dropped into the ocean. LBS is natural and looks like a honeycomb to me lol.
I need to revisit LBS. I've explored there 3 times - I only enjoyed it once on a night dive.........it's probably my luck,

Next time you're down, drop me an e-mail Info@SinkFloridaSink.com. I'll show you Turtle Reef.

Here's a video I found on YouTube of the reef:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdXYpFjZARQ

---------- Post Merged at 01:52 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 01:27 AM ----------

better video:
Snorkeling Deerfield Rocks - YouTube

 

[DiverAmy]

Red Reef in Boca is nice, too.