6 Best Beaches in Key Largo (Public + Private)

This post was written by Nicole Edwards, a solo-sailing freelance writer for BMTM.

When I think of Florida, I think of beaches. But surprisingly, Key Largo has few if any natural ones! Instead, its 33-mile east and west coasts are blanketed with mangroves. Any beaches you do find there are most likely manmade, and the ones I discovered are absolutely gorgeous. I truly loved how the nature-inspired architectural designs created safe and beautiful swim areas with breathtaking views of either the mangroves or the ocean. Because they were built with people in mind, they are also equipped with public bathrooms, picnic tables and enough trees to provide shade. 

These beaches were one of the highlights in my Key Largo explorations, and one of my favorite things to do in the Florida Keys. The article I’ve written focuses exclusively on beaches located in Key Largo. I explored the island twice, first aboard my sailboat and then with a friend who had a car. 

(When I visited on my sailboat I learned that it’s really not an easy city to navigate without a car, as most public transportation is designed to bring people from key to key, and Lyft and Uber were out of my budget. If you don’t want to rent a car, you can easily explore the 33-mile island on a bike.)

We visited as many public beaches as I could find. Here’s what I discovered, including a hidden gem.

1. Far Beach – perfect for a quiet meditation

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park has a $5 entrance fee but once you’re in, you can enjoy two of Key Largo’s best and most well-protected beaches. It also offers kayaking, paddleboarding, and snorkeling excursions to nearby reefs. 

The park is located on Largo Sound, which is a perfectly calm rectangular bay off the Atlantic Ocean that is surrounded by mangroves in all directions, except for a tiny boat navigation channel that leads to the open water. Because of this, I found that both of Pennekamp’s beaches would be great for skipping rocks or going for a gentle float.

First up is the wraparound Far Beach, which is split in two by a beautiful wall of mangroves. Each of the adjoining beaches has its own swim area blocked off by buoys on a rope. One has a nice boardwalk to the short Mangrove Trail (under construction from a storm). The other has a scattering of large rocks that I used as stepping stones to look over Largo Sound. 

The beach itself was mostly sand, but the calm surf was full of mangrove pods and seagrass that had washed…