Long Key State Park — Attraction in Key Largo

My wife and I stopped here late in the morning on July 18, 2025, while driving down to Key West. I namely needed to use the restroom here, but I also wanted to do a windshield tour of the park since we had once camped here in the mid-1980s and hadn't returned in nearly 40 years. Back in 1986, I fondly remembered the campground was very nice and the campsites were located directly on the beach with a beautiful unobstructed view of the Gulf Stream and Atlantic Ocean. I also have an Annual State Park pass, so we did not have to pay the admission fee during this latest visit. Once inside, we initially took the right fork right of the road just inside the gate to drive westerly in order to see if there was any progress being made on re-opening the campground, and also to see if they had repaired all of the other very severe damage the park had incurred from Hurricane Irma back in 2017. We were happy to see that they have cleaned up all of the hurricane damage, but sadly the campground remains closed, and it doesn't look like the State of Florida is taking any action to repair and re-open it. I would like to think the logic is that it's likely because it'll probably get destroyed all over again during the next big hurricane that impacts the middle Florida Keys, but that doesn't make sense because the Curry Hammock State Park campground just 15 miles southwest of here was fully repaired and re-opened, as well as Bahia Honda State Park's beachside campground (30 miles SW). I did note that this Long Key State Park has built a new, but small, restroom facility down near the beach on the west side of the park, and they also repaired and elevated the larger restroom near the paved parking lot on the east side of the park (where the hammock area hiking trails are located). Other than that, it's just a day visit only facility now. The day we stopped, there were massive rafts of seaweed that had washed up on the beach, and there was a strong briny smell because the small dead crustaceans and fish that lived in the seaweed were beginning to rot in the sun, but at least the new restroom was clean and there was no sign of any litter anywhere in the park anywhere. The park does not make any effort to clean up the seaweed, so if you expect to go here to enjoy a nice day at one of the only natural beaches in the Florida Keys, then you WILL BE DISAPPOINTED because it will be covered in rotting seaweed, and I would guess this is now a year-round or near-year-round problem. The hammock hiking trails on the east end of the park might be worth coming here for, but not during the summer months when the heat and humidity are very oppressive, and the mosquitoes will eat you alive, even if you coat yourself...

We decided to stay at the state park instead of staying in a hotel to mix things up, in the end we wish we had stayed in a hotel! However it wasn't because the park wasn't nice, we just got unlucky with our timing... We stayed in camp site 8, its close to the highway but there wasn't to much noise and hardly any when we went to bed, in a tent, our tent is HUGE, i believe it is 12x16, and it fit just fine on the site, the site sat right on the water and it was beautiful!!! low tide brought out a lot of sea grass and such that was on the beach which wasn't all that great to walk through but wasn't bad, it is unfortunately filled with bugs lol, didn't bother me but my wife freaked out!! when you got out to the water it was about 3 inches deep and boiling hot, could also have been my sunburned feet that amplified the heat, till you got out a good 30 yards or so and it dropped off, we didn't end up swimming unfortunately but im sure it would have been nice. high tide would have been great im sure, looked like the water rose about 2 feet ish and was a great view as well. The site was nicely shaded, had a picnic table that was movable and a fire pit that was not. It was hot as hell and no wind while we were there unfortunately, the sand fleas didn't help either, by the time we left we were both bit up pretty well, couldn't find the bug spray to help! We went to explore after we got the tent up and to cool off hoping night would bring a brake in the heat, it did not... but after we got back it was after the gates were closed, they give you a code to get through the gates so you are locked up nice and safe, no one but the other campers can get in which is nice. At about 3 am we got a nice surprise of a huge storm rolling in... i mean huge! our tent was great no leaks or issues with it, it held up great, however there were about 3 or 4 other campers that were not so lucky, saw a few tents and canopy's in the trash the next day due to the storm! we used the restrooms once or twice maybe, they are clean and well kept, they had some cool things there but we didn't really get to make use of them unfortunately because after that terrible night we decided to not stay the second night and went to get a hotel. If we were to do it again I would love to stay in the park again but this time it would be in a camper and we would plan it out much better. I give the park and its staff 5 stars but the water not being swim friendly as you would hope is the only reason im...

TLDR: Bring bug spray! Nice and quiet park of mangroves and grass flats. Fits the claim of "the real Florida".

Come here with the expectation of an untamed mangrove marsh that has some trails cut into it.

I stayed at a campsite for a little over a week. As of this writing, only the three tent sites were open (no campers or hookups). The bath house is by the parking lot, ambient temperature outdoor showers, and no lighting. The limited campers and artificial lights make the nighttime very peaceful and great for stargazing or watching distant storms.

I stayed in early July, and the bugs were intense. Mosquitos with some sand fleas (no-see-ums) mixed in. Regular clothing alone will not protect you. A mosquito suit and/or the strongest bug repellents are a must this time of year. Most fellow campers didn't make it more than one night. It is a marsh, so you have to prepare accordingly if you don't want to be miserable. If you're camping, bring a screen house so you can function without being eaten alive. I was able to fit a 10x10 foot screened canopy in the site with some space to get in an out. Also, mind the local wildlife. The rats will get into your trash if it's outside your tent at night and those hanging poles are nothing more than a fun obstacle for them. Crabs under the tent weren't bothersome, and I found amusing when they'd shoot out after nearly stepping on them. The parking lot to campsites is a few hundred yards and has ramps, so bringing a cart helps.

The "beach" was just a spot where some mangroves got mowed down. It was quite muddy and some spots you might lose your footwear or get truly stuck. Listen to where the rangers tell you not to walk. Speaking of rangers, they were great. Super friendly. The lake, as they call it, seemed nice and looked a calm place to paddle. I didn't end up kayaking it, but I'm told there's a resident crocodile you can find there. I didn't fish the park itself but was told by a regular that the flats were good for barracuda. I had good fishing on the bridges on either side of Long Key, making this a convenient...