Curry Hammock State Park — Attraction in Marathon

The park as far as the nature goes is 5 stars. We love the Lagoon and the kayak trail around the island. We also loved paddling out to the sandbar where we snorkeled and just enjoyed the sun. What I did not enjoy was how inconvenient it was to launch our personal kayak it's about 200 ft from the parking lot to where you can launch your kayaks into the lagoon. We had our kayaks on a trailer and had to use an RV space to park the truck and trailer which is no big deal but it's at the other end of the parking lot.

So we parked closer and put the trailer in a parking space beside us which on a busy day would have really stressed me out. I wouldn't want to inconvenience others.

Luckily our trailer is very well-balanced and we were able to push it down closer to the launch but we still had to drag it approximately 75 ft to the water not bad going down, but coming back up was tiring at the end of a long day. The reason I'm mentioning all of this is because Curry Hammock rents a lot of kayaks, it's a great place to kayak, and it's advertised as such. That means it's great for kayakers and paddle boarders, so why not allow the users of the park to be closer to the water so that they could unload their trailers. Maybe there's an issue with doing that which means that you would have to give access to motor boaters also.

Another inconvenience that could be easily taking care of would be to have a foot wash at the shower and actually fix the shower head like $20 worth of work. The shower head actually doesn't spray down but out to the sides all over the steps leading up to the restrooms and there is no footwash at all.

The other issue was that the ranger station was poorly prepared to help first timers. There were no Maps available to hand out. We had to get a copy. No big deal but this is just daily paperwork that needs to be taken care of on a consistent basis. I had to ask a lot of questions to get answers and guidance from the park ranger Booth about the park. I finally talked to the right person and she gave me a lot of great information. And when we were out on the ocean side trying to get to The sandbar I was able to call in and get directions since the sand bar was under water at high tide. That was really nice.

All in all my three stars are more as more of a result of the US government not taking care of its national/state parks the way it needs to, yeah I know Curry Hammock is a state park but it's still the government so calm down.

These types of resources and activity places for the public are what make living in the United States a great thing, but we can do better.

Reconfigure the kayak/paddle board launch, fix the rinse shower, maybe you can put one closer to the pull out, and make sure good directions to get around the park or available...

We had a great time! We had been trying to get reservations for quite some time and were thrilled when we scored our reservations! Very clean park and our site (9) was large with a nice shaded area. Although you can see the water from the ocean front sites, you can not access the beach from the sites. There is a nice walkway to access the water from the campsites. The evenings are great to enjoy the beautiful night sky! The stars are AMAZING! So if the bugs cooperate, you're in for a treat!

The bathrooms were well maintained and were always very clean.

There is a nice park for the kids- with picnic tables and a nice grassy area. There are baskets and a large garbage can near the entrance to the beach to assist with picking up any debris you may come accross while walking along the beach. My nephew really enjoyed doing his part to help keep the ocean clean. There is also a nice area to enter with kayaks (which you can rent at the park). The water is very calm in that area so it was a perfect place to learn to use our new paddle boards. At low tide we walked along the shore to admire the hermit crabs. We came accross a large horse shoe crab, unfortunately it was dead, but still cool to see up close.

I should warn you that there are ALOT of lizards, so don't freak out when they pop up on you. We saw them in all shapes and sizes. At one point I felt like the mother of dragons- as I had 3 large iguanas just hanging out very close to me. They weren't aggressive or anything, but I could see how someone could freak out as they quickly approach you and then suddenly stop very close to your feet.

The only small down side I saw was the amount of sargasso weeds on the shore to get in and out of the water. Not a deal breaker, just be sure to pack your water shoes if walking on sea weed gives you the heebie jeebies!

If you are fortunate enough to get reservations, book them as I am sure you will have a great time! If you're in the area enjoy the...

I can't say enough good things about this campground. I had never even heard of it. Everyone talks about bahai Honda. But this campground is so serene and peaceful and beautiful. Campsite 7 is the absolute top notch in my opinion. If you can get campsite 7. You've won the lottery. Which I did for tonight's. And then I stayed three nights in a non ocean facing campsite. I value how much privacy there is between campsites. The staff and the hosts and the rangers are all great people and so helpful. I really enjoyed the astronomy night. What an amazing surprise. The Saturday night campfire music circle was so special. And while I was there, several string band players had rehearsals on the beach daily, which made my experience a complete 10.

This campground was mostly older campers and a few adventure folks. But I would encourage anyone looking for a relaxing and nature filled trip to check this campsite out. It's worth the struggle to get a reservation. It really is that good. Thank you to the staff and everyone who lives and works at this campground. You have something truly special. And I say that as a camp connoisseur. this is one of the top beach campgrounds in the country for sure.

PS: If you do stay here, you are a 15 minute drive from one of the most beautiful and possibly only naturally swimmable beaches in the keys, You really must check out...