Adams Key in Biscayne Bay in Florida

Trip Overview

On day 3 of a 4 day camping trip in Biscayne National Park, we paddled from Elliott key 5 miles to Adams Key.

Nearby Caesars Creek has a very swift current at times. A paddler could possibly be swept out into the Atlantic at peak outgoing tide.

Further south, there is a maze of mangrove islands and channels . The water is crystal clear and we stopped at a patch of white sandy bottom and snorkeled a little. Saw a shark and a big ray. We found Johnsons Lagoon and Hurricane Creek. It would be difficult to get lost in this area because everything either dead ends or connects. If you go, explore all you want, then just head back east or north to Adams Key.

Sandwich Cove is immediately north of Adams Key. We paddled across it (into the wind) the first time, then paddled inside, hugging the mangrove shoreline on the return trip. There were cormorants, kingfishers, and egrets flying about, fishing, and sunning themselves.

The reaming miles of the return trip to Elliott Key were quiet and calm in the clear green-blue water and the kayaks glided across the smooth surface.

Accommodations:

Adams Key has bathrooms and picnic tables, no water, no campsites. There is a rocky however functional area to land a kayak or canoe. There is a boat dock.

Outfitting:

sea kayaks with skirts and a sit-on-top kayak

Fees:

none

Directions:

Directions to Biscayne National Park:From the Florida Turnpike: Take the Florida Turnpike south, to Exit 6 (Speedway Blvd.). Turn left from exit ramp and continue south to S.W. 328th Street (North Canal Drive). Turn left and continue to the end of the road. It is approximately five miles, and the entrance is on the left. Adams Key is accessible only by boat. We found it bt paddling 5 miles north from the campsite at Elliott Key

Resources:

see the NPS website for more information

www.nps.gov/bisc/planyourvisit/directions.htm