Crowds in the Keys ?

tegu69 wrote:

NanciL wrote:

tegu69 wrote:
I don't think its misleading. There is plenty of white sand, mostly under the blue water.

Misleading again!
We are kayakers and have been to every off shore Key there is down her.
There is a smattering of sand here and there, but mostly the bottom is hard dead coral (marl) or sea grass and mud
My biggest disappointment 40 years ago was the "beach" at John Pennekamp SP
Now I like to tall it like it is just so newbies won't be disappointed.
With all that said, the colors of the water are absolutely beautiful and we know where there are some nice sandy beaches out at the end of the Snipe Keys and the Mud Keys and a few others. You just need a kayak and a proper tide to get there and back in a day.

Jack L





Jack L

That's impressive that you have been to 1700 islands in your Kayak. People give their opinions on what they have seen. The "Keys" is not one small area. Over 100 miles by road and if you want to get technical, extend from the area of Ft. Jefferson to Elliot and Soldier Key and you could probably include Key Biscayne off Miami(where I was born). So it is an area of close to 200 miles.
Where do you get off saying that I was misleading. The poster was just saying that there was sand and I agree. I have dove in a lot of the entire area and yes there is sea grass and mud (and patch reefs), but there is sand under water as well. Maybe you should get out of the kayaks and get under water to look. BTW who goes to Pennekamp to see the beach.

I'll stand by what I wrote. There are several posts here including yours that are misleading people that have never been here.
I won't reply any more, but it would be nice if someone who has never been here before would come back and tell us about all the white sand beaches they have found !
I love the keys. They are as good as it gets for boating, fishing, and sunshine, but their beaches can in no way compare with the long sandy beaches of the east coast and Gulf coast and are few and far between

Jack L

NanciL wrote:

tegu69 wrote:
I don't think its misleading. There is plenty of white sand, mostly under the blue water.

Misleading again!
We are kayakers and have been to every off shore Key there is down her.
There is a smattering of sand here and there, but mostly the bottom is hard dead coral (marl) or sea grass and mud
My biggest disappointment 40 years ago was the "beach" at John Pennekamp SP
Now I like to tall it like it is just so newbies won't be disappointed.
With all that said, the colors of the water are absolutely beautiful and we know where there are some nice sandy beaches out at the end of the Snipe Keys and the Mud Keys and a few others. You just need a kayak and a proper tide to get there and back in a day.

Jack L





Jack L

That's impressive that you have been to 1700 islands in your Kayak. People give their opinions on what they have seen. The "Keys" is not one small area. Over 100 miles by road and if you want to get technical, extend from the area of Ft. Jefferson to Elliot and Soldier Key and you could probably include Key Biscayne off Miami(where I was born). So it is an area of close to 200 miles.
Where do you get off saying that I was misleading. The poster was just saying that there was sand and I agree. I have dove in a lot of the entire area and yes there is sea grass and mud (and patch reefs), but there is sand under water as well. Maybe you should get out of the kayaks and get under water to look. BTW who goes to Pennekamp to see the beach.

cjoseph wrote:
I don't think it is misleading at all.

I simply stated that if the OP is only looking for warm weather, anyplace warm will do. In addition to warmth, the Keys have two things that you won't find anywhere else assessable by RV in the winter. Those are white sand and blue water. What's misleading about that?

I don't think I said miles and miles of white sandy beaches. Anyway, a person can only enjoy one beach at a time, so what difference does it make if there are only a few.

We love Sandspur. You can wade out to what seems like a mile in soft white sand and still see the bottom. That right there is worth the cost of the trip in our book.

Sombrero Beach on Marathon is one pretty nice white sandy beach too. We don't go to Pennycamp,but we do go next door to the Navy Annex. That beach has a lot of ground up coral, so water shoes are a must. We go there for the kids to snorkel without the need for a boat trip to get there. I imagine once our 7 year old gets bigger, we won't go there anymore.

So OP, rest assured that there is white sand in the Keys, and it does look beautiful next to that aqua-marine blue water. If you are looking for white sandy beaches, they are there too, but you have to look for them.

Evidently you have never been to the large open beaches on the east and west coasts of south Florida.

jack L

I'm heading to Quartzite this year for my "once in a lifetime" visit. So I can't comment on the crowds there.

However, I've been to the Keys many times in my life and have camped there often in the winter and I've lived in South Florida for most of my life. I would not worry about crowds in the Keys. As far as campgrounds are concerned, you can expect them to be 90 - 100% full so if you don't like campgrounds that are almost full, you probably won't like campgrounds in Key West.

As far as Key West or other popular destinations are concerned, I wouldn't worry about crowds there either. I've found that the biggest surge of crowds comes from the cruise ships that dock in Key West. As long as you can avoid them, the crowds are rarely unbearable.

If the Big Tent in Quartzite is as uncrowded as Key West this time of year, I'll be very happy.

I don't think it is misleading at all.

I simply stated that if the OP is only looking for warm weather, anyplace warm will do. In addition to warmth, the Keys have two things that you won't find anywhere else assessable by RV in the winter. Those are white sand and blue water. What's misleading about that?

I don't think I said miles and miles of white sandy beaches. Anyway, a person can only enjoy one beach at a time, so what difference does it make if there are only a few.

We love Sandspur. You can wade out to what seems like a mile in soft white sand and still see the bottom. That right there is worth the cost of the trip in our book.

Sombrero Beach on Marathon is one pretty nice white sandy beach too. We don't go to Pennycamp,but we do go next door to the Navy Annex. That beach has a lot of ground up coral, so water shoes are a must. We go there for the kids to snorkel without the need for a boat trip to get there. I imagine once our 7 year old gets bigger, we won't go there anymore.

So OP, rest assured that there is white sand in the Keys, and it does look beautiful next to that aqua-marine blue water. If you are looking for white sandy beaches, they are there too, but you have to look for them.

We stayed at the Blue Waters RV park which is 10 miles outside of Key West. It is a very upscale park, but as I recall the rent in March was quite reasonable. One can rent there, but few can afford to buy the pads I suspect.

If you like crowds, beaches, and nice winter weather, just move to Los Angeles.;)
(sarcasm here)

tegu69 wrote:
I don't think its misleading. There is plenty of white sand, mostly under the blue water.

Misleading again!
We are kayakers and have been to every off shore Key there is down her.
There is a smattering of sand here and there, but mostly the bottom is hard dead coral (marl) or sea grass and mud
My biggest disappointment 40 years ago was the "beach" at John Pennekamp SP
Now I like to tall it like it is just so newbies won't be disappointed.
With all that said, the colors of the water are absolutely beautiful and we know where there are some nice sandy beaches out at the end of the Snipe Keys and the Mud Keys and a few others. You just need a kayak and a proper tide to get there and back in a day.

Jack L





Jack L

I don't think its misleading. There is plenty of white sand, mostly under the blue water.

NanciL wrote:

cjoseph wrote:
If its warm weather you are looking for, you can most likely get that in Arizona.

If its blue water and white sand, well, that's why the Keys are crowded in winter.

That and the party atmosphere.

Sandspur Beach, Bahia Honda

You shouldn't be misleading people who have never been to the Keys.
It can be a big disappointment for those that have been to large open beaches on the east coast or the Gulf Coast.

Warm weather yes, but You will only find a few places on the entire keys that have a beach like Sandspur at Bahia Honda. Most are either shallow with ground up coral or muddy
We winter here every year, and I am typing this from Bahia Honda SP where we are right now.

Jack L

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