[StarfishKey]

Here are a few photos of a recent trip to Looe Key Reef, in the Lower Keys. I would say that the reef at Looe Key is about equal to the reef up off Key Largo in John Pennekamp in terms of colors and diversity (and in this last trip, jellyfish!), although the prices to visit from the Key Largo park are slightly cheaper. The photos here aren't the best because they were just taken with a cheap underwater camera, while I was busy taking video with a better camera. So the colors of the fish are not as vividly captured, nor does it show the whole diversity of sea life. Some of the creatures during a single trip seen include: parrotfish, goliath grouper, sharks, barracuda, blue tang, angelfish, snapper, etc. etc. etc. Sometimes you'll get dolphins chasing the back of the boats going in or out, too.

Please do not take a boat out to the reef yourself unless you are an experienced boater in shallow and tricky water!! The reef is precious, and many people have run aground of it or into seagrass beds, incurring huge fines and having to be towed off. Hitting coral - even with your foot much less a boat, can kill it, and coral is incredibly slow-growing so difficult to replace. When you kill the reef and seagrass, you kill the habitat for millions of marine life and their eggs, which is devastating to the Keys ecosystem.

You can hire many different tours to go out for diving or snorkel trips, you can use a life vest or floating board with underwater viewer if you don't feel safe in the water with your own skills, or you can get a ticket for a glass bottom boat ride if you don't want to get wet but still want to see the reef wildlife. Check TripAdvisor for the best rated tours, and be aware that even the ones directly out of the state parks are private companies not affiliated with the state of FL's park system.

Remember, you take nothing, and you leave nothing. Don't touch coral or sea life, including living shells, don't leave any trash behind (including fishing lines, which kill many animals above and below the water, not to mention sometimes damage props), and certainly do not dump your boat's sewage anywhere near the reef! Know the local boating laws, and stick to them. Never anchor on a reef, use the provided buoys properly.

At the time of these images, water was 86 degrees F, conditions were 1-3ft chop with some brief rain, and visibility was supposedly around 35ft (although you can't tell that with these photos). This area is only about 25ft deep at its max, so easily accessible to both snorkelers and divers.

[All photos Copyright StarfishKey 2015.]

[jambo101]

Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

[doggiebus]

Nice photos! Thanks for posting.

[ld75]

Cool pics!!!

[jambo101]

In the open water pic #233 there seems to be something in the water, a bird?

[alex_ct]

Thanks for posting!!! great pics

[chickenoodle99]

Nice pictures!

[chickenoodle99]

Originally Posted by jambo101

In the open water pic #233 there seems to be something in the water, a bird?

2 people snorkeling.

[StarfishKey]

Originally Posted by chickenoodle99

2 people snorkeling.

Yes, in the 2nd to last pic are people snorkeling over the reef. You can see a little bit of their orange snorkel vests.