Monroe County Florida Keys · Florida
Cannon Beach
- State
- Florida
- County
- Monroe County
- City / community
- Key Largo
Florida Keys · Monroe County Florida Keys
An artificial swimming beach with designated shallow snorkeling and placed wreck artifacts. Choose it for a park-based shore visit; the offshore coral reef requires a separate boat excursion.
Good fit: An artificial swimming beach with designated shallow snorkeling and placed wreck artifacts. Choose it for a park-based shore visit; the offshore coral reef requires a separate boat excursion.
Plan around: Check the park alert before bringing a boat or trailer; boat-ramp construction is separate from beach access.
PLAN THE BASICS
At a glance
- Parking
- Use the named public arrivalDetails & restrictions
- Dogs
- NoDetails & restrictions
- Restrooms
- YesDetails & restrictions
- Lifeguards
- NoDetails & restrictions
- Public access
- Public accessDetails & restrictions
- Beach driving
- Unknown · clarification pendingDetails & restrictions
- Accessibility
- Check the exact usable routeDetails & restrictions
Choose an entrance
Cannon Beach · named arrival guidance
See the entrance section for parking and entry details and sources. Follow the verified public arrival and posted manager restrictions; no private shortcut or additional entrance is asserted. See the entrance section for accessibility details and sources.
Official route / restriction details ↗Parking, route & accessibility evidence
Parking & entry: Use the named public arrival. Ordinary parking is included in park admission. General park guidance warns that busy weekend/holiday capacity can temporarily stop entry; current boat-trailer construction restrictions remain separate.
Parking source ↗Accessibility: Check the exact usable route. Park lists accessible restrooms and a beach wheelchair available upon request at visitor center/aquarium. Continuous sand/water route remains unverified. The visitor center/aquarium supplies a beach wheelchair on request; accessible restrooms and picnic amenities are listed. No continuous route to either beach waterline is verified.
Accessibility source ↗Open the county entrance directory ↗
Use the directory to check each entrance’s identity and status. Guide map pins are approximate shoreline locations, not turn-by-turn entrance directions or proof of current opening.
Known for
Human-made beach with placed historic shipwreck artifacts used for shore snorkeling.
Sources & review date ↗Check the park alert before bringing a boat or trailer; boat-ramp construction is separate from beach access.
Rules & facilities
Check before you go
Check the park alert before bringing a boat or trailer; boat-ramp construction is separate from beach access.
Sources & review date ↗Admission, payment & passes
Multiple-occupant vehicle $8 plus $0.50 per person up to eight; each additional person $2.50. Single occupant $4.50; walk/bike $2.50.
Sources & review date ↗What to bring & supporting visit details
Plan your visit
Use the park’s Cannon Beach area; marina construction is not a beach closure.
Sources & review date ↗Public or private?
Public access
Who can visit: Open to the general public, including visitors, during permitted hours and subject to posted rules.
Entry route, fees & access boundaries
- Manager / access authority
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida State Parks
- Access basis
- This listing covers a publicly managed beach access or park, not a private guest-only beach.
- Where to enter
- The named manager lists Cannon Beach as a public visitor shoreline destination. Use the park’s Cannon Beach area; marina construction is not a beach closure. Admission, permitted arrival routes and current closures remain separate; this is not a present-opening guarantee.
- Fees & reservations
- Multiple-occupant vehicle $8 plus $0.50 per person up to eight; each additional person $2.50. Single occupant $4.50; walk/bike $2.50.
- Restrictions & exceptions
- Follow the verified public arrival and posted manager restrictions; no private shortcut or additional entrance is asserted.
- What this label covers
- Named shoreline eligibility, not current opening or approval of every historical entrance.
Beach ownership, the route across land, public shoreline-use rights and access to facilities are separate questions. Rules vary by state and location. Use the identified public entrance or documented permission; neither a nearby resort nor an admission fee by itself establishes that a beach is private. A mapped beach is not permission to cross private property.
Access policy reviewed 2026-10-04. Not a live closure report or a property-boundary survey.
Allowed & prohibited activities
Florida State Parks prohibits consuming alcohol in public beach, paddling and first-come picnic areas. Separately designated concession, event and overnight accommodation exceptions do not authorize drinking on this bathing beach.
Sources & review date ↗No open-fire permission is established; use cooking facilities only where explicitly designated by the manager.
Sources & review date ↗Park campground has 42 reservable sites; separate group and boat-camping arrangements are available. A campground booking does not permit sleeping anywhere on Cannon or Far Beach.
Sources & review date ↗Only three designated shore-fishing areas are described; ask the ranger station for directions. Neither bathing beach is assigned as a fishing area by this evidence.
Sources & review date ↗- Hours
- Check destination and facility hours
8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days.
Cannon Beach · managing authority ↗ - Dogs on the beach
- No ordinary beach pets
Florida State Parks excludes ordinary pets from beaches; permission in other park areas does not extend to this swimming shore. Trained service animals are treated under separate accessibility rules.
Cannon Beach · managing authority ↗ - Lifeguards
- No lifeguards
No lifeguards on duty.
Cannon Beach · managing authority ↗ - Restrooms
- Named facilities · check scope
Day-use restrooms/outdoor showers and a larger bathhouse near Cannon Beach and boat embarkation area; visitor center and dive shop also have restrooms. Accessible restrooms and day-use outdoor showers are listed park-wide. The evidence does not identify a restroom or shower at each individual beach approach. The park identifies a larger day-use bathhouse near Cannon Beach, across from boat embarkation, with additional toilets at the visitor center/aquarium and dive shop. Outdoor day-use rinse showers are listed; campground hot showers are separate.
Cannon Beach · managing authority ↗ - Access & beach rules
- Named manager restrictions apply
Follow the verified public arrival and posted manager restrictions; no private shortcut or additional entrance is asserted.
Cannon Beach · managing authority ↗ - Beach driving
- Use designated roads and parking
Use visitor roads and designated parking. Florida State Parks offers no ATV/off-road riding areas; golf carts and utility vehicles may not use off-road areas, boardwalks, trails or service roads closed to guests. This is not authorization for recreational driving on beach sand.
Cannon Beach · managing authority ↗
Conditions & activities Surf, sand, wildlife and suitability
Conditions at the beach
Saved reports below are dated snapshots, not live conditions. JavaScript refreshes them from official sources when available. Source timestamps and tide times identify their time zone.
Weather observation
No usable dated snapshot available. Follow the official source link for updated information.
UV forecast
No current-hour UV estimate is shown in this saved page. Use sun protection; the live forecast loads when available.
Daily forecast
Saved report · not live. This dated snapshot may be out of date. Check the official source before your visit.
Saved forecast for this beach’s NWS grid
- 2026-10-04T15:00:00-04:00–2026-10-04T18:00:00-04:00: This Afternoon · 88°F · Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms · wind 5 mph E
- 2026-10-04T18:00:00-04:00–2026-10-05T06:00:00-04:00: Tonight · 78°F · Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms · wind 5 mph E
Source issued/updated: 2026-10-04T18:15:24+00:00.
Retrieved: 2026-10-04T19:03:20.285Z.
Live-use expiration: 2026-10-04T22:00:00.000Z. This static copy never certifies current conditions.
High & low tides
Saved prediction · not live. This dated snapshot may be out of date. Check the official source before your visit.
Largo Sound, Key Largo. NOAA Largo Sound, Key Largo (8723651) is the disclosed tide-prediction reference. Largo Sound reference; offshore reef tides and currents are separate from the park swimming beaches. Prediction times and retrieval time remain distinct; no current observed tide is claimed. Predictions, not measured water levels or safe crossing times.
- 2026-10-04 05:29 · High tide
- 2026-10-04 12:26 · Low tide
- 2026-10-04 18:25 · High tide
- 2026-10-05 01:06 · Low tide
- 2026-10-05 06:43 · High tide
- 2026-10-05 13:36 · Low tide
- 2026-10-05 19:30 · High tide
Prediction dates: 2026-10-04–2026-10-05 · station local time.
Retrieved: 2026-10-04T19:03:20.151Z.
Live-use expiration: 2026-10-05T19:03:20.151Z. This static copy never certifies current conditions.
Largo Sound, Key Largo. NOAA Largo Sound, Key Largo (8723651) is the disclosed tide-prediction reference. Largo Sound reference; offshore reef tides and currents are separate from the park swimming beaches. Prediction times and retrieval time remain distinct; no current observed tide is claimed. Predictions, not measured water levels or safe crossing times.
NOAA tide station ↗NOAA swim & rip-current forecast
No usable dated snapshot available. Follow the official source link for updated information.
Forecast risk is not the flag flying at this beach. Conditions can vary within the forecast area.
Official local flag & condition status
Flag color: not currently verified
No timestamped observed flag connector is verified here. Follow the named authority and posted conditions; a forecast is not an observed flag.
The Beach Database does not convert weather or a rip-current forecast into a colored flag. Check flags and signs on arrival and ask a lifeguard where available.
Weather warnings & alerts
Saved report · not live. This dated snapshot may be out of date. Check the official source before your visit.
Alerts returned at the recorded check
- Coastal Flood Statement · Coastal Flood Statement issued October 4 at 12:21PM EDT until October 5 at 11:00AM EDT by NWS Key West FL · source expiration 2026-10-05T11:00:00-04:00
Source issued/updated: 2026-10-04T19:03:16+00:00.
Retrieved: 2026-10-04T19:03:20.504Z.
Live-use expiration: 2026-10-04T21:03:16.000Z. This static copy never certifies current conditions.
Weather alerts do not confirm swimming safety, lifeguard staffing, water quality or beach closures. No alert does not mean safe water.
Water quality
JOHN PENNEKAMP STATE PARK is a single active sampling label. It must not automatically become a Cannon and Far Beach sample simultaneously. The Monroe station registry and all five laboratory report pages were checked October 4. No other beach's result is substituted, and lack of an exact connection is not evidence of clean water.
Sources & review date ↗Crowd meter
No measured crowd level is available; plan around its actual arrival and facilities rather than a numerical crowd score.
Sources & review date ↗Sand & sandcastles
The guide describes the verified arrival setting; sand texture, firmness and current dry-sand width have not been assessed at this beach.
Sources & review date ↗Surfing profile
No researched surf break or approved surf launch is established here; use the manager’s designated activity rules and current conditions.
Sources & review date ↗Beachcombing
Enjoy observing shoreline finds; collection permission and shell abundance are not established here. Check the exact manager/zone rules before removing anything.
Sources & review date ↗This guide does not promote this beach for shark teeth or assign a yield rating.
Sources & review date ↗Snorkeling & scuba diving
Park describes placed Spanish shipwreck artifacts offshore of Cannon Beach; offshore reef excursions are separate boat trips. Cannon is the park’s primary beach-snorkeling location; placed 1715 shipwreck artifacts lie offshore. Keep within designated swimming areas unless the required diver-down flag is displayed.
Sources & review date ↗The park concession offers separately booked scuba tours; offshore reef diving is not evidence of a suitable independent shore-scuba route. The park offers boat-based reef diving. This service does not establish a verified shore-scuba entry at either swimming beach.
Sources & review date ↗Shore & sky wildlife
Park land-base beaches may host shorebirds; woodland birds occur elsewhere in the park. Offshore reef biodiversity is not evidence of species present at this individual beach.
Sources & review date ↗History & interesting facts
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was dedicated December 10, 1960, following conservation efforts to protect offshore marine resources. The offshore preserve is distinct from these artificial swimming beaches.
Sources & review date ↗Food, stays & rentals
EXTEND YOUR BEACH DAY
Food & drink nearby
Local dining recommendations
Blue Heron Café at the boat embarkation area provides in-park food and drinks; its location is a service stop rather than an ocean-beach entrance. The Fish House restaurant and seafood market at 102401 Overseas Highway provides an outside-the-park meal or market stop. Its road address is separate from Pennekamp admission and either beach approach.
Sources & review date ↗Accommodations by the beach
Hampton Inn Key Largo at 102400 Overseas Highway is a Key Largo hotel base; Hilton places it a half-mile from Pennekamp. Harry Harris requires a separate trip south to Tavernier. Its private beach and guest parking are not public park entrances.
Sources & review date ↗Activities & rentals
Coral Reef Park Company lists boat snorkeling tours and equipment rentals. Reserve with the concession and check operating details; the reef trip involves a boat ride and is not snorkeling from Far or Cannon Beach. The park concession lists beach equipment rentals. Cannon is near the main concession; confirm the collection/return point before choosing Far Beach.
Sources & review date ↗Explore nearby beaches
Sources & review date
Guide desk research reviewed 2026-10-04; this is not a field-by-field current verification or an on-site inspection. Official facts, dated agency evidence and editorial assessments retain their own scope. Unknowns and conflicts remain open. Methodology · Rating explanations · Correction history
An exact-location hero photograph is pending. No photograph of another beach is displayed.
Visitor experiences
Original, moderated reviews and photographs. Visit dates and entrances provide context; visitor ratings and reports do not replace official facts or current conditions.
Read approved visitor experiences here when available.