Located in Upper Key Largo, Florida, Rattlesnake Key is a pleasant area for recreational kayaking and a great fishing spot. From the launch site you have access to the ocean, mangrove trails, bonefish flats and there's a sunken barge for snorkeling (I haven't gotten to that yet). The area around the Key is a No Motor Zone. The flats are not navigable at low tide, so don't get stuck.
Directions: Head for the Keys. Where US-1 and Card Sound Road meet in Key Largo, turn left onto Garden Cove Road (around mm 106). Head straight east. Just past the dive shop as the road curves north is an empty lot- that's the launch site. Park on the side of the road.
Entrance fee/parking: Free. Parking is haphazard and there is no security.
Facilities: None.
Put-in/Take-out: Gravel/ small rocks into shallow water.
Route: Head east to the ocean or south toward the flats and mangrove channels. The main channel (North Sound Creek) going south goes to Largo Sound, about 2 miles away. Many of the smaller mangrove channels on the west side of the main channel start out heading west, then curve south and go all the way through to Largo Sound as well. Pennekamp is on the other side of Largo Sound. The sunken barge is to the northeast. The reefs are a few miles offshore here.
Wildlife: Cormorants, herons, ibis, bonefish, rays.
Other Stuff: There are lots of small snapper in the channels.
Maps from Mapquest.com
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