Swimming Lagoon at Rowell’s Park Reopens for Fourth of July Weekend
KEY LARGO – The swimming lagoon at the new Rowell’s Waterfront Park in Key Largo reopened Thursday morning after divers confirmed it was safe.
The park originally opened Memorial Day weekend. A few days later the lagoon was temporarily closed for swimming due to calls to Commissioner Sylvia Murphy from concerned citizens. The citizens told her that when the lagoon was used as a marina more than a decade earlier at least one very large Goliath Grouper lived in it.
Out of an abundance of caution, and due to the status of the Goliath Grouper as a protected species (harvest and possession has been prohibited in both state and federal waters off Florida since 1990), the County asked Captain Spencer Slate to SCUBA dive the lagoon to ensure it was safe for children and all others to swim.
“No Key Largo sea monsters,” Slate said after spending nearly an hour diving the lagoon with Skip Dawson. “I’d let my kids swim in here anytime. They would have a ball.”
The lagoon is about 27 feet at its deepest, with a muck bottom. There are no lifeguards, so swimming is at your own risk.
Rowell’s Waterfront Park – at mile marker 104.5 on the Overseas Highway – became the County’s 20th park. The 8-acre, kid- and dog-friendly green space along Florida Bay also has picnic tables, benches and a launch for kayaks, canoes and standup paddleboards. It is open seven days a week, from 7:30 a.m. to sunset. Admission is free.