Everglades park opens Joe Bay to polling and paddling

Two water bodies off Florida Bay have opened to Everglades National Park visitors for the first time in more than three decades.

Joe Bay and Snag Bay, about 15 miles north of Key Largo’s Buttonwood Sound, now offer extensive access for canoes and kayaks, and limited access for motorized boats. New nautical markers through Trout Creek off Florida Bay lead to Joe’s Bay, which formally opened Nov. 24.

Catch-and-release fishing is allowed but motorized boats must remain in a designated mooring area just inside Joe Bay. Paddlecraft can be launched from boats.

“Joe Bay's decades-long closure was an important piece in our efforts to help the American crocodile recover from the brink of extinction,” park Superintendent Pedro Ramps said in a statement. “The status of the species has improved significantly and we are pleased to open Joe Bay to sustainable public access.”

“Visitors will be required to use a paddle or push pole to enter the area, and boats with a combustion engine or trolling motor must remove them from the transom or bow before entering the area,” park information officer Denese Canedo said.

All other water bodies listed as crocodile sanctuary remain closed.

The Trout Creek entrance is about 10 miles northwest of Cross Key on the 18-Mile Stretch of U.S. 1, and more than 30 miles east of the park’s Flamingo land base. In 2017, Everglades park staff will consider ways to make the area more accessible.

“The park is exploring an option to provide a small boat launch area on the 18-Mile Stretch,” Canedo said Tuesday. “Most likely, this would provide access to the park via Manatee Creek. We plan to to work on this in 2017 as part of the General Management Plan.”

A public boat ramp along the old U.S. 1 north of Key Largo was removed in the reconstruction of the current highway.

This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Everglades park opens Joe Bay to polling and paddling."