Location: Marathon
Top Things to do in Marathon
10 Nature & Parks in Marathon That You Shouldn't Miss
The island community of Marathon in the Florida Keys is a tropical getaway for your whole family. It maintains a retro, nautical atmosphere with family-friendly festivals and attractions. Activities include dolphin swims, snorkeling, and boating. Seafood festivals are scheduled throughout the year, and plenty of local restaurants feature fresh catches. Fishing is ideal off the pristine Sombrero Beach. Visit Crane Point to hike to the preserved home of a 20th century settler family.
Restaurants in Marathon
1. Marathon Garden Club
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 10 reviews
Prowl this Florida rainforest and see the bird and plant life indigenous to the area.
2. Crane Point Museum & Nature Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 770 reviews
Take a walk back in time through our 63 acres of hardwood hammock. Crane Point Museum & Nature Center is a non-profit organization in Marathon, Florida in the heart of the Fabulous Florida Keys featuring a museum of natural history and beautiful nature trails throughout a 63-acre hardwood hammock. This nature reserve contains evidence of pre-Columbian civilization and was once the site of an Indian village. We are pet-friendly!
Reviewed By PandieSue_Hedlund - Spooner, United States
Crane Point is a 63 acre ecological undeveloped Nature Center. With 1.5 miles of trails. There is a Cracker House, Butterfly Meadow, Wild Bird Center (to rescue, rehabilitate and release injured birds) and the Crane House. We stopped and had a foot pedicure by fish.
3. Sombrero Reef
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 453 reviews
This is a spur-and-groove coral reef, sitting on the outer banks offshore of Vaca Key, characterized by large fingers of coral, separated by narrow sandbeds.
Reviewed By smlscorpio65 - Indialantic, United States
If your in the Keys this is an absolute Snorkeling Paradise. This reef is right on the edge of the barrier reef, and to reach it you catch a boat tour from the Marathon area on Vaca Key. We took Spirit Snorkeling out of Marathon and Captain Mike and Mate Jenna were great. If you have your own boat it is marked by a good size lighthouse so it is easy to find. Lots of mooring pins to tie to. Short boat ride from Captain Pip's Marina.where you can rent a boat reasonable if you choose. We were there around 9:30 am on a Saturday morning and spots were open. By 11 am they were full. Don't cheat yourself and go on a calm day because this reef is great. Visibility and water clarity is very good. We saw tons of parrotfish, from Yellowtail Parrotfish, Princess Parrotfish and Rainbow Parrotfish. We also found Grouper, Yellowtail Snapper, Gray Snapper, nice variety of Angelfish,stingray and my girlfriends favorite(as she squeezed my hand tight) a good size Barracuda. This goes down as one of my best snorkeling adventures.
4. Sombrero Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,505 reviews
Reviewed By JulieE340
A beautiful beach with bath facilities, playground, volleyball courts, and the perfect place to watch the sunset!
5. The Turtle Hospital
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4,867 reviews
Reviewed By sc04839
We had an amazing time here! Such a special educational experience, and great opportunities to see the turtles, both permanent residents and ones that are being rehabilitated. It really puts pollution and our affect on the environment in perspective. Carey was a great guide!
6. Dolphin Research Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,762 reviews
Dolphin Research Center is a nonprofit education and research facility. Home to a family of dolphins and sea lions, we offer fun-filled narrated behavior sessions and educational presentations every half an hour. Watch and learn all about these amazing animals including dolphin maternity, social groupings, physiology, natural abilities and more. See how we care for them, how we're working with them in cognition and behavioral research and the importance of conserving them and their ocean habitat. DRC also offers a variety of interactive programs including the Dolphin Encounter swim program, Family Dolphin Splash, Ultimate Trainer for a Day, VIP Experience half-day program, Researcher Experience half-day program and Paint with a Dolphin. Most of our dolphins were born here. Others have come to us for reasons -- including those who were injured and rescued as youngsters and deemed non-releasable by the government. We provide them with a safe, healthy, happy home for life.
Reviewed By BritChris55
I visited the Dolphin Research Center expecting to be there only a couple of hours. We ended up spending the whole day there. There are programs every hour and they are all interesting and different. The thing that distinguishes the Dolphin Research Center from other facilities such as Sea World is the proximity you can get to the dolphins and their trainers. It is very hands-on and educational. The trainers clearly love their jobs and work with the dolphins even after the programs are over. We did not do a hands-on experience with the dolphins but watched those who did get in the water with the dolphins. The groups were small, sometimes of only four people, and they had plenty of hands-on time for touching and swimming with the dolphins. A very worthwhile trip.
7. Thunderbolt Wreck Dive Site
8. Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,063 reviews
At Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters it is easier than ever to interact with marine species of all shapes in sizes in environments that closely mimic those found naturally in the Florida Keys. Our primary attractions revolve around our unique Aquarium Encounters. Our hands-on encounters immerse our visitors in the heart of the action and allow them to get up close and personal with 50+ species of tropical fish, rays, and sharks! If you're not looking to get in the water, our facility still boasts many activities sure to thrill and excite guests of all ages! Stop by Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters today and immerse yourself in the Magic of the Ocean and the native marine environment of the Florida Keys.
Reviewed By CLEmomofboys - Fairview Park, United States
Highly recommend this wonderful aquarium especially if you have young children. My boys were in awe at every turn. There is so much to see! I had booked the stingray encounter online, and while my kids were enjoying just looking around, it was time for our encounter to start, so we had to change into our wetsuits and get started. Apparently, my sons (6 and 3), who think sting rays are really cool, have some sort of phobia of them when put in the same tank as them. You would have thought I was putting them in a tank full of hungry sharks. They were super dramatic. They did nothing but scream and cry. My husband and I finally took them out and had them sit on the bench while we enjoyed the encounter. The stingrays swim right up to you and eat fish right out of your hand. And their really big one, named Pancake, will crawl up your belly and eat fish off of your wetsuit which was really cool! If you have children who are not as dramatic as mine, they will live this encounter! After our encounter, my boys were wet and apparently traumatized so we ended up leaving. We will probably return, just to walk around, as my kids really did love this place, as long as they don’t have to get in any tanks, lol.
9. Curry Hammock State Park
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 523 reviews
Reviewed By ReefWatch
Spent an afternoon strolling the beach and watching the kite surfers. It was too cold to swim or snorkel, but it was still very peaceful. Lots of little fish (including trumpet fish) and hermit crabs in the shallows. Only $7 for four of us!
10. Oceanfront Park
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 28 reviews
Reviewed By RocketBrady - Rye Beach, United States
We discovered Oceanfront Park only by accident...we were looking for a place to do a little shoreline fishing. the wife and I ended up walking the entire park. It was so nice. There were birds all over and we even saw a turtle passing by one of the docks. There is a small canal to explore and it looks like a public exercise park of some kind. The hurricane did a job on some of the oceanfront areas, but it his ALL of Florida. They'll get to repairing it sometime soon, I'm sure. Take a walk. The weather's nice.
