I am told it depends on the weather, but the day I went, there was some surf and the beach was a mess. Full of seaweed and man of wars jellyfish. As soon as you went in the water you were on sharp rocks and coral. The person who said the rentals are cheap must be rich. I remember them... more

The beach at this park is beautiful - very clear, calm water, great for even weak swimmers. Also, take the time to visit the Fort - it is pretty neat. It is a long way down to the beach, so I would suggest paying to drive in - this beach is well worth the cost to get in. more

During our weeklong honeymoon in Key West, my wife and I wanted to find somewhere for a little sand with our sun. The beach at Fort Taylor state park is the nicest, cleanest beach on the island. It's easily accessible by foot if you're staying in Old Town. Umbrellas and chairs are available for cheap rentals and the beach house... more

Key West isn't known for great swimming beaches, but we loved the one at Fort Zachary Taylor. The water was beautiful. There is lots of open beach, but also shade trees. Also, hiking trails, concession stand and rentals such as umbrellas, snorkeling gear etc. Walking into the beach is a little rough at the beginning due to coral and rock,... more

I have been going to Key West for 13+ years now. Every time I go to Fort Zachary. Smathers can be a little too "spring breakish" and sometimes smelly too. I recently went last August and my 7 year old son rented some snorkel gear and off he went. Had the best time of his trip. Ended up buying equipment... more

We just got back from Key West and we were pleasantly suprised with Fort Zachary Talyor State Park. You need to take your car to this park. A car of 4 people was $7.00 total. Cheap! The walk will kill you and after a day at the beach why would you want to walk over two miles lugging your beach... more

A beautiful beach with a nice sandy beach area. Note-when walking on the beach or in the water it is all rocks. They hurt your feet, wear water shoes. The waves will push rocks into your ankles, so try to go on a less wavey day if you have small kids. There were lots of shells that came in with... more

While we were disappointed in the fort itself because of the deteriorated condition, it has one interesting aspect. When progress allowed creation of ammunition that could pierce the standard fort walls, they dumped the old cannons into the outside batteries and filled them with concrete to create a solid wall that could take the pounding of the ammo from the... more

We stayed in the historic quarter of Key West and had a little bit of a problem finding a parking space. Once we found one, we didn't want to move our car and walked all over Key West. We wanted to see this fort and it didn't look like that far of a walk on the map. The entrance to... more