Theater of the Sea in Monroe County, Florida

Photograph: Theater of the Sea front.jpg by Averette · CC BY 3.0 · Restored from the credited Wikimedia Commons file, normalized to the consistent attraction-card frame and converted to WebP by 1stFlorida.com. Portrait originals retain their complete composition over a softly blurred extension of the same photograph.

Monroe County attraction

Theater of the Sea

Monroe County · South Florida & the Keys

A marine park at Mile Marker 84.5 in Islamorada, established in 1946 in a quarry dug for Flagler's railroad.

ABOUT THIS PLACE

The P. F. McKenney family started it and the family still runs it, which makes it one of the oldest marine mammal parks in the world. The quarry filled with seawater and now gives three acres of natural saltwater lagoon fed by about twelve million gallons of ocean water a day, so the animals live in tidal water rather than filtered tanks. Dolphins, sea lions, sea turtles, sharks, rays, crocodiles, alligators and birds are kept here. General admission covers the dolphin, sea lion, fish and reptile and parrot shows, and two to three hours is about right for a visit. The park ran one of the first swim-with-dolphins programs anywhere, from 1987, and also offers sessions with sea lions, rays and sharks and close encounters with turtles, alligators and parrots. Open daily from 9:15 until five. Parking is free and leashed dogs are allowed except in the parrot theater

GETTING THERE

Get Directions ↗Official Website ↗

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