My son and I were thinking of a fishing trip for Father’s Day and as we were planning it evolved into a spearfishing trip. We had the plan, now we had to prepare our gear and shop for whatever we needed. We visited a local diving shop and looked for some free diving gear, we got our fins and boots and some other accessories we though needed. I had taken 2 of my spear guns, one to do the maintenance on it, the other just to get the bands for it. Well, on the first one I was told I should put it on a wall since it was over 20 years old, bummer! Oh well at least I got the bands for one of the spear guns. We went home and as I installed the bands I realized that the wishbone (metal part of the rubber bands) was just too wide for the shaft (the spear). Again another 45 minute drive to the dive shop and when I tell them I need a set with a thinner wishbone the guy tells me, “oh man how old is that gun?” Well I turned around and told him it was older than my son and smiled. The store helper just told me “sorry dude, you should put that on a wall somewhere, you will not find a set that old” Dang it, bummer again. Oh well so we said OK we are just going to go to the beach and snorkel at John U Lloyd State Park. After all we could at least explore the area . I told my son about the reef being near to shore and about the submerged erojacks the government placed in the area. These areconcrete Jacks to help avoid erosion and some call them Eurojacks. Myself I just call them Jax. The erojacks help to guide you to the reef but sometimes it is easier to find the reef than the erojacks. As we were driving to get my son his fishing license (he needs one now because he is no longer an active military service member) we were thinking of other places to go and just stuck with going to John U Lloyd beach. Since we were not going to go spear fishing anymore we decided it would be cool to invite the family and ask if they would join us, we were glad they did. All the kids had fun while some of us went snorkeling.

Here are some pictures for those that haven’t seen the area and the reef or the erojacks at John U. Lloyd State Park. We parked at the very first parking lot after the paying booth.

A view from the parking lot and a view form the bridge to the parking lot.

  

This is one of many trails through the park. It can be accessed right from the parking lot.

In this parking lot you will have to walk through a bridge to the beach.

A look from the bridge towards the North.

  

   A close up of the view.

A close up of the view to the South.

A look at the beach entrance from the bridge.  

The pictures below are of the beach and reef directly across from the parking lot.

Leaving the beach my wife and grandson wave bye to me and my son.

  

On the reef at first it looks like just rocks but when you start to get deeper you will start to see life. I Stopped at the first ledge which is about 10 feet deep in low tide and goes to about 15 feet deep during low tide.

 

On the picture below a trigger fish runs away from me.

   

  

  

An angelfish hides under the coral.

  

Images below are of the view from on top of the reef.

  

  Getting out after exploring the reef.

 

After the reef we walked to the erojacks marker. On the beach walking toward the South on the beach (on the Dunes line top of the beach) you will see a marker with the  number 2, then one with the number 1,  and the one that shows where the erojacks are submerged. Ths marker has  “Jax –>” written on it.

  

    

    

    

   

  

     

  

  

 Marine life was present on the reef and on the erojacks (eurojacks as some write it) the water visibility became dull as afternoon storms started approaching. If you want to enjoy the reef and see more marine life you will need to snorkel into the deeper areas of the reef and erojacks early in the morning or a day in which there are no storms. Most of the summer we have a beautiful day in the mornings, a very hot mid day, and the storms are present most days during the afternoons. Hope this post is of some help for someone looking to have a nice snorkeling day at this park. By the way there are restroom facilities, vending machines, and showers between the bridge and the beach.

 Here is a final pic of the family that came to enjoy the beach.

 John U. Lloyd State Park is located at 6503 N Ocean Dr, Dania Beach, FL 33004. From the Florida State Park website:

http://www.floridastateparks.org/lloydBeach/default.cfm

“Perfect for a day at the beach or a family picnic, this park provides an abundance of recreational activities. Surf fishing, canoeing, swimming, nature study, boating, and picnicking will keep the whole family busy. For those interested in South Florida’s underwater beauty, Lloyd Beach has one of the easiest and most interesting shore dives in the area. The park has two boat ramps with easy access to the ocean through the Port Everglades Inlet, which will please those who prefer to fish in open water. The mangrove-lined waterway is a scenic place to canoe, observe bird life, and take photographs. Located off A1A in the City of Hollywood.”