For five dollars ($5.00), I took a tour of this house on this property. This property is not like many other state parks which have a lot of trails to hike. This guided house tour took approximately forty-five (45) minutes, and this historical house on two (2) levels was interesting to see. Jim Stamps was a great tour guide, and I liked talking to the other staff members. The trail through the hammock was definitely exciting to do, and this property is buggy. There was complementary bug spray which was available. The grounds were interesting with many tropical plants, a view of Biscayne Bay, and a lot of boats in the harbor. This property had no parking, and there was metered parking within the vicinity of Coconut Grove.

It’s nice to have a public park in an area of town, which is very built up, with limited access to the water.In addition to the greenery, the house has an interesting history. Make sure you take one of their tours.

Today we had the most amazing tour of the Barnacle House from Kevin. Our children had been reluctant to go on yet another tour of a historical property but Kevin made it so engaging and enjoyable for them and they came away saying they'd loved it. He'd added so many special touches and we really felt he'd gone above and beyond. He is by far one of the best guides we've ever come across and a credit to the park service. The site itself is beautiful and the history of it is fascinating. It is definitely well worth a visit if you are in the Coconut Grove area.

A beautiful location. Love the history, loved the building. Our tour guide Kevin was terrific! The grounds are amazing.

Since we had to leave Key West prematurely to get back to Miami before the road closed, we had unexpected time in Miami, so I decided to take our group to the oldest home in Miami. This state park holds the tropical hammock grounds and the structure that this waterfront home, the oldest in Miami once the residence of Ralph Munroe a ship designer. Mr. Munroe built the house in 1891 along with a boathouse at the water where he designed and built boats. The home was built before AC and uses and designed a central hallway that allows hot air to exit the house giving the structure a look like a barnacle on a piling. In addition, the lot is large and contains an almost untouched tropical hammock as you enter the grounds. We did not get to see the interior, but we were able to walk the grounds, see the house exterior and visit the water of Biscayne Bay. It is a beautiful setting in the dense woods along the water and another historic feature we were able to see and enjoy.