Resources
Resources for exploring the area
Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.
Exploring Cedar Key
When John Muir finished up his 1,000 Mile Journey to the Gulf in 1867, it was at the terminus of the Florida Railroad, the first cross-state transportation system, in the Cedar Keys.
A collection of islands between the mouth of the Suwannee River and Wacassassa Bay, the Cedar Keys got their name from the forests of cedar that once covered them.
When this resource was discovered by early settlers, they started a pencil-making industry on Atsena Otie Key, the first of the keys to be chartered as a city.
The remains of that factory, and a graveyard, remain on the island today.
Today’s Cedar Key is the town at the end of SR 24. What remains of the trestle has been turned into a nature trail. The waterfront is crowded with funky little seafood places with decent food.
To get to the other islands, you need to hop a cruise or bring a sea kayak and have some experience crossing open waters.
Two national wildlife refuges and several state parks protect much of the coastline and islands around this geographically isolated, artsy community.
Parks and Trails near Cedar Key
Atsena Otie Key The original Cedar Key isn't where you think. It's offshore, within sight of the current waterfront, an island called Atsena Otie Key, part of Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge. 
Cedar Key Museum Nature Trail A quarter-mile nature trail behind the Whitman House at Cedar Key Historic State Park showcases views of the estuary surrounding the island.
Cedar Key Scrub East Loop One of Florida's most northerly locations home to the Florida scrub-jay, Cedar Key Scrub Reserve provides birders a quiet walk along its scenic East Loop.
Cedar Key Scrub Reserve Along a gradient of habitats from scrub to coastal salt marsh, Cedar Key Scrub Reserve provides two loop trails open to hikers, cyclists, and equestrians.
Dennis Creek Trail At the Shell Mound Unit of Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, the Dennis Creek Trail immerses you in classic habitats of the Gulf Coast along a 1-mile loop.
Lower Suwannee NWR One of Florida's more remote National Wildlife Refuges, the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge spans two counties, protecting over 30 miles of coastline along the Big Bend.
Lower Suwannee River Trail Immerse in the massive floodplain forest surrounding the Suwannee River as it nears the Gulf of Mexico, on the the River Trail at Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, a boardwalk to the river's edge.
Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park Spanning from Inglis to Cedar Key, this 19,000 acre state park conserves a truly wild Gulf shoreline.Articles
Florida Scrub-Jay Hikes (2/2/2012) Natural lands in Florida with known Florida scrub-jay families or pairs that you might glimpse along the trails as you're hiking.