Exploring the Florida Keys
Welcome to America’s tropics, a string of islands off the peninsula’s tip stretching nearly 130 miles. Home to dense tropical hammocks and mangrove-lined shores, it’s a destination where virtually everywhere you stop has a waterfront view. Running the length of the Keys, the Overseas Heritage Trail paralleling US 1 offers cyclists and walkers stretches of scenery along paved trail segments and former highway bridges.
Before you go walking in the woods in the Florida Keys, learn about Florida’s most dangerous trees – the poisonwood and the manchineel. Both grow in these tangled tropical forests.
The Overseas Highway is arguably Florida’s most scenic drive as you stare out over the shimmering turquoise waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Florida Bay, cradled inside the protective wall of a living coral reef miles offshore. Driving US 1 to Key West, you’ll note that directions are expressed in “MM”(mile marker) signposts along the highway, which makes it easy to find your destination and figure out how far it is from where you are now. What you don’t have any control over is that there is just one road, so traffic – especially when you want to make a left turn – can be a real problem at times. Don’t expect to be in a hurry here. You’re virtually in the Caribbean, and this is island time.
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Where to Stay in the Florida Keys
Resorts are the norm in the Florida Keys, and prices are steeper than on the mainland. Our favorite romantic getaways include the intimate Kona Kai in Key Largo and the beautiful Key Lime Inn on Key West, set in a tropical forest.
Others we’ve stayed at and enjoyed include the Chesapeake Beach Resort in Islamorada, the Key Largo Marriott Beach Resort, and Parmer’s Resort on Little Torch Island.
Budget travelers can still find retro motels along US 1 without much effort, and in Key West along South Street, including the famed Seashell Motel & Key West Hostel, one of Florida’s few hostels, with both bunkhouse and private rooms.
Campers pay more of a premium in the Keys than anyone else. Although Bahia Honda State Park offers spectacular waterfront tent sites, they book up a year ahead. RVs are not allowed to park on the streets of Key West, but you’ll find Boyds Campground on Stock Island a nearby place to call home. Two off-the-highway gems we found are the Geiger Key Marina on Geiger Key and Lazy Lakes RV Resort on Summerland Key.
NEARBY: Biscayne Bay, Biscayne National Park, Everglades National Park, Fort Myers, Homestead, Miami. | INCLUDES: Big Pine Key, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Marathon, Overseas Heritage Trail | PART OF: Southeast Florida