The quiet, lesser-known side of Long Key State Park is the bay side, a mostly-undisturbed and undeveloped fringe of mangroves and tropical hammocks edging Florida Bay.
The Layton Trail leads you on a quarter-mile exploration of these habitats, emerging at a showy spot on Florida Bay.
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Overview
Length: 0.2 mile loop
Trailhead: 24.823412,-80.817794
Address: 68100 Overseas Highway, Long Key
Fees: Free
Restroom: None
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 305-664-4815
Open 8 AM until sunset daily. Leashed pets welcome. Expect mosquitoes! Always use insect repellent.
Do not touch oozing tree bark in the tropical hammock: there are poisonwood trees scattered throughout the forest. When in doubt, never touch tree trunks or leaves in a tropical hammock.
Learn more about Florida’s toxic trees.
Directions
From the main entrance to Long Key State Park, drive north on US 1 for 0.6 mile (just past MM 68) for the trailhead on the left at the “Layton Trail” sign. Park on the shoulder.
Hike
The Layton Trail makes a loop through a shady tropical hardwood hammock, past thatch palms, gumbo limbo, pigeon plum, and poisonwood.
Keep to the left at the loop junction to head out to the limestone edge of Florida Bay. Turn right and walk along the shoreline, which is thick in dried grasses and debris.
At an interpretive marker, the trail turns to the right to re-enter the tropical hammock to complete the loop.
You may enjoy a sweeping view of Florida Bay where the trail emerges from the tropical hammock to the shoreline.

Trail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Long Key State Park and its trails

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