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Mangrove roots in quarry wall

Windley Trail

Winding through an ecotone where tropical forest meets mangroves, the Windley Trail is a quarter mile loop that ends up amid interpretation of quarrying history.

Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park  |  Islamorada
( 24.949313,-80.596091 )      0.3 miles

A short interpretive trail at Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, the Windley Trail circles through a tropical hammock along the mangrove-lined north shore of Windley Key.

It then descends into open ground within a large quarry behind the state park visitors center, where quarrying equipment and the fossil-rich rock walls are showcased.

Big boulders Big boulders of cut rock in the open quarry


Resources

Resources for exploring the area

50 Hikes in South Florida book cover South Florida Explorers Guide book cover Complete Guide to Florida Wildflowers Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.


Overview

Location: Windley Key
Length: 0.3 mile loop
Trailhead: 24.949313,-80.596091
Address: 84900 Overseas Highway, Islamorada
Fees: $2.50 per person
Restroom: At the visitor center
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 305-664-2540

Open 8-4, Thu-Mon. No bicycles. Collecting of fossils or plants is prohibited.

Avoid leaving the marked trails as the tropical forest has a lot of poisonwood, one of the more common toxic trees in Florida.

Expect mosquitoes: make sure you use insect repellent. You may encounter great golden digger wasps along the park trails at certain times of year, as we did. According to a bulletin posted, “Great golden digger wasps are not aggressive and will not sting unless provoked.” We suggest wearing closed-toe shoes while hiking here and not walking through any wasp swarms.

Ramp from mangroves into quarry


Directions

 
Located 0.5 miles south of MM 85 on US 1 on Windley Key, the park entrance is on the bay side.

Hike

All trails begin on the rock ledge behind the Alison Fahrer Education Center. Stop in there before you start your hike to pick up a trail guide.

The trail system starts next to the antique channeling machine that cut the fossil slabs, and provides you a nice overlook across the Windley Quarry.

Overlook at interpretive sign Look into the quarry before circling it on this trail


The Flagler Trail branches off the Hammock Trail to the right at a signpost. Keep left to follow the Windley Trail. It branches left off the Hammock Trail soon after.

The trail leads you along the ecotone between the mangrove forest and the tropical hammock. It is very rooty and sometimes rocky underfoot, so watch your step.

Windley Trail sign in forest Start of the Windley Trail


After 0.2 mile, the trail makes a sharp left and descends a ramp into the quarry. The roots of red mangroves burrow into the fossil coral walls along the ramp.

At the bottom of the ramp, turn left to walk along the near wall of the quarry.

Coral boulder Boulder of coral rock on the quarry floor


If you picked up a trail guide at the visitor center, the numbered fossils are explained in the guide.

Some of the easier ones to identify include the including finger corals, with their tiny cups; star coral, with large cups; and brain coral, shaped like a brain.

Close up of fossil corral A close-up look at fossilized coral


A slab of cut coral rock sits on a cart on the other side of the quarry. As you curve around within the quarry, you face the back of the visitor center.

A ramp leads to it. You have the option of continuing to follow the quarry walls through a narrow passage.

If you do so, keep following the walls and you’ll reach the parking lot after walking a half mile.

Cut slab of coral on a cart Cut slab from quarry wall on a cart


Trail Map

Windley Key State Park Trail Map
Hammock Trail (Red), Windley Trail (Yellow), Flagler Trail (Orange), Quarry Station Trail (Blue)

Explore More!

Learn more about Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park

Tropical trees and quarry walls

Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park

See coral fossils up close in a tropical forest at Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park to learn the natural history of how the Florida Keys were formed.


Slideshow

See our photos of Windley Key Fossil Coral Reef


Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Tropical trees in Florida Keys

Hammock Trail

Learn about the trees of the Florida Keys with a walk on the 0.6-mile Hammock Trail, a deeply shaded ramble in a tropical forest at Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park.

Tropical forest in quarry

Flagler Quarry Trail

A short interpretive trail at Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, the Flagler Quarry Trail leads you around the showiest of the quarries and the ruins of the railroad depot.

Green Turtle Hammock Preserve

Green Turtle Hammock Nature Preserve

On a wild sliver of Upper Matecumbe Key, footpaths wind through a rockland tropical hammock where a rocky crevice emits sulfur fumes and you must beware of crocodiles near the mangroves

Plantation Hammocks Preserve

Plantation Hammocks Preserve

Adjoining Founders Park on Plantation Key, Plantation Hammocks Preserve showcases some of the Florida Keys most interesting flowers under a generous canopy of well-established tropical trees.

Trail Map (PDF) Official Website

Category: Hikes, Loop Hikes, Nature Trails, Southeast Florida, TrailsTag: Birding, Botanical, Family-Friendly, Florida Keys, Geology, Historic Sites, Islamorada, Mangroves, Tropical Forests, Windley Key State Park

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