Hotspots for a Coastal Florida Drive

By Car

The scenic roads will cover a series of bridges and islands on U.S. Highway.  The longest bridge is the Seven Mile bridge.   From Miami, the drive will take 3 hours.

 

Major sightseeing stops in the Keys:

 

Key Largo

Isla Morada

Marathon

Bay Pine Key

Key West

 

Key Largo

 

 

 

 

Key Largo is the first and Northernmost of the Florida Keys.  It is home to tropical hardwoods, winding creeks, two state parks, and botanical gardens.

 

Visitors enjoy snorkeling, an underwater hotel, sport fishing, eco-tours, beaches, as well as on shore nature attractions.

 

 

Isla Morada

 

 

 

Isla Morada sits between the saltwater wilderness of the Everglades National Park and the Florida Strait.   It is made up of six islands.  The area is known for saltwater fly fishing and backcountry sportsfishing.

 

Sightseeing Highlights:

 

Long Key State Park

Windley Key Fossil Reef

Geological State Park

Indian Key Historic State Park

Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park

 

Marathon

                             

 







 

Marathon is a 10-mile-long family-oriented island community located in the middle of the Keys island chain.

 

Sightseeing highlight:

 

Crane Point Museum where visitors can hike through a wondrously preserved tropical hardwood grove and visit the home of an early 20th-century settler family.

 

Big Pine

 

 

 



 The Lower Keys are home to two national wildlife refuges,  national marine sanctuary and a state park, and boasts marine environment of terrestrial and marine wildlife.

Sightseeing highlight:

Bike through Key Deer country, fish in the backcountry, explore the deep blue waters beyond the reef

 

Key West

 

Located closer to Cuba than to Miami, Key West is Florida's irreverent southernmost subtropical paradise, a unique confluence of history, climate, natural beauty, cultural diversity, architecture and unabashed romantic appeal.

Sightseeing highlight:

African cultural heritage is celebrated in the historic churches, food and yearly festivals in the Bahama Village neighborhood.

 

Visit cultural sites include an 1860 African Burial Ground, located on the island's Atlantic Ocean shore beside a Civil War-era fort, believed to be America's only African refugee cemetery.