Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway
Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Key Largo Underwater Adventures at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
The 113-mile Overseas Highway, the main route linking the Keys to mainland Florida, provides access to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and other attractions.
Travelers can enjoy the scenic drive, stopping at various islands and state parks along the way, and indulging in the region's rich culinary offerings and outdoor activities.
The John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is home to the only living coral reef in the continental United States, making it a unique and exceptional destination for underwater exploration.
The Benwood shipwreck, located within the park, serves as an artificial reef, attracting a variety of fish species and providing an intriguing underwater discovery for snorkelers and divers.
The park's glass-bottom boat tours offer a unique perspective for visitors who may not be comfortable with or able to participate in water-based activities, allowing them to marvel at the vibrant coral formations and marine life from the surface.
What else is in this post?
- Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Key Largo Underwater Adventures at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
- Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Islamorada Fishing Village and Art District Highlights
- Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Marathon's Turtle Hospital and Seven Mile Bridge Experience
- Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Big Pine Key's National Key Deer Refuge and Bahia Honda State Park
- Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Key West's Ernest Hemingway Home and Duval Street Nightlife
- Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Culinary Journey From Key Lime Pie to Fresh Seafood Along the Highway
Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Islamorada Fishing Village and Art District Highlights
Islamorada, a picturesque fishing village along the Florida Keys, offers a diverse array of attractions that cater to both adventure-seekers and art enthusiasts.
The Morada Way Arts and Cultural District, centered around the historic 1935 Hurricane Monument and the Green Turtle Inn, showcases the area's vibrant artistic heritage.
As a key stopover along the 113-mile Overseas Highway, Islamorada presents a unique blend of natural beauty, cultural influences, and recreational opportunities that make it a must-visit destination for those exploring the Florida Keys.
Islamorada is known as the "Sport Fishing Capital of the World," with a thriving fishing industry that dates back to the 1920s.
The village hosts numerous prestigious fishing tournaments throughout the year, attracting anglers from around the globe.
The historic Green Turtle Inn, located in the Morada Way Arts and Cultural District, was originally built in 1935 and survived the devastating Labor Day Hurricane that same year, which destroyed much of the Florida Keys.
The inn continues to serve as a local landmark and hub for the community.
The Morada Way Arts and Cultural District features a unique blend of art galleries, boutiques, and dining establishments, all housed in historic buildings that were constructed using native limestone and coral rock.
This architectural style is a testament to the region's rich cultural heritage.
Robbie's Marina, one of Islamorada's most iconic attractions, is famous for its tarpon feeding experience.
Visitors can hand-feed the massive tarpon fish that congregate at the marina, providing a thrilling and up-close encounter with these remarkable creatures.
The Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological Site, located just outside of Islamorada, is a former quarry that was instrumental in the construction of the Overseas Highway during the early 20th century.
The site now serves as an educational resource, showcasing the region's unique geological history.
Islamorada's coastal landscape is dominated by mangrove forests, which play a crucial role in the ecosystem by providing habitat and nursery grounds for a variety of marine species.
These hardy plants also help to stabilize the shoreline and mitigate the effects of coastal erosion.
The Florida Keys History and Discovery Center, situated in Islamorada, offers visitors a comprehensive exploration of the region's rich cultural heritage, including the indigenous Calusa and Tequesta peoples, as well as the influence of Spanish, Caribbean, and American settlers over the centuries.
Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Marathon's Turtle Hospital and Seven Mile Bridge Experience
The facility's commitment to rescue, rehabilitation, and release has made it a must-visit attraction along the Overseas Highway.
Meanwhile, the nearby Seven Mile Bridge remains an engineering marvel, offering breathtaking views of the turquoise waters and serving as a crucial link in the island chain.
The combination of wildlife conservation and scenic beauty makes this stretch of the Florida Keys a highlight for eco-conscious travelers and road trip enthusiasts alike.
The Turtle Hospital in Marathon is the world's only licensed veterinary hospital dedicated exclusively to sea turtles, showcasing a unique blend of medical expertise and marine conservation.
Since its establishment in 1986, the Turtle Hospital has treated over 2,000 sea turtles, with a success rate of approximately 75% in rehabilitating and releasing them back into the wild.
The hospital's advanced medical equipment includes a digital X-ray machine and CT scanner, allowing for precise diagnoses of turtle ailments, which is quite impressive for a specialized facility of its kind.
Seven Mile Bridge, despite its name, actually spans 79 miles (93 km), making it one of the longest bridges in the Florida Keys but not quite living up to its moniker.
The current Seven Mile Bridge, completed in 1982, replaced the original structure built in 1912, which was part of the Florida East Coast Railway's Key West Extension, demonstrating the evolving engineering solutions in this challenging marine environment.
The old Seven Mile Bridge, now partially open for pedestrians and cyclists, is an engineering marvel that withstood the harsh marine environment for over a century, showcasing the durability of early 20th-century construction techniques.
The Turtle Hospital's rehabilitation tanks are equipped with a sophisticated saltwater filtration system that processes over 30,000 gallons of seawater per hour, ensuring optimal conditions for recovering sea turtles.
The Seven Mile Bridge is designed to withstand category 5 hurricane winds, demonstrating advanced engineering principles in its construction to ensure resilience against extreme weather conditions common in the Florida Keys.
Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Big Pine Key's National Key Deer Refuge and Bahia Honda State Park
The National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key is a crucial habitat for the endangered Key deer, a small species native to the Florida Keys.
Nearby Bahia Honda State Park offers visitors beautiful beaches, snorkeling opportunities, and panoramic views from the historic Overseas Railroad Bridge.
These natural attractions, along with the scenic Overseas Highway, make Big Pine Key and Bahia Honda a must-visit destination for those exploring the Florida Keys.
The National Key Deer Refuge is home to the world's smallest subspecies of white-tailed deer, the Key deer, which stands only 24-30 inches tall at the shoulder.
The refuge encompasses over 8,000 acres across 25 islands in the Lower Florida Keys, providing a critical habitat for the endangered Key deer population.
Visitors to the refuge can spot the Key deer roaming freely, as the animals have become accustomed to human presence and are no longer fearful of people.
The refuge features a diverse array of habitats, including coastal wetlands, pine rocklands, and freshwater marshes, which support a wide variety of plant and animal species.
Bahia Honda State Park is a popular destination for snorkeling, with clear waters and a variety of coral formations and marine life just offshore.
The National Key Deer Refuge has a dedicated Nature Center that educates visitors about the unique ecology and conservation efforts in the area.
Both the National Key Deer Refuge and Bahia Honda State Park offer ample opportunities for birdwatching, with a variety of migratory and resident species found throughout the region.
Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Key West's Ernest Hemingway Home and Duval Street Nightlife
Key West's Ernest Hemingway Home and Duval Street nightlife offer a unique blend of literary history and modern entertainment.
The Hemingway Home, with its lush gardens and famous six-toed cats, provides a glimpse into the author's life during his prolific 1930s period.
Meanwhile, Duval Street transforms into a vibrant hub after dark, with over 40 bars and venues offering live music, themed crawls, and a diverse range of experiences for night owls exploring the southernmost point of the continental United States.
The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum houses over 60 polydactyl (six-toed) cats, descendants of Hemingway's original pet "Snow White," gifted to him by a sea captain.
Hemingway's study, where he wrote some of his most famous works, remains preserved exactly as he left it, including his Royal typewriter and a urinal he converted into a fountain.
The Hemingway Home's swimming pool, built in 1937 at a cost of $20,000, was the first in-ground pool in Key West and the only one within 100 miles.
Duval Street, known as the "longest street in the world," stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, despite being only 25 miles long.
The Green Parrot Bar on Duval Street, established in 1890, originally served as a grocery store and has survived multiple hurricanes, including the devastating 1935 Labor Day Hurricane.
Captain Tony's Saloon, a popular Duval Street bar, is built around a 300-year-old kapok tree that allegedly served as the site for public hangings in the 19th century.
The Hemingway Home's unique limestone construction and Spanish colonial architecture make it naturally cooler, maintaining temperatures 10-15 degrees lower than outside.
Sloppy Joe's Bar on Duval Street hosts an annual Ernest Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, attracting hundreds of bearded participants from around the world.
The Hemingway Home's garden features over 40 species of tropical plants, including a rare African tulip tree that blooms with bright orange flowers.
Duval Street's famous "Duval Crawl" pub crawl encompasses over 43 bars within a one-mile stretch, making it one of the most concentrated nightlife areas in the United States.
Exploring the Florida Keys A Journey Along the 113-Mile Overseas Highway - Culinary Journey From Key Lime Pie to Fresh Seafood Along the Highway
The culinary journey along the Overseas Highway is a feast for the senses, offering a diverse array of flavors that capture the essence of the Florida Keys.
From the tangy sweetness of Key Lime Pie to the fresh catch of the day, each stop along the 113-mile stretch presents a unique gastronomic adventure.
Roadside eateries and upscale restaurants alike showcase the region's maritime heritage, serving up local specialties that reflect the vibrant coastal culture of this tropical paradise.
The acidity of Key limes, which are essential for authentic Key Lime Pie, measures between 8 and 0 on the pH scale, making them significantly more tart than regular limes.
The Overseas Highway features 42 bridges, with the longest being the Seven Mile Bridge at 79 miles, providing numerous opportunities for roadside seafood stops.
The Florida Keys' unique microclimate allows for year-round fishing, with over 500 species of fish inhabiting the surrounding waters, many of which end up on local menus.
Key West pink shrimp, known for their sweet flavor, are actually harvested from the Tortugas shrimping grounds located about 70 miles west of Key West.
The Florida Keys are home to five of the seven sea turtle species found worldwide, influencing the region's seafood practices and conservation efforts.
The Lionfish, an invasive species in the Florida Keys, is now being promoted as a culinary delicacy to help control its population, appearing on menus along the Overseas Highway.
The Florida Keys' water temperature averages 75°F year-round, contributing to the abundance and diversity of seafood available in local restaurants.
The longest-running food festival in the Florida Keys, the Original Marathon Seafood Festival, has been celebrating local cuisine for over 40 years.
The Keys' unique soil composition, high in limestone and low in nutrients, contributes to the distinct flavor profile of locally grown produce used in many dishes.
The first Key Lime Pie is believed to have been created in the late 19th century by sponge fishermen who needed a non-perishable dessert for their long voyages.