6 Best Sights in The Florida Keys, Florida

Most first-time visitors to the region are dismayed by the lack of beaches—but then they discover Bahia Honda Key. The 524-acre park sprawls across both sides of the highway, giving it 2½ miles of fabulous sandy coastline. Beaches include Sandspur and Loggerhead Beaches on the Atlantic side and Calusa Beach, which faces the Gulf of Mexico. The snorkeling isn't bad, either; there's underwater life (soft coral, queen conchs, random little fish) just a few hundred feet offshore. Seasonal ranger-led nature programs take place at or depart from the Sand and Sea Nature Center. There are rental cabins and a campground, snack bar, gift shop, and 19-slip marina, as well as facilities for renting kayaks and arranging snorkeling tours. Get a panoramic view of the island from what's left of the railroad—the Bahia Honda Rail Bridge.

On the ocean and bay sides of the Overseas Highway are 260 acres of upland hammock, wetlands, and mangroves. On the bay side, there's a trail through thick hardwoods to a rocky shoreline. The ocean side is more developed, with a sandy beach, a clean bathhouse, picnic tables, a playground, grills, and a 28-site campground with electric and water hookups. Locals consider the paddling trails under canopies of arching mangroves among the best kayaking spots in the Keys. Manatees frequent the area, and it's a great place for watching herons, egrets, ibises, plovers, and sanderlings. Raptors are often seen in the park, too, especially during migration periods.

Come here for solitude, hiking, and fishing. On the ocean side, the 1.1-mile Golden Orb Trail leads to a boardwalk that cuts through the mangroves (may require some wading) and alongside a lagoon where waterfowl congregate. A 1¼-mile canoe trail leads through a tidal lagoon, and the grass flats are perfect for bonefishing. Bring a mask and snorkel to observe the marine life in the shallow water.

Mystery surrounds 10-acre Indian Key, on the ocean side of the Matecumbe islands. It was a base for 19th-century shipwreck salvagers until an 1840 attack by Native Americans wiped out the settlement. Dr. Henry Perrine, a noted botanist, was killed in the raid. Today, his plants grow in the town's ruins. Most people kayak or canoe to the park or take a boat from Robbie's Marina to snorkel or explore nature trails and the town ruins.

On the National Register of Historic Places, this 280-acre bayside island is the site of a virgin hardwood forest and the 1919 home of chemical magnate William Matheson. His caretaker's cottage serves as the park's visitor center. Access is by boat—your own, a rented vessel, or a tour operated from Robbie's Marina. The tour leaves at 8:30 am Friday through Sunday and takes in both Lignumvitae and Indian Key (reservations required).

The fossilized-coral reef, dating back about 125,000 years, demonstrates that the Florida Keys were once beneath the ocean. Excavation of Windley Key's limestone bed by the Florida East Coast Railway exposed the petrified reef, full of beautifully fossilized brain coral and sea ferns. You can see the fossils along a 300-foot quarry wall when hiking the park's three trails.