Florida Keys State Parks

Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park
P.O. Box 1052 Islamorada, Florida 33036
Phone: 305-664-2540

Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park is located on the bayside at Mile Marker 85.5, just south of the Snake Creek drawbridge. Purchased by Henry Flagler in 1908 to quarry limestone rock for the Overseas Railroad bed and bridge approaches, the park offers visitors the unique opportunity to “look inside” an ancient coral reef formation and view the historic remains of Flagler’s quarrying activities.

The 32-acre site has three quarries and approximately 1.5 miles of trails that wind through a tropical hardwood hammock. Walking the trails offers visitors the chance to see over 40 species of trees and plants that are native to the Florida Keys. With the aid of a guidebook, numbered trail stops, and interpretive markers, it is easy for visitors to learn about the natural and cultural resources of the site.

Long Key State Park
P.O. Box 776 Long Key, Florida 33001
Phone: 305-664-4815

Long Key was once referred to by the Spanish as "Cayo Vivora", which means Rattlesnake Key. The name was used to describe the shape of the island, which resembles a snake with its jaws open.

Today, Long Key State Park is known for being rich in history and recreational opportunities as well as natural beauty. Florida state parks are open from 8 a.m. until sundown 365 days a year.

Long Key State Park is located at Mile Marker 67.5, 67400 Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys.

Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park
Islamorada, Florida 33036
Phone: 305-664-2540

The serenity and isolation of remote islands have always captured man's imagination. Lignumvitae Key is no exception. To step ashore here is to take a step back into the past. The Matheson House, built in 1919, has changed little over the years. A windmill supplied power; fresh water was provided from a cistern which filled by rain falling on the roof.

The virgin tropical forest that thrives here is typical of the kind of scenery that was once enjoyed on most of Florida's Upper Keys. As the Keys were developed to accommodate an increasing number of people, most of the unique vegetation was scraped away, making the tropical forest of Lignumvitae Key a very rare and special place. Here, you walk in the shade of trees with strange names like mastic, strangler fig, poisonwood, pigeon plum and gumbo-limbo.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
P.O. Box 487 Key Largo, Florida 33037
Phone: 305-451-1202

The first undersea park in the United States, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, and the adjacent Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, cover approximately 178 nautical square miles of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps. The park extends 3 miles into the Atlantic Ocean and is approximately 25 miles in length.

The park is named for the late John D. Pennekamp, a Miami newspaper editor, whose efforts contributed to the establishment of Everglades National Park and the preservation of what would become John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.