Overview: Long Key has been the site of a coconut plantation, a hub for the construction of the Overseas Railroad, a winter playground for the rich and famous, and for the last 50-plus years, the home of the ecologically rich Long Key State Park. Long Key sits roughly midway between Key Largo and Key West. Long Key State Park covers 965 acres of mangroves, beach dunes, lagoons and mudflats that are magnets for birds, fish and other wildlife. Both the elusive mangrove cuckoo and the rare white-crowned pigeon can be found within the confines of the park.
Birding here is good enough to Long Key a listing on the Great Florida Birding Trail, the statewide compendium of the best spots to find our fine feathered friends. The park has two trails cutting through it. The 1.1-mile Golden Orb Trail is mostly boardwalk that connects the parking lot to the camping and beach area, traversing mangrove forests along the way. The Layton Trail connects to Florida Bay. The fall migration season is a particularly hot time to spot birds, with the spring migration not far behind.
The waters around the park are shallow and attract a long list of wading birds. During our visit, we found black-bellied plovers, willets and little blue herons foraging along the shores and in the shallows. The park offers camping, swimming, snorkeling and canoe/kayaking among other activities. However,
History: In its early years, coconuts were grown on Long Key, the fibrous husks used to make line for ship anchors. In 1905, Henry Flagler started building his Overseas Railroad, connecting the Florida Keys with the mainland, and Long Key became a center of construction activity and housing workers who were building the rail line. In 1908, years before the Overseas Railroad made its way to Key West, trains started bringing well-to-do tourists to Long Key, among them dentist turned cowboy turned author Zane Gray. Others included names like Hearst, Roosevelt and Mellon, the rich and powerful of the era. There was a hotel, cottages, a fishing club that Gray helped found. All that ended with the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935.
In the following years, Mary and Del Layton bought land on Long Key and built a complex that eventually became the city of Layton, population 189 according to a 2018 estimate. Florida bought land for Long Key State Park in 1961 and the park opened in 1969.
Early Spanish maps used Cayo Vivora or Cayo Bivora as the name for the island. Translated it means Viper Key. In the 19th century, it became Long Island and, eventually, Long Key.
What You'll See: As noted above, Long Key State Park is among the best spots in Florida for birding. The fall migration season is a particularly hot time to spot birds, with the spring migration not far behind. The park has two trails cutting through it. The 1.1-mile Golden Orb Trail is mostly boardwalk that connects the parking lot to the camping and beach area, traversing mangrove forests along the way. The Layton Trail connects to Florida Bay.
Amenities: As noted, there are two hiking trails within the park, the Golden Orb, which leads through a mangrove forest to the Atlantic side of the island, and the shorter Layton Trail on Florida Bay. Kayaking and canoeing are popular; there are rentals available if you don't have the equipment. Camp sites within the park suffered substantial damage in the wake of Hurricane Irma in 2017; as of this writing (April 2024) primitive sites were open to hike-in campers, per the Long Key State Park official website. Contact the park (link above) for details.
Nearby: Curry Hammock State Park sits to the south; Lignumvitae Botanical State Park sits to the north. Neither is exactly close.
Of Note: Long Key State park is open 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year; There is an admission fee. Check the website, link above, for details.
Links: The Institute for Regional Conservation's plant inventory for Long Key State Park is here.The Great Florida Birding Trail's take on Long Key State Park is here
Cover Photo: A willet we spotted foraging along the beach.
Birding here is good enough to Long Key a listing on the Great Florida Birding Trail, the statewide compendium of the best spots to find our fine feathered friends. The park has two trails cutting through it. The 1.1-mile Golden Orb Trail is mostly boardwalk that connects the parking lot to the camping and beach area, traversing mangrove forests along the way. The Layton Trail connects to Florida Bay. The fall migration season is a particularly hot time to spot birds, with the spring migration not far behind.
The waters around the park are shallow and attract a long list of wading birds. During our visit, we found black-bellied plovers, willets and little blue herons foraging along the shores and in the shallows. The park offers camping, swimming, snorkeling and canoe/kayaking among other activities. However,
History: In its early years, coconuts were grown on Long Key, the fibrous husks used to make line for ship anchors. In 1905, Henry Flagler started building his Overseas Railroad, connecting the Florida Keys with the mainland, and Long Key became a center of construction activity and housing workers who were building the rail line. In 1908, years before the Overseas Railroad made its way to Key West, trains started bringing well-to-do tourists to Long Key, among them dentist turned cowboy turned author Zane Gray. Others included names like Hearst, Roosevelt and Mellon, the rich and powerful of the era. There was a hotel, cottages, a fishing club that Gray helped found. All that ended with the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935.
In the following years, Mary and Del Layton bought land on Long Key and built a complex that eventually became the city of Layton, population 189 according to a 2018 estimate. Florida bought land for Long Key State Park in 1961 and the park opened in 1969.
Early Spanish maps used Cayo Vivora or Cayo Bivora as the name for the island. Translated it means Viper Key. In the 19th century, it became Long Island and, eventually, Long Key.
What You'll See: As noted above, Long Key State Park is among the best spots in Florida for birding. The fall migration season is a particularly hot time to spot birds, with the spring migration not far behind. The park has two trails cutting through it. The 1.1-mile Golden Orb Trail is mostly boardwalk that connects the parking lot to the camping and beach area, traversing mangrove forests along the way. The Layton Trail connects to Florida Bay.
Amenities: As noted, there are two hiking trails within the park, the Golden Orb, which leads through a mangrove forest to the Atlantic side of the island, and the shorter Layton Trail on Florida Bay. Kayaking and canoeing are popular; there are rentals available if you don't have the equipment. Camp sites within the park suffered substantial damage in the wake of Hurricane Irma in 2017; as of this writing (April 2024) primitive sites were open to hike-in campers, per the Long Key State Park official website. Contact the park (link above) for details.
Nearby: Curry Hammock State Park sits to the south; Lignumvitae Botanical State Park sits to the north. Neither is exactly close.
Of Note: Long Key State park is open 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year; There is an admission fee. Check the website, link above, for details.
Links: The Institute for Regional Conservation's plant inventory for Long Key State Park is here.The Great Florida Birding Trail's take on Long Key State Park is here
Cover Photo: A willet we spotted foraging along the beach.
