Places to Play
S. Miami & Homestead:
Everglades Alligator Farm, 40351 S.W. 192nd Ave, Homestead. Airboat through Dade County's oldest gator farm. Daily 9 am-4:30 pm. Admission $4.50-$9.00. (305) 247-2628.
Gator Park, 24050 S.W. 8th St. (US 41, 12 miles west of turnpike), Miami. Airboat tour with professional guides, Indian Village, natural habitat. Multi-lingual information. Daily from 9 am. Credit cards. 559-2255
Monkey Jungle, 14805, S.W. 216th St., Miami. This 58-year-old landmark features all kinds of primate presentations and rain forest shows. Daily 9:30 am to 5 pm. Admission $5.35-$10.50. 235-1611
KEY LARGO & TAVERNIER:
African Queen, MM100 at the Key Largo Holiday Inn. Site of the original boat used in the Bogart/Hepburn film classic of the same name. 451-2121.
Dolphins Plus, MM100.5. Marine mammals and environmental education. Public presentations twice daily. 451-1993.
Everglades Safari Tours, MM102 at the Quay Restaurant docks. Champagne sunset tours, out island excursions, backcountry fishing, jungle safari tours, shelling trips, flamingo tours and private parties. 451-4540.
Morning Star Charters, MM 100 at Marina Del Mar. Slip#1 Sailing charter.(305) 451-7057
Florida Keys Handbag Factory, MM91.5. Original Keys handpainted bags and skirts. Ready made or custom designs. Factory tours. Open daily. 800-462-7112.
Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center, MM93.6. A rescue and rehabilitatin center where many species of birds can be observed before being released into the wild. Admission free but donations accepted.
Harry Harris County Park, MM92.5, Oceanside. Site of the annual Island Jubilee celebration in November. Sandy beach. Picnic sites. Public bathrooms. Free to non-county residents except on weekends/holidays.
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, MM.102.5. Established in 1960, the park protects 78-square miles of reef. Glassbottom boat tours, snorkeling, scuba, sailing, hobie cats, canoes, aquariums and public beaches. 451-1621.
Key Largo Undersea Park, MM103.5. Site of the world's only undersea hotel. Historical slide presentations, snorkeling, archeological artifacts. 451-2353.
Treasure Village, MM86.7. Speciality art studios, with artists at work, featuring fashions and gifts inspired by the Keys and the Caribbean. Historic castle and Spanish treasure museum. 825-0511.
ISLAMORADA:
Bud N' Mary's Glassbottom Boat, MM79.8. View a living coral reef from the comfort a dry deck. Snorkelers welcome. No experience necessary. Credit cards. 664-2211.
Come Feed the Tarpons, MM77.5 (Robbie's Boat Rentals). More than 50 of the silver kings swim the docks for you to see and feed. Families welcom. Admission $1. Tarpon food, $2. 664-9814.
Holiday Isle Resort & Marina, MM84. For a day of fishing, watersports, partying
Indian Key, MM78. A 12-acre historic site on the oceanside. A thriving wreckers village in the 1830s under Jacob Housman. Dade County seat established here in 1936. Dr. Henry Perrine, a botanist, planted Mexican sisal plants on the island. Burned to the ground in 19840 by indians. Accessible by boat only. For transportation information, call 664-4815.
Lignum Vitae Key, MM78. This 280-acre island on the gulfside has the highest point in the Keys, at 18 feet above sea level. Site of a 1919 coral rock house built by W.J. Matheson, a Miami pioneer, and a cistern and windmill depicting the era. The island's hammock had many native botanical specias and the Lignum vitae or Wood of Life tree. Accessible by boat only. 664-4815.
Long Key State Park, MM67.5. Public beach, picnic sites, fishing, camping and bathrooms. Canoe rentals; aquatic trails through tidal lagoons. 664-4815.
Theatre of the Sea, MM84.5. All kinds of marine presentations. Swim with dolphins, pet a shark, kiss a sea lion. Reservations needed for dolphin swim. Continuous shows daily. 664-2431.
Ultralight Float Flying, MM85.5 at Hook's Grog & Grill. Try this exhilarating experience. See the islands from air. Skim the water. Climb 1,000 feet. Instructions, demos and rides. 664-1604/2600.
MARATHON and BIG PINE KEY:
Bahia Honda State Park, MM35.5, Oceanside. Fifteen minutes from Marathon is the No. 2-rated beach in the U.S. It has two beaches, a cove, picnic tables, restrooms, camping, snorkeling, fishing, swimming and boating areas. The 30-feet-deep water under the old BH bridge attracts tarpon and other gamefish.
Blue Hole, MM31.5 (turn at light, left fork), in Watson's Hammock. The largest body of fresh water in the Keys is an artificial lake created as a borrow pit. It attracts alligators, Key Deer, turtles, wading birds and freshwater fish.
Cocoplum Beach, MM54 on Cocoplum Road, Oceanside. One of the last remaining natural, rough beaches in Marathon. Now lined with luxury homes - 10 years ago it was a favorite with nude bathers - the tidal portion of the beach is public and is a traditional nesting area for sea turtles.
Crane Point Hammock, MM50. This 64-acre private estate acquired by the Florida Keys Land and Sea Trust is a wooded botanical preserve containing archeological digs, a turn-of-the century dwelling, The Adderley House and the site of the Museum of National History.
Dolphin Connection, MM61, Hawk's Cay Resort. The Chicago Zoological Society sponsors a dolphin dinner time at 10 am, 1 pm and 4 pm. At 12 pm, there is the one-hour Dolphin Discovery program, stressing the animals place in the Keys ecosystem. 743-7000.
Dolphin Research Center, MM59, Grassy Key. Formerly Milton Santini's Porpoise School 30 years ago, the center now offers visitors the chance to swim with the dolphins, one-hour educational walking tours and half-day dolphin seminars. Open Wed-Sun. 289-1121.
Great White Heron Refuge, off Big Pine Key in the gulf. Created in 1938 to offer protection to rare and endangered species. Migratory bird nesting site. Accessible by boat.
Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, MM27.5, Oceanside. Offshore from big Pine, Ramrod and Summerland keys is one of the Keys most beautiful coral reefs and wreck sites, established in 1981. Named for the HMS Looe, a British frigate that ran aground here in 1744. Local charters offer fishing, snorkeling and scuba trips. 872-4039.
Museum of Natural History of the Florida Keys, MM50 across from K-Mart. Four thousand years of Keys history in one afternoon. Marine touch tanks. Tropical fish feeding. Nature trail. Special seminars. 743-9100.
National Key Deer Refuge, MM31.5 (turn at light and take left fork). Home to about 300 of the miniature and endangered Key Deer. The two-foot-high deer roam the hammock but face increasing threats to their existence. Also site of Watson's Hammock.
Pigeon Key National Historical Site, MM45. Reached only from the Old Seven Mile Bridge, this key was original a railroad camp and still contains many of the 1940s vintage conch houses that replaced the first ones destoyed by hurricane. For years leased by the University of Miami, Pigeon Key is now managed by the Pigeon Key Foundation under a program of historical renovation, marine research and education. Open to public.
Seven Mile Bridge, MM47. At the base of the bridge, Henry Flagler built a large camp on Knight Key in 1908 for many of the 5,000 workers building his Florida East Coast Railway from Miami to Key West. The Key West Ferry used to dock at Knight Key to exchange passengers and cargo while the railroad terminal was there and a regular ferry service between Knight Key and No Name Key, 15 miles away off Big Pine Key, ran until 1937.
Sombrero Beach, MM50, Sombrero Beach Road, Oceanside. This protected County-maintainted beach is home to the unusual, and endangered, burrowing owl. It offers picnic tables, barbeque grills, bathrooms, volleyball courts and a baseball field.
Sombrero Reef Lighthouse, 3 miles offshore from the base of the Seven Mile Bridge. Built in 1858, it is the highest lighthouse in the Keys, at 142 feet. Waters boast a beautiful reef and tropical fish. To the east is Coffins Patch, site of the remains of the 1733 Spanish galleon, Ignacio, and to the west is Yellow Rock, a long east/west ridge rising above sand and seagrass.
