Florida Keys for SPRING BREAK?
You’ll want to know about these 10 things
March and April mark the height of the busy winter tourist season in the Florida Keys. It’s also when thousands of college students descend on the island chain, mostly in Key West, to let off some steam for spring break.
Special events fill the calendar to give visitors more to do than just a bar crawl along Duval Street.
Whatever your plans, there’s always the glorious sunsets and the lazy days on the beach.
Here are some other helpful things to know about the Florida Keys:
1. UPCOMING EVENTS
Original Marathon Seafood Festival, March 9-10, at Marathon Community Park, 9805 Overseas Hwy., at mile marker 49. The annual event boasts music, entertainment, shopping and fresh local seafood. For more information, go to marathonseafoodfestival.com.
Wind Games 2024: Feb. 9-11, in Islamorada. The third annual event attracts wind enthusiasts from all over the world. Watch for free as colorful kites and wings take over Whale Harbor.
2. THE MOST NOTABLE BEACHES IN THE KEYS
The Florida Keys aren’t known for their beaches. If you’re imagining an island paradise, you’re in luck. If you’re imagining an island paradise with miles of sandy beaches, you could be disappointed. There are only a few of those accessible by land.
Sombrero Beach: 200 36th St. on the ocean side in the Middle Keys city of Marathon. This is one of the Keys best-kept secrets. It’s a picturesque sandy beach with crystal-clear shallow water. There’s also
playgrounds, restroom facilities and picnic areas.
Anne’s Beach: Mile marker 73 in Lower Matecumbe Key in the Village of Islamorada. Not a traditional beach, but also a hidden treasure in the Keys. The beach has a boardwalk under a mangrove canopy. Instead of setting up a spot on the sand, beachgoers typically pitch their chairs in the shallow clear blue water and laze the day away. Restrooms are in the small parking lot, and picnic tables are on the boardwalk.
Bahia Honda State Park: 36850 Overseas Hwy. at mile marker 37 in Big Pine Key. Like Anne’s Beach, Bahia Honda is a palm tree-lined beach with clear turquoise water. But it’s a lot bigger, with three stretches of beach. Beachgoers can also rent kayaks and snorkeling gear.
Harry Harris Park: 50 E Beach Road, mile marker 92.5, in Tavernier in the Upper Keys between Key Largo and Islamorada. The oceanfront county park has a small, family friendly beach, playgrounds
and picnic pavilions.
Curry Hammock State Park: 56200 Overseas Highway at mile marker 56.2 in Marathon. The park has a 1,200-feet wide sandy beach, picnic facilities and a playground. It is a hot spot for kiteboarders and those who want to sit back on the sand and watch the high-flying action.
Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach: 1000 Atlantic Blvd. in Key West.
3. ARE THERE TOLLS ON THE OVERSEAS HIGHWAY?
No toll: Traveling on the Overseas Highway is toll-free.
4. ARE THERE TOLLS ON CARD SOUND ROAD?
Toll: Card Sound Road, considered an alternate road to the Keys, has a $2 toll, taken electronically through SunPass, at the northern end of the bridge, a 65foot high, 2,800-foot long span that crosses Card Sound.. The cost for