Get Away from Winter in the Florida Keys

Published on Dec 21, 2009 in Getaways: Escaping the Cold and Goodyear’s Top 50 Scenic, Comfortable Drives

The season of winter conjures images of a frosty wonderland -- softly falling snow, children making snowmen, and dogsleds racing through endless plains of white. But winter may also bring cold noses, frosty car windows, and constant shoveling. Need a refreshing winter getaway from the bitter cold? Come to the blue waters and tropical sun of the Florida Keys Scenic Highway!

Start your getaway by looking on both land and sea for some of the highway's 20-plus lights, light stations and lighthouses, some in place since the 1800s. Today, these sea-based light towers still blink to guide ships to safe passage in the waters off Key Largo, Islamadora, Marathon, and more. For a land-based light station, travel out to Key West on the extreme end of the highway and visit its Lighthouse Museum & Keepers Quarters Museum. Here at the 15th-oldest surviving light station in the country, you can climb up into the light tower itself just as its keepers did during its active service from 1825 to 1969. If climbing the Lighthouse tower stairs is not to your taste, you can visit the Keepers Quarters Museum, maintained by the Key West Art & Historical Society.

Want to "walk on water" -- that isn't frozen? Check out one of the many bridges on the Florida Keys Scenic Highway. A short distance from Key Largo is the brand-new, 65-foot-high Jewfish Creek Bridge, built in 2008 to replace the old drawbridge, which dated from 1906. Come to Marathon in the middle of the byway, where you’ll find stunning Seven Mile Bridge, one of the longest bridges in the world. Completed in 1982, this famous bridge parallels the old, adventurously narrow bridge that is no longer open to traffic but remains today for hikers, bikers and fishers to enjoy. For more breathtaking views of the ocean, visit the Bahia Honda Bridge, built in 1972, which spans the ocean between Bahia Honda and Spanish Harbor Keys, the deepest channel between the Keys. The old bridge remains as a fishing pier and viewing area.

Leave thoughts of ice storms and wind chill factors behind by continuing your winter getaway adventure at one of the three State parks that lie near the byway. Don a swimsuit to snorkel the warm waters of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, America’s first undersea park. Don’t want to get your feet wet? Admire colorful underwater creatures through the glass bottom of the park's catamaran, Spirit of Pennekamp. Tours last two-and-a-half hours and include many different types of reefs swarming with wildlife. Journey west to Marathon and explore Curry Hammock State Park, a group of islands with miles of shoreline for all kinds of warm-weather recreation. Or go kayaking and swimming, and then relax at a picnic table and spend time with friends and family at Bahia Honda State Park near Big Pine Key.

Want to get wet? You’ll find plenty of things to do under the sea on the Florida Keys Scenic Highway -- and plenty of diving, scuba, and snorkeling rental shops in the byway's cities to help you do it! Home to the only living coral barrier reef in the United States, the surrounding waters provide an unforgettable underwater adventure with many underwater parks, reefs and diving sites. But remember -- do not disturb the area's ocean creatures, plants, and historic sites. Many are protected by law, and all are part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Popular for its variety of underwater attractions is Key Largo. Get your feet wet with an easy dive down to the Christ of the Deep statue, a 9-foot tall bronze replica of the Italian Christ of the Abysses statue. At a depth of 25 feet, this statue stands silhouetted against clear blue waters and is surrounded by reefs that are home to brain coral. Divers from novice to advanced can swim through the diverse underwater formations of French Reef, the most popular reef in the Key Largo area. More advanced divers can submerge 45 feet to enjoy the reef life harbored by the Spiegel Grove, the second largest artificial reef in the Florida Keys.

Travel to the Islamorada area to explore a sunken 1733 Spanish flotilla in San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve State Park. This park, which is approximately one mile away from Indian Key, is the perfect place to learn more about nautical history and become acquainted with the fish of the sea. Or visit Davis Reef, a novice-level diving area with huge schools of fish, and resident moray eels whose home is marked by a statue of Buddha. Rub his head to 'get smart', as the locals say!

Come to Critter Ridge near Marathon for a friendly swim with creatures of the sea, such as angelfish, eels, turtles, and more. You might even spot a friendly dolphin! Want to enjoy a night dive? Go to the Donut Reef, also near Marathon, named for its unique rotund shape. For an advanced diving experience, head to Thunderbolt Wreck. Thunderbolt was a 188-foot research vessel, used to discover more about the power of lightning. If you are daring enough, you can enter the large hatches off the main deck, venture into the engine compartments, and plunge down into the 110-foot deep hull.

Looe Key Reef, 25 miles east of Key West, is known as one of the most exquisite reefs in the Lower Keys. The H.M.S. Looe ran aground here in 1744, and now you can explore the exotic life that has taken over its remains, such as sea fans and other weirdly-shaped coral. Come swim through the Vandenberg in Key West at the very western end of the byway, the largest artificial reef in the Florida Keys and the second largest man-made reef in the world. Don’t miss Sand Key, one of the most popular dives in the Lower Keys. You won’t want to miss its staghorn and elkhorn coral. If you’re a more advanced diver, check out the protected Jewfish making a comeback at Alexander’s Wreck, but be careful! Boathandlers have damaged their crafts on its exposed ruins.

Escape winter's icy bite with a winter getaway to the sunny South. Enjoy the warmth of the sun on your skin while you explore the lighthouses, bridges, shipwrecks and reefs of the Florida Keys. Whether your preference is land or water, you’ll find the perfect warm winter getaway on the Florida Keys Scenic Highway!

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