Bahia Honda State Park

The bridge that defines Bahia Honda was built as part of one of the boldest engineering feats of its era, Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad. Beginning in 1905, Flagler pushed his Florida East Coast Railway out across open water, island by island, all the way to Key West, a project so ambitious that people called it Flagler's Folly. Crews poured concrete piers into deep channels and open ocean, working through heat, mosquitoes, and hurricanes. The line was completed in 1912, and an aging Flagler rode the first train into Key West to a hero's welcome.

The Bahia Honda channel was the hardest crossing of all, its water too deep for the usual piers, so engineers built a tall steel truss span here that looks different from the other bridges in the chain. The railroad ran for just over two decades. The catastrophic Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, one of the strongest ever to strike the United States, tore up long sections of track and ended the line for good. The state bought the corridor and rebuilt it as a highway, and for years cars drove on a narrow deck bolted to the top of the old railroad bridge before the modern road was built alongside it.

What makes Bahia Honda special is simply the sand. The park has several natural beaches, with Sandbanks and Loggerhead the best known, and unlike the rocky shorelines up and down the Keys, these are genuine stretches of soft sand shelving into warm, shallow water. The color of the sea here, layered bands of pale green and deep turquoise, comes from the mix of white sandy bottom, sea grass beds, and deeper channels.

The snorkeling is gentle and rewarding. Just off the beach, grass flats and scattered coral heads shelter small fish, conch, sea stars, and rays gliding over the sand. Farther out lies Looe Key, a protected coral reef reachable by boat tours that leave from the area, but even wading swimmers can find plenty to watch. Because the park sits where the Atlantic and Gulf meet, tides move water through the channels briskly, so it pays to notice the current before swimming out far.

The tidal flats and mangroves make Bahia Honda a fine place to watch wildlife. Wading birds stalk the shallows, ospreys nest on the old bridge and channel markers, and brown pelicans dive just offshore. Herons, egrets, and roseate spoonbills work the mudflats, and in spring and fall migrating songbirds and shorebirds pass through, since the Keys are an important stopover on the flyway.

In the water, this is prime habitat for sea turtles, and Loggerhead Beach takes its name from the loggerhead turtles that nest on Keys beaches in summer. Nurse sharks, tarpon, barracuda, and squadrons of rays cruise the flats, and the park protects rare tropical plants found almost nowhere else in the country, including the silver palm and the spiny thatch palm that grow in its hammocks.

Winter and early spring are the classic Keys season, with warm dry days, lighter humidity, and cooler water that is still comfortable to swim. These are the busiest months, when snowbirds and beachgoers fill the park, so an early arrival is wise on weekends and around the holidays.

Late spring and early summer bring warm, calm, clear water at its best for snorkeling, along with rising heat and the start of turtle nesting season. Summer and early fall are hot, humid, and the heart of hurricane season, so travelers watch the forecast, though many warm days pass with nothing but afternoon thunderstorms that clear quickly and leave the light beautiful over the water.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.