Travel Guide
Everything you need to know — hours, tickets, tips, and how to make the most of your visit.
Overview
The Seven Mile Bridge carries the Overseas Highway from Marathon toward the Lower Keys, with open water on both sides for nearly 7 miles. Alongside it, a restored 2.2-mile stretch of the original 1912 Flagler railroad bridge is open to walkers and cyclists and leads to historic Pigeon Key.
Insider Knowledge
Walk or bike the Old Seven Mile Bridge at sunrise or late afternoon to avoid midday heat.
Park at the Old Seven Mile Bridge lot at the west end of Marathon.
There is no stopping on the modern bridge, so let your passengers take photos.
Book the Pigeon Key ferry tour to see the old railroad work camp.
Common Questions
Not the modern highway bridge, but the parallel 2.2-mile Old Seven Mile Bridge is open to pedestrians and cyclists.
Bring water and sun protection, as there is no shade on the old bridge.
Pigeon Key tours run on a schedule; check times in advance.
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Nearby
Bahia Honda in the Lower Keys has some of the Keys' best natural sandy beaches, clear shallow water and an old section of the Flagler railroad bridge with a viewing platform. Sandspur Beach, Calusa Beach and Loggerhead Beach suit swimming, kayaking and reef trips.
About 70 miles west of Key West, Dry Tortugas National Park is a remote cluster of islands reached only by ferry, seaplane or private boat. Its centerpiece is massive 19th-century Fort Jefferson, surrounded by clear water with excellent snorkeling along the moat wall, and seabirds galore.
Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote in this 1851 Spanish Colonial house in Key West during the 1930s. Guided tours cover his studio, gardens and the swimming pool, and dozens of resident cats, many of them six-toed descendants of his cat Snow White, roam the grounds.
John Pennekamp in Key Largo was the first undersea park in the US, protecting part of the only living coral barrier reef in North America. Glass-bottom boat, snorkel and dive trips head out to the reef, and the park also has mangrove kayak trails, small beaches and an aquarium.
florida-keysEvery evening, crowds gather on Mallory Square, Key West's historic waterfront, for the Sunset Celebration, with street performers, artists, food carts and a sweeping view as the sun drops into the Gulf. It is the town's signature free ritual and a great introduction to Key West.
florida-keysThe Seven Mile Bridge carries the Overseas Highway from Marathon toward the Lower Keys, with open water on both sides for nearly 7 miles. Alongside it, a restored 2.2-mile stretch of the original 1912 Flagler railroad bridge is open to walkers and cyclists and leads to historic Pigeon Key.