Overseas Highway (Florida Keys)
113 Miles of Ocean on America's Most Famous Island Road
The Overseas Highway carries US 1 island to island for 113 miles (181 km) from Key Largo to Key West, across 42 bridges with the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. It is a road with an epic origin story: railroad magnate Henry Flagler pushed his "railroad that went to sea" across these waters in 1912, the great Labor Day hurricane of 1935 destroyed it, and the highway opened in 1938 on the railroad's own bridges and embankments, remnants of which still parade alongside the modern road. A designated All-American Road, it is navigated by green mile markers that count down from Key Largo to the famous Mile 0 sign in Key West, and the drive's rhythm is pure Keys: dive shops and tiki bars, pelicans on the guardrails, water in a dozen shades of turquoise, and the Seven Mile Bridge moment when the road seems to sail clear off the map. This is less a drive than a slow, sunlit decompression, best taken over two or three days.
Key Stops
Key Largo. The self-styled Dive Capital of the World and gateway to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the first undersea park in the US: glass-bottom boats, snorkel trips to the reef, and the Christ of the Abyss statue.
Islamorada. The sportfishing capital: charter fleets at Whale Harbor, the History of Diving Museum, and the ritual feeding of the giant tarpon at Robbie's of Islamorada (buy a bucket of baitfish, keep your fingers).
Marathon. The mid-Keys hub: the Turtle Hospital's working rescue tours, Crane Point's hardwood hammock trails, and family-friendly Sombrero Beach. Good overnight halfway base.
The Old Seven Mile Bridge and Pigeon Key. The restored 2.2-mile span of Flagler's original bridge, reopened for walking and cycling, leading to the tiny island camp that housed the railroad's construction workers, now a museum.
Seven Mile Bridge. The signature stretch: nearly seven miles of open water crossing with the old railroad bridge running alongside. Film crews love it; so will your passengers.
Bahia Honda State Park. The Keys' best natural beaches, brilliant snorkeling from shore, and the photogenic broken span of the old railroad bridge as a backdrop. Arrive early in season; the park caps entries when full.
Big Pine Key and the Key Deer Refuge. Home of the endangered Key deer, a miniature subspecies found nowhere else: reduced speed limits (strictly enforced, especially at night) protect them. The No Name Pub's dollar-bill ceiling is the local institution.
Looe Key Reef. Reached by boat from the Lower Keys, widely rated the finest snorkel and dive reef in the island chain: book a morning trip from Ramrod or Big Pine.
Key West: Mile 0 and Old Town. The end of the road at the corner of Whitehead and Fleming: the Hemingway Home and its six-toed cats, the Southernmost Point buoy, Duval Street, and the nightly sunset celebration at Mallory Square with street performers and schooners offshore.
Dry Tortugas (optional epilogue). Seventy miles beyond the road's end by ferry or seaplane from Key West: Fort Jefferson's brick colossus on a coral island, for travelers who want the true full stop.
Driving Tips
Leave the mainland early and never on a Friday afternoon. The highway is two lanes for most of its length, and weekend surges (southbound Friday, northbound Sunday) can double the drive time. A dawn start from Florida City puts you in Islamorada for breakfast.
Respect the Key deer zones after dark. On Big Pine and No Name Keys the night speed limits drop sharply and are enforced; the deer feed at the roadside at dusk, and collisions are the leading cause of their deaths.
Plan around hurricane season. June through November carries storm risk, with September the historical peak: watch forecasts, and take any evacuation order seriously, because there is exactly one road out.
Book Key West beds and parking ahead. The island is small, hotels fill fast in winter and around festivals, and Old Town parking is scarce: many visitors park once and walk, cycle, or ride the Duval Loop.
Split the drive over at least one night. Straight through is under four hours; the point is not to do that. Marathon or Islamorada as an overnight turns a transit into a trip.
Get on (and in) the water at least once. The highway shows you the ocean; Pennekamp, Bahia Honda, or Looe Key put you in it, and reef trips sell out in season, so reserve the day before.
Bring polarized sunglasses. Low sun over water is constant, and the difference in glare (and in how the water colors read) is dramatic.
For more information visit: The Florida Keys & Key West (Official Tourism Site)