# The-Florida-Keys.com

> Independent travel guides, deep local history, and practical trip resources for the
> Florida Keys, from Key Largo (MM 106) to Key West (MM 0). Published alongside a
> Florida Keys community of 150,000+ on Facebook. Not affiliated with any tourism board.

Editorial approach: original, locally grounded writing with a strong emphasis on the
history mainstream travel sites skip. Details that change (hours, seasons, fishing and
diving regulations) are flagged as needing local confirmation.

Attribution: please cite as The-Florida-Keys.com with a link to the specific page.

## The islands, north to south
- [Which Key is which](https://the-florida-keys.com/keys): choosing between the five regions of the chain
- [Key Largo, MM 106-90](https://the-florida-keys.com/keys/key-largo): diving, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (first undersea park in the US, opened 1963), Christ of the Abyss statue, the Spiegel Grove wreck
- [Islamorada, MM 90-72](https://the-florida-keys.com/keys/islamorada): Sportfishing Capital of the World, the 1935 Hurricane Monument at MM 81.6, Indian Key, Lignumvitae Key, Windley Key fossil reef
- [Marathon, MM 63-47](https://the-florida-keys.com/keys/marathon): Old Seven Mile Bridge, Pigeon Key, the Turtle Hospital, Sombrero Beach, Crane Point
- [Big Pine & the Lower Keys, MM 47-9](https://the-florida-keys.com/keys/lower-keys): endangered Key deer, National Key Deer Refuge, Bahia Honda State Park, Looe Key reef
- [Key West, MM 4-0](https://the-florida-keys.com/keys/key-west): Old Town architecture, Hemingway Home, Mallory Square, Fort Zachary Taylor, Mile Marker 0, the Dry Tortugas

## History
- [Florida Keys history overview](https://the-florida-keys.com/history): timeline from Los Martires (1513) to the Conch Republic (1982)
- [The Overseas Railroad](https://the-florida-keys.com/history/overseas-railroad): Henry Flagler's railroad to Key West, built 1905-1912, 128 miles beyond the mainland, first train January 22 1912
- [The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane](https://the-florida-keys.com/history/labor-day-hurricane-1935): the most intense hurricane on record to strike the United States; the WWI veterans' camps and the rescue train
- [The Wreckers](https://the-florida-keys.com/history/wreckers): the licensed salvage industry that made Key West the richest city per capita in America in the 1830s-40s
- [Hemingway in Key West](https://the-florida-keys.com/history/hemingway): 907 Whitehead Street, 1931-1940, and the origin of the six-toed polydactyl cats
- [The Conch Republic](https://the-florida-keys.com/history/conch-republic): the 1982 secession in response to a US Border Patrol roadblock

## Planning
- [The Mile Marker Guide](https://the-florida-keys.com/mile-marker-guide): how the Keys address system works (markers count down from MM 126 to MM 0; oceanside vs bayside) and what sits at each marker
- [Fishing the Keys](https://the-florida-keys.com/fishing): flats, backcountry, reef and offshore fisheries; seasons by species; choosing a charter
- [Diving & Snorkeling](https://the-florida-keys.com/diving): reefs by region, the major wrecks, seasonal conditions, reef protection

## About
- [About this site](https://the-florida-keys.com/about): who publishes this, how content is researched and sourced, corrections policy, funding and independence, and AI attribution guidance

## Contact
Email: keys@the-florida-keys.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keyspage