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Long Key State Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Long Key State Park is a 965 acre Florida State Park located on Long Key, one of the Florida Keys, at mile marker 67.5 on U.S. Route 1, 67400 Overseas Highway.
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Prehistoric coral reefs grew here over the course of millenia, when the sea level was over 20 feet deeper. The remnants came to form Long Key, and the rest of the Florida Keys.
The climate and waters provided abundant plant and aquatic life for the Calusa, who settled in the area long before Spanish explorers arrived.
"Cayo Vivora", or Rattlesnake Key, is what the first Spaniards called the island, since to them it resembled a snake with its jaws open.
By the early twentieth century, Long Key became an important depot for the completed Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railroad. The railroad's founder, Henry Flagler, also established the Long Key Fishing Camp, a resort that attracted the greatest saltwater fishermen from around the world. But it did not last for long, when in 1935, the Labor Day hurricane devastated the Club, the railroad, and much of the Keys.
The land that came to comprise the park was acquired between 1961 and 1973, with the official opening in 1969.
Plant life here originated in the Caribbean or West Indies. There are many types of trees and shrubs, some being mangrove, mahogany, Jamaica dogwood (Piscidia piscipula), poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum), the gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba) and crabwood (Gymnanthes lucida).
The shallow waters are a haven for saltwater fish and other marine life. Numerous wading birds can be seen, especially during the winter.
Activities include swimming, snorkeling, canoeing, and picnicing, as well as full facility camping, hiking, and wildlife viewing. Amenities include three nature trails (one canoe, two on land), picnic areas, and 60 full-facility campsites.
The park is open from 8:00 am till sundown year round.
- Long Key State Park at Florida State Parks
- Long Key State Park at State Parks
- Long Key State Park at Absolutely Florida
- Long Key State Park at Wildernet
