A tropical paradise, Bahia Honda is Florida's most southern park in the State Parks' system. Located 12 miles south of Marathon at Mile Marker 36.8 on U.S. Highway 1 in the Florida Keys, this RV park offers three campgrounds and three beaches for visitors' use and enjoyment. Fully-equipped cabins, which can accommodate up to six people, are also available. The facilities within the park are handicapped accessible.
A section of the Old Bahia Honda Bridge, a part of Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway to Key West, still stands in the Park. Visitors may climb the bridge for panoramic views of the island and surrounding ocean. Flagler had gained an enormous fortune by starting Standard Oil Company with his partner, John D. Rockefeller. He first visited Florida in 1878 and recognized the state's potential for growth. Noticing a lack of hotel facilities, he began building grand hotels on Florida's east coast and connecting them with railroads. In 1905, upon learning that the U.S. planned to construct the Panama Canal, Flagler saw the potential for connecting Key West with the rest of the country. The Key West port was the nearest U.S. deep-water port to the Canal. Flagler began construction on his "overseas highway" in 1905 and rode the first train into Key West in 1912. This overseas highway is now U.S. Highway 1, which runs the entire length of the Florida Keys.
Reservations may be made up to 11 months in advance for a camping space. Buttonwood Campground sites 1 through 48 are gravel and suitable for RVs up to 40 feet and pop-up campers. Although these sites are not shaded, they are the most spacious sites in the park. Each has electricity, water, a picnic table and grill. There is a nearby bathhouse and a dump station for sewage. Sites 12 through 25 are waterfront. The sites 49 through 72 in Sandspur Campground are located in a hardwood hammock of beautiful trees and vegetation---rare to the islands. Tents can fit into these small sites, but they will not accommodate RVs, with the exception of small pop-ups. These sites have a picnic table, grill and water. Electricity is also available at sites 57 through 72. Waterfront sites at Sandspur are 64 through 72. Bayside Campground is small, with only eight tent sites and no electricity. These sites have a picnic table, grill and water. Campers here use the large bathhouse in nearby Buttonwood campground.
The white sandy beaches of Bahia Honda State Park are one of the main attractions. Sandspur beach, located on the southeast end of the island, is the largest. It has three large pavilions, a restroom and outdoor showers. Calusa, located on the northwest side, is the smallest beach, but it also has several small pavilions and a bathhouse with showers. Loggerhead has shallow water and a large, shallow sand bar just offshore---perfect for wading. The Calusa bathhouse is nearby for Loggerhead visitor's use.
The many activities available here include fishing and boating (there are two boat ramps); canoeing and kayaking; boat tours; hiking along the park's three nature trails; picnicking on the beach or under the pavilions; snorkeling and swimming; bicycling along the park's 3.5 miles of paved roads; visiting the Sand and Sea Nature Center and wildlife viewing. There are also Ranger programs presented at various times in the park.
A variety of wildlife is abundant in the Florida Keys. Here at Bahia Honda State Park, from atop the old railroad bridge, visitors may see bottle-nosed dolphin and large rays of fish and sea turtles swimming in the clear, ocean water below. Enjoy the antics of butterflies in the Wings and Waves Butterfly Garden. Look closely in search of the endangered Miami Blue butterfly. Tiny ghost crabs scuttle along the beaches, and a variety of shorebirds wade the flats at low tide, feeding and resting. Throughout the park, many species of wading birds can often be observed, and soaring above, hawks, pelicans and gulls decorate the skies.
To learn more about fees, annual passes, park rules, pet policies and other information, contact: Bahia Honda State Park; 36850 Overseas Hwy; Big Pine Key, Florida 33043. Phone: 305-872-2353 or 800-326-3521.
