Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 305-809-4700;
floridakeys.noaa.gov
)
Looe (pronounced 'loo') Key, located five nautical miles off Big Pine, isn't a key at all but
a reef, part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. This is an area of some 2800 sq
nautical miles of 'land' managed by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.
The reef here can only be visited through a specially arranged charter-boat trip, best ar-
ranged through any Keys diving outfit, the most natural one being
Looe Key Dive
The marine sanctuary is named for an English frigate that sank here in 1744, and the
Looe Key reef contains the 210ft MV
Adolphus Busch,
used in the 1957 film
Fire Down
Below
and then sunk (110ft deep) in these waters in 1998.
National Key Deer Refuge Headquarters
WILDLIFE RESERVE
( 305-872-2239;
www.fws.gov/nationalkeydeer
;
Big Pine Shopping Center, MM 30.5 bayside;
8am-5pm Mon-Fri; )
What would make Bambi cuter? Mini Bambi. Introducing: the Key deer, an endangered
subspecies of white-tailed deer that prance about primarily on Big Pine and No Name
Keys. The folks here are an incredibly helpful source of information on the deer and all
things Keys. The refuge sprawls over several islands, but the sections open to the public
are on Big Pine and No Name.
The headquarters also administers the
Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge
-
200,000 acres of open water and mangrove islands north of the main Keys that is only ac-
cessible by boat. There's no tourism infrastructure in place to get out here, but you can in-
quire about nautical charts and the heron themselves at the office.
Blue Hole
POND
(off MM 30.5; 24hr)
This little pond (and former quarry) is now the largest freshwater body in the Keys. That's
not saying much, but the hole is a pretty little dollop of blue (well, algal green) surrounded
by a small path and information signs. The water is home to turtles, fish and wading birds.
A quarter mile further along the same road is
Watson's Nature Trail
(less than 1 mile
long) and
Watson's Hammock
, a small Keys forest habitat.
