The Road to Key West: A Road Trip to the Tropics

People nowadays may be taking advantage of the 113-mile island-linking road, taking them down to the country’s southernmost point. At one point, travel to these destinations was a lot more difficult. It’s a shame that we’ve only been able to experience the island’s natural beauty, rich culture, and charm in this short of a timeframe. 

Now, it's a popular tourist destination. Visitors can enjoy fresh seafood at waterfront restaurants, explore mangrove trails by kayak, and learn about maritime history at landmarks like the Ernest Hemingway Home and the Key West Lighthouse. Each Key has its own personality, inviting you to slow down, savor the moment, and feel the rhythm of the tropics.

Driving down the Overseas Highway, you may be wanting to end your drive, but just take a few seconds to look around you at a journey that is very unique on this planet. 

The Highway That Changed Everything

Initially, the Overseas Highway was Henry Flagler’s Over-Sea Railroad, an engineering marvel completed in 1912 to connect the mainland to Key West. The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, one of the strongest storms ever to make U.S. landfall, destroyed much of the rail line and killed hundreds, many of them veterans working on the railroad.