Bahia Honda ( , ; ) is an island in the lower

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...

. U.S. 1 (the

Overseas Highway The Overseas Highway is a highway carrying U.S. Route 1 (US 1) through the Florida Keys to Key West. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Ra ...

) crosses the key at approximately mile markers 36-38.5, between

Ohio Key U.S. Route 1 in Florida, US 1 (or the Overseas Highway) crosses the Ohio Key at approximately mile marker 39, between Missouri Key and Bahia Honda Key. Today it is also known as Sunshine Key, after a camping resort located there. The portion of t ...

and Spanish Harbor Key west of

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

, close to the west end of the Seven Mile Bridge. The island is virtually uninhabited, being home to the Bahia Honda State Park. Founded in 1961, the park occupies most of the island. The channel at the island's west end is one of the deepest natural channels in the Florida Keys.

Fauna

Marine life is quite plentiful in the waters surrounding the island. Just off the beach snorkelers can spot many species of small

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

fish, as well as rays,

barracuda A barracuda is a large, predatory, ray-finned, saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. It is found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldw ...

, and even the occasional small

nurse shark The nurse shark (''Ginglymostoma cirratum'') is an Elasmobranchii, elasmobranch fish in the family Ginglymostomatidae. The conservation status of the nurse shark is globally assessed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List, IUCN L ...

. The only known natural colony of the now rare Miami blue butterfly was discovered in the park in 1999. The butterfly had been thought to have become extinct as a result of

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a compact, but very powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures dama ...

in 1992.

Flora

Several rare plants, including yellow satinwood ('' Zanthoxylum flavum''), Florida silver palm ('' Coccothrinax argentata''), Coconut palm (''

Cocos nucifera The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

''), Key thatch palm ('' Leucothrinax morrisii''), and the endangered small-flowered lily-thorn ('' Catesbaea parviflora'') are found in the park

History

Henry Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder ...

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...

once ran through the present parkland to

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

. Built between 1905 and 1912, it was destroyed by the severe Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. Later, the railroad bridge foundations were used to build the

, which became U.S. 1. Part of the old Bahia Honda Bridge is accessible from the park, and offers a panoramic view of the islands. In 1908, the Florida East Coast Railway Company built two large two-story dormitories there to house workers building the Bahia Honda Bridge. In 1890 Bahia Honda Key was the southern terminus for Miami-Dade county, then known as Dade county, which stretched as far north as present day St. Lucie River.

Recreational activities

The natural, white sand beach was rated the #1 beach in 1992 in the United States by "Dr. Beach" Stephen Leatherman (the first Florida beach to be so honored), making it popular for swimming. A

nature trail An educational trail (or sometimes educational path), nature trail or nature walk is a specially developed hiking trail or footpath that runs through the countryside, along which there are marked stations or stops next to points of natural scienc ...

near the park's oceanside beach skirts a tidal

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

before passing through a coastal hardwood hammock.

Bicycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...

and

inline skating Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a ...

can be done on the park's paved road, and there are several

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

king spots in the area. The Sand and Sea Nature Center(now closed due to hurricane damage) featured displays about local sea and shore life, including corals, shells, crabs,

sea urchin Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...

s, drift seeds,

sea sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and are o ...

s and

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

s. There has been now efforts to re-establish a nature center.

Kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

s and

snorkeling Snorkeling (American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English, British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of human swimming, swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing ...

gear can be rented at the park, and boat trips for snorkeling on the reef are available. The park has a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

with boat slips available for overnight rental. Campsites (primitive and full hook-up) and vacation cabins are available, although reservations for the winter months can be very difficult to get. The park is also a part of the Great Florida Birding Trail.

Hours

Florida state parks are open between 8 a.m. and sundown every day of the year (including holidays).

Climate

Bahia Honda Key has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

( Aw), similar to the rest of the Florida Keys.

Gallery

File:BHSP-sunrise01.jpg, View of the sunrise File:Overseas Railroad.jpg, View of the Bahia Honda Rail Bridge from Bahia Honda State Park File:Bahia Honda Sunset.jpg, Sunset through the Old Bridge File:Magnificent Frigatebird 2.jpg,

Magnificent frigatebird The magnificent frigatebird (''Fregata magnificens''), frigate petrel or man o' war is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. With a length of and wingspan of , it is the largest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtr ...

File:BHSP-oldrailroadbridge.jpg, Bahia Honda State Park – Old Railroad Bridge File:BHSP-oldrailroadbridge05.jpg, Old Railroad Bridge File:BHSP-oldrailroadbridge02.jpg, Old Railroad Bridge – view of trusses File:Dolphins playing off of Bahia Honda, Florida.jpg,

Bottlenose dolphin The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus ''Tursiops''. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bot ...

s swimming just off the beach File:BHSP-morningview01.jpg, Morning view of beach File:BHSP-plantdryseedpods.jpg, Dry seed pods File:BHSP-beachaccessview.jpg, Beach access File:Bahia Honda State Park.JPG, View in direction of Gulf of Mexico File:Sunset at Bahia Honda State Park.JPG, Sunset File:Bahia Honda panorama the key and state park looking east.jpg, Panoramic view of the Bahia Honda Key and the park from the bridge

References

External links

Bahia Honda State Park
a
Florida State ParksPark concessionare website
{{authority control Beaches of Monroe County, Florida State parks of Florida Parks in the Florida Keys Uninhabited islands of Monroe County, Florida Tourist attractions in the Florida Keys Protected areas established in 1961 Parks in Monroe County, Florida Nature centers in Florida Beaches of Florida Islands of Florida Islands of the Florida Keys