Section 3.1: Nature Escapes in the Florida Keys

Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden — a lush haven for native plants and wildlife. Photo courtesy of Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden.

Take a walk on the wild side, get your feet wet on a water adventure or enjoy the serenity of a cultivated garden. There’s no wrong way to experience nature in South Florida, home of the Everglades National Park—largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S.—and Everglades wetlands covering the region in an extended floodplain from Lake Okeechobee south.

Small wonder that even if your clients never set foot near the ocean or Gulf during their stay, they’ll be surrounded by water in South Florida, where inland waterways, canals and lakes saturate the land, providing placid settings for canoeing, kayaking and boating.

Heading south, way south, visitors will find that numerous parks and refuges protect the precious Keys ecosystem, including John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in the northernmost island of Key Largo; Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park near Islamorada; and on Big Pine Key, the Great White Heron Wildlife Refuge and the National Key Deer Refuge. 

In Key West, one also finds the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, which sits on 15.2 acres of native flora and fauna explored on boardwalks and nature trails. This is the nation’s only frost-free native plant botanical garden, with conservation habitats, three freshwater ponds and a plant nursery. Special events include the annual GardenFest in March, with guided tours, a children’s science corner and earth-based arts and crafts.