Key Largo & Upper Keys vacation & travel planning

Interactive Map of Key Largo

As you drive south from Miami, the first area you encounter is Key Largo, the longest, largest and easternmost island of the Florida Keys chain. The Florida Keys are measured in terms of Mile Markers and Key Largo extends from MM 90 to MM 106. To the north of Key Largo is Florida Bay and to the south are the Florida Straits and the Atlantic Ocean.

Key Largo is home to two state parks, a national park and a national marine sanctuary. You may notice that there are no soft sand beaches like mainland Florida’s wide, sandy beaches. Instead, the Florida Keys has a living reef that extends its length and is the only living reef in the continental United States.

A large portion of the upper part of Key Largo is unsettled and protected land, including the Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge, a 6,800-acre hardwood hammock that is the primary breeding ground for the endangered American crocodile. This area is closed to the public.

Key Largo diving attracts divers from all around the world, particularly to John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park , the first underwater park in the United States, which in 2010, hit its 50th anniversary. Key Largo offers divers everything they need by the way of dive packages, scuba equipment and lessons, and great accommodations. A Key Largo diving vacation is one you and your family will cherish for many years to come.

Of course, Key Largo has had its share of celebrity. Former President George Bush is a frequent visitor and fishing angler. In 1948, John Huston filmed several scenes of the movie Key Largo in the Caribbean Club at Rock Harbor (see Bogie and Bacall).

We invite you to use the resources found here at FloridaKeys.com to plan your next Key Largo, Florida Keys vacation.