Connect to the Environment with New Florida Keys Eco-Experience Trail Pass
There’s a new way to explore the Florida Keys — a way that’s fun, fascinating and focused on nature. Visitors can now discover the island chain’s eco-attractions and environmental offerings by using the free Florida Keys Eco-Experience Trail pass, featuring nearly 50 geo-tagged, bookable activities that encourage connecting with the Keys’ natural world.
Spotlight: Fritzie Estimond, Offering a Welcome as Warm as Key West
Fritzie Estimond is a welcoming presence at the Key West Business Guild’s LGBTQ Visitor Center — and the guiding spirit behind the guild’s annual events. What does she like best about Key West? The “small community” feel, the acceptance that allows people to be their authentic selves, and what she cheerfully calls “the weird.”
‘Home at the End of the World’ Captures Key West’s Wayward Days
In the 1970s and early 80s, Key West was a freewheeling seaport town whose residents included fishing guides, hobbyist pot smugglers, treasure hunters seeking 17th-century shipwrecks and some of America’s leading renegade writers. That fascinating era is memorialized in “Home at the End of the World,” a book lovingly curated by Rita Troxel.
Tempt Your Taste Buds at Small Florida Keys Eateries
Indigenous Florida Keys cuisine typically means fresh fish and seafood harvested from local waters, headlining nearly every restaurant menu. To tempt the taste buds, check out some small, off-the-grid and new-location eateries — including a Key Largo spot with “toes in the sand” sunset dining — that Keys locals favor for their flavors.
SMART Ride Cyclists Pedal to Paradise During Annual Fundraiser
Each year bicyclists navigate the entire Florida Keys island chain, along scenic Overseas Highway and Heritage Trail routes, during the 165-mile Miami to Key West trek known as the SMART Ride. Now in its 18th year, the event has raised an astounding $12.5 million for AIDS service organizations in Florida and the Keys.
Jordan Budnik: Steward of the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center
Jordan Budnik is the executive director of the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center in Tavernier, a nonprofit facility that takes in over 900 native birds in need of rehabilitation every year. Driven by a lifelong fascination with avian species, she’s passionate about advocating for wildlife and encouraging people to protect the environment.
What’s In a Name? In the Middle Keys, Plenty!
A popular Florida Keys boating and family destination, Marathon and the Middle Keys consist of small islands with names as colorful as their nightly sunsets. They include Boot, Knights, Hog, Vaca, Stirrup, Crawl and Little Crawl keys — plus Pigeon Key, East and West Sister’s Island, Deer, Fat Deer, Long Pine and Grassy keys.