The Florida Keys have been turning heads since 1513, when Juan Ponce de León first charted them and named them Los Martires. Originally home to the Calusa and Tequesta peoples, the islands later took their relaxed name from the Spanish word cayo, meaning small island. Here are 11 facts to impress everyone at trivia night.
Tropical climate year-round: closer to the Bahamas than to mainland Florida, so warm winters, hot summers, and sunshine almost every day.
A highway over the ocean: the 113-mile Overseas Highway hops across 42 bridges — including the Seven Mile Bridge — built on the foundations of Henry Flagler's early-1900s railroad after a 1935 hurricane destroyed it.
Key West's wrecking boom: in the 1800s, salvaging cargo from shipwrecks made Key West one of the richest cities per capita in the U.S.
The Conch Republic's rebellion: in 1982, Key West "seceded" over a Border Patrol roadblock, "declared war," and surrendered a minute later — it still issues its own passports today.
Ernest Hemingway's hideaway: his Key West home is famous for its ~60 six-toed cats and the first in-ground pool on the island.
Pirate hideouts: legends like Black Caesar, Blackbeard, and Calico Jack once used the Keys as a base, until the Navy cleared them out by 1823.
Sunken ships turned reefs: wrecks like the USS Spiegel Grove off Key Largo were deliberately sunk to create thriving artificial reefs for divers.
Key lime pie is the official Florida state pie, made law in 2006.
The Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West is just 90 miles from Cuba — closer than Miami.
Key deer: a tiny white-tailed deer subspecies found only here, mostly on Big Pine Key.
Dry Tortugas National Park, 70 miles west of Key West, holds Fort Jefferson — built from over 16 million bricks and reachable only by boat or seaplane.
At Key Lime Sailing Club and Cottages you can embrace all of this firsthand — sail a free 22' sailboat, kayak the mangroves, or snorkel the reef, all included with your stay.