Sight · Overseas Highway
Look for a salt-sprayed Casuarina growing out of the old bridge.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Overseas Highway Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Overseas Highway. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Overseas Highway audio tourRecorded for this place
Fred the Tree: A Passing Landmark“Coming up alongside the modern Seven Mile Bridge is Fred the Tree, an Australian pine growing through the old span's roadbed. It survived Hurricane Irma in twenty seventeen and became a local symbol of resilience.”
Plays as you drive up to Fred the Tree in the Parkwolf Overseas Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Fred is a salt-sprayed Casuarina, often called an Australian pine, growing through the roadbed of the Old Seven Mile Bridge beside modern US 1. Look toward the old span as you cross the modern Seven Mile Bridge, around mile markers 41 to 42. No safe place to pull over was verified, and the section beyond Pigeon Key where Fred stands is inaccessible; don't stop on the highway shoulder or try to walk out to him.
People in the Keys have made Fred a beloved roadside character. Volunteers decorate the tree around the holidays with donated buoys and lights, including a solar-powered menorah. Fred remained standing after Hurricane Irma's 2017 storm surge and powerful winds, which helped make his resilience part of the story. Local caretakers say the name spells out "For Real Enjoyment Driving," a bit of local lore rather than a documented naming record.
The old bridge was built for the Florida East Coast Railway's final extension to Key West, completed in 1912. The Labor Day hurricane of 1935 ended railway service after 23 years, and sections of the railroad route were later reused for the Overseas Highway. Fred grows out of that reused roadbed, turning a remnant of Flagler's ambitious rail link into an unexpected living landmark.
Wildlife
18 sightingsCrocodileMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
255 sightingsAlligatorMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
55 sightingsManateeMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
70 sightingsCommon Bottlenose DolphinMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
51 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
1,120 sightingsKey DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Overseas Highway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasySilver Palm Nature Trail0.1 mi · 10 min · 4 mi awayA quick detour for the silver-backed palm fronds
EasyOld Seven Mile Bridge4.4 mi · 2.5 hr · 4.9 mi awayWalk the old rail bridge over open water to Pigeon Key.
Beach · 2 mi awayLittle Duck Key Veterans’ Memorial BeachWalk far into shallow water with Seven Mile Bridge in view.
Sight · 3 mi awayPigeon KeyA rail village and museum tucked beneath the old Seven Mile Bridge.
Campground · 3.1 mi awaySunshine Key RV Resort and MarinaAn island RV stay with waterfront sites, a pool, and activities.
Beach · 3.9 mi awaySandspur BeachA 1992 best-beach pick with Atlantic sand and parking beside the shore.
Campground · 4.5 mi awaySandspur CampgroundA small, beachside campground for tents and short rigs.
Campground · 4.9 mi awayBayside CampgroundEight bayside sites have water and grills, but no electricity.
Sight · 5 mi awayOld Seven Mile BridgeAn exposed 2.2-mile walk above the water to Pigeon Key.
Lodging · 5 mi awayBahia Honda Bayside CabinsRaised duplexes make this a bay-side stay inside the park.Parkwolf’s Overseas Highway ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
