Sight · Overseas Highway
A brief stop for Islamorada’s fishing heritage.
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 area
Florida Keys History and Discovery Center“You're approaching the Florida Keys History and Discovery Center, tucked into the Islander Resort grounds in Islamorada. Choose this for local history, and allow about two hours for the exhibits and films.”
Plays on the road 0.1 mi from Southwinds Park 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
Southwinds Park is a 1.1-acre community park on Upper Matecumbe Key, with a paved memorial walkway about Islamorada’s fishing heritage. It’s a short break at Mile Marker 82.1 for the memorial pavers and a patch of green space; think small community park, not beach or destination trail.
The site was once the Southwinds Motel before becoming public parkland in 2004. A later renewal added memorial pavers and the fishing-heritage walkway as part of roughly $100,000 in improvements. That gives this little roadside stop a local story to follow rather than just another patch of lawn.
A wooden shade pergola sits beside the lawn under a canopy of trees, with native planting and an outdoor table nearby. Parking is provided. There are no public restrooms, and dogs are not permitted.
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
EasyWindley Trail0.3 mi · 18 min · 2.7 mi awayA short loop pairs mangrove roots with a walk through fossil reef.
EasyFlagler Quarry Trail0.2 mi · 20 min · 2.8 mi awayA short loop through fossil coral and railroad history.
EasyQuarry Station Trail0.1 mi · 12 min · 2.8 mi awayRailroad ruins tucked into a quarry of fossil coral.EasyQuarry Walls Walk0.2 mi · 20 min · 2.8 mi awayA tiny loop through fossil coral and old quarry walls.
EasyGreen Hammock Trail0.5 mi · 36 min · 2.8 mi awayAn old quarry hides inside this half-mile hammock loop.
EasyPlantation Hammock Preserve Loop0.5 mi · 24 min · 4.7 mi awayA shaded hammock loop reaches a bench overlooking Florida Bay.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayFlorida Keys History & Discovery CenterKeys history, reef tanks and films about the railroad and hurricane.
Restaurant · 0.3 mi awayLorelei Restaurant & Cabana BarA Florida Keys landmark for bayfront seafood and sunset views.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayFlorida Keys Memorial (Hurricane Monument)A short, sobering pause at the site of the Keys’ 1935 catastrophe.
Beach · 0.7 mi awayLibrary Beach ParkA tiny mangrove-creek beach for a quick wade or kayak launch.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayHistory of Diving MuseumOld helmets and underwater machines make diving history tangible.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayFlorida Keys Brewing CompanyA tasting flight and leafy beer garden make an easy Keys pause.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayGreen Turtle Hammock Nature PreserveA cottage, a hammock loop, and a kayak launch in one stop.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayTheater of the SeaA few hours of close-range shows, a lagoon beach, and railroad history.Parkwolf’s Overseas Highway ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
