Parking
Use the main day-use lot at about Mile Marker 67.5 on US 1; park admission is required. Restrooms and refill stations are by the lot.
Overview
About Golden Orb Nature Trail
Why go
- Several Florida Keys habitats packed into a low-effort loop.
- The tower and Atlantic-side ridge give the short walk distinct stops.
Heads up
- High-tide flooding can interrupt the loop.
Golden Orb Nature Trail is a 1.1-mile loop from Long Key State Park’s main parking area through hardwood hammock, mangroves, a low tidal barren and a narrow Atlantic-side ridge. Allow about an hour. It’s nearly flat, with sandy path, boardwalk and a few steps rather than a climb. I’d choose it for a short walk with a bigger range of scenery than the mileage suggests; the landscape changes with only a small rise or dip. The ocean edge is the payoff, but there’s more here than a quick look at the shore.
Parkwolf’s verdictAn easy loop worth taking slowlyMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Overseas Highway map
Full mapElevation-1–5 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Overseas Highway alerts
- CautionCoastal flooding across the Florida KeysA Coastal Flood Warning remains in effect for the Upper Keys and Coastal Flood Advisories remain in effect for the Middle and Lower Keys until 5 a.m.Official details
- CautionNighttime lane closures on Seven Mile BridgeExpect possible nighttime lane closures on Seven Mile Bridge for FDOT’s rehabilitation project to repair and strengthen the bridge.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Overseas Highway Tour Guide
Your drive to Golden Orb Nature Trail, narrated.
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 trailhead
Long Key: Picnic Shore and Golden Orb Trail0:00 / 0:35
“Long Key State Park's day-use area is coming up, with covered picnic tables beside a shallow shoreline. Choose it for a shady lunch break or a paddle in your own kayak.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Overseas Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Waterspout Starts Below
- Zane Grey’s Other Frontier
- A Fish That Breathes Air
- A County Seat Offshore
- 136 audio storiesacross Overseas Highway’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Crocodile, Alligator, Manatee, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 26 trails, 88 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Golden Orb Nature Trail
Start through the mangrovesFrom the main lot, follow the boardwalk past the restrooms and through mangroves.
From the main lot, follow the boardwalk past the restrooms and through mangroves. The observation tower opens a wide view across the mangrove canopy. At the stairway, pay attention: the boardwalk straight ahead goes toward the campground. Take the stairs down to the left to stay on Golden Orb. That’s the easiest place to lose the route. Once you’re back on sand, the trail alternates between shady trees and open scrub. There are only small rises, so save time for looking around rather than trying to make pace.
Walk the hurricane-built ridgeThe loop reaches a narrow sandy berm formed by storms, with lagoon-side mangroves on one side…
The loop reaches a narrow sandy berm formed by storms, with lagoon-side mangroves on one side and the Atlantic on the other. For a stretch, the water comes into view through clumps of mangrove, and little side paths lead down to natural shoreline. This is a quiet place to stop and look at the water, not a swimming beach. If you take a photo, frame the shallow shore through the mangroves; the trees show how this skinny ridge sits between the water and the interior wetland.
Let the low ground set the paceAway from the berm, the route crosses a flat, open salt pan where even a few inches of…
Away from the berm, the route crosses a flat, open salt pan where even a few inches of elevation change support a different mix of plants. Lower spots can hold puddles with the daily high tides. Look for small fiddler-crab holes; the park notes that males wave an enlarged claw during courtship. High water can also flood the path itself. If the low section is covered, don’t count on completing the loop; check with park staff before setting out after unusually high water.
The hammock and its namesakeThe higher, drier hammock supports tropical trees including gumbo limbo and poisonwood.
The higher, drier hammock supports tropical trees including gumbo limbo and poisonwood. White-crowned pigeons use this canopy and feed on poisonwood fruit, so look up through the leaves. Golden Orb is named for the golden silk orbweaver spider. The park says the spiders were numerous before Hurricane Irma struck in 2017 and have been rare and elusive since. The name is a piece of the trail’s story, not a promise that you’ll spot one.
Make the short stop easyUse the main day-use lot at about Mile Marker 67.5 on US 1; park admission is required.
Use the main day-use lot at about Mile Marker 67.5 on US 1; park admission is required. Restrooms and two refill stations are by the lot. Dogs are allowed on the trail on a hand-held leash no longer than six feet, but keep them off the beach and natural shoreline.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Overseas Highway
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.
