Parking
The mapped start is on Niles Road. Refuge materials do not identify a dedicated lot or pullout for this trail, so verify legal parking before leaving your vehicle.
Overview
About Niles Trail
Why go
- A quick, gentle walk reaches a mangrove-edge water view.
Heads up
- It is a short corridor, with the return on the same path.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Overseas Highway map
Full mapElevation0–3 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 Niles 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 area
Deer Between Islands0:00 / 0:31
“Key deer can swim from one island to another. That helps explain how these small deer live across a scatter of islands in the Lower Keys, rather than on just one patch of land.”
Plays on the road 1.6 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Overseas Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Key West's Salt Harvest
- A Shell With a New Tenant
- Why Pine Woods Need Fire
- Lobsters in Single File
- 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 Niles Trail
A very short out-and-backNiles Trail is a gentle native-earth path from Niles Road to the edge of the water.
Niles Trail is a gentle native-earth path from Niles Road to the edge of the water. The mapped section is 0.15 mile one way; walk it back on the same track for about 0.30 mile total. Allow around 15 to 20 minutes. This is a quick nature stop, not a longer hike.
Follow it to the endThe trail runs north from Niles Road through a narrow mangrove fringe to its marked end.
The trail runs north from Niles Road through a narrow mangrove fringe to its marked end. A water view toward the Torch Keys is the payoff; then retrace the same path. The route is nearly flat, though the natural surface can feel rocky underfoot.
Make the stop workRefuge trails are open from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset.
Refuge trails are open from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset. Leashed dogs are allowed, but bicycles are not permitted on nature trails. Bring water and sun protection. Sections of refuge trails can flood in rainy season, and mosquitoes can be troublesome seasonally.
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.
