Key Deer Refuge and Bahia Honda State Park, Florida

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
1/22/2025	0.3	10 minutes	31'	2.0	18.9 miles
Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
1/22/2025	1.1	41 minutes	0'	1.5	20 miles
Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
1/22/2025	2.2	50 minutes	0'	2.6	22.2 miles

Parking: 

• Various places
  

Map:

• Provided at Key Deer Refuge

Directions:

• See map for nature trails.

It's getting windy and cold. In the morning it was hard to pack up our tents, because of the high winds. We left our campground and headed to the Key Deer Refuge. We stopped at the visitor center to get recommendations on where to see the Key deer and where to hike (i.e. which trails aren't flooded). Key deer are a short version of white-tailed deer.

We ended up seeing a few deer, but they were all in people's yards, not on the trails. First, we stopped at Blue Hole and did a very short nature walk. We saw a gator in a pond. It sounds like the Floriday Keys don't have many gators (more saltwater than fresh water). For our second walk, we drove a short way and hiked the Mannillo and Watson trails. Our third walk was on No Name Key, near the end of Watson Road.

We then drove to Bahia Honda State Park, which my neighbor Tomi recommended. We walked along the beaches there, but you really can't walk far. We did see a couple of manatees. It was quite cold and windy. I took a break from walking because of joint soreness and just sat on the beach. We thought about camping in the Everglades for the next few days, but I was feeling very chilled due to the winds. We ended up back at a motel in Homestead.

It was a really windy night. Dian's tent stakes came undone. Ack!

Blue Hole

Chickens are a common sight in the Keys

Key Deer

Coconuts

Nicker beans (Seek says Nickernut)

Manatee