Key West Archives

Visiting Higgs Beach, Key West: Practical guide with hours, prices & tips

Higgs Beach, officially Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach Park, is a 16.5-acre county-owned beach park at the end of Reynolds Street in Key West, Florida. This guide covers hours, parking, accessibility, and practical visitor tips for planning your trip. This guide was last updated in…

Visiting Smathers Beach, Key West: Practical guide with hours, prices & tips

Smathers Beach is the largest public beach in Key West, Florida, running along South Roosevelt Boulevard on the island's south side. This guide covers hours, parking, accessibility, and practical visitor tips for planning your trip. This guide was last updated in August 2026. Metered parking…

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park Beach in Key West, Florida.

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park: Key West’s best beach – plan your trip

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park is a 54-acre state park and National Historic Landmark located at the southern tip of Key West, Florida. This 2026 visitor guide covers opening hours, admission fees, transport or parking, accessibility, and practical visitor tips. This guide was verified…

The Key West Lighthouse in Key West, Florida.

Key West Lighthouse: Plan your visit with ticket prices, hours and must-know tips

The Key West Lighthouse & Keeper's Quarters is a historic 19th-century maritime navigational tower and museum located in Old Town Key West, Florida. This 2026 visitor guide covers opening hours, ticket prices, transport or parking, accessibility, and practical visitor tips. This guide was updated in…

Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, Key West: Visitor guide with ticket prices, hours and must-know tips

The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum is a nationally recognised facility in Key West, Florida, dedicated to marine archaeology and the legendary shipwreck discoveries of its founder. This guide covers opening hours, ticket prices, transport or parking, accessibility, and practical visitor tips. To skip the detail…

The obligatory Key West sunset photo taken from Mallory Square.

How to spend three days in Key West, Florida

A three day trip to Key West in can involve a turtle hospital, the Mallory Square sunset, President Truman’s Florida hideaway and the enormous Fort Jefferson. Day One: Glass-bottomed boat, kayaking and sunset With Key West, much of the fun is in getting there. The…

Plan your visit to Key West Aquarium: Ticket prices, hours, parking & tips

Key West Aquarium is America's first open-air aquarium (opened 1935) featuring over 250 specimens of Florida Keys marine life including sharks, sea turtles, stingrays and tropical fish, located in Mallory Square, Key West, Florida. This guide covers opening hours, admission prices, parking, accessibility and practical…

Key West kayaking tours: Guide to exploring the mangroves (with prices)

Explore the Key West backcountry on a two-hour kayak eco-tour. Paddle the mangrove tunnels and seek out tropical fish, sea stars, and manatees. About the Lazy Dog kayak eco-tour: History and context This guided adventure focuses on the delicate ecosystem of the Key West backcountry.…

Hemingway Home, Key West: Ticket prices, opening hours & visitor guide

Explore the stunning home and tropical gardens where Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote for over a decade. Meet the famous six-toed cats at this unique National Historic Landmark. This guide was updated in March 2026 to confirm current pricing and hours. Other guides may be…

The Truman Little White House in Key West, Florida.

The Truman Little White House, Key West: Inside the presidential retreat

Discover the fascinating story of President Harry Truman's Key West hideaway, where the 33rd president made history-changing decisions while wearing tropical shirts and playing poker. From atomic bomb decisions to NATO's foundation, explore how this humble Florida Keys retreat became America's "Little White House." The…