Key West Map

Map of Key West

Starting at the lower left corner of the island, you see:

1. Fort Zachary Taylor and the Naval Reservation. We’ll start there and begin working clockwise around the island. The Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center is located in the area where you see the words “U.S. Naval” located on the map. There are also some Navy vessels on display moored to the seawall;

2. Just north of the Naval Reservation is a large basin. The outer seawall of the basin that is used as cruise ship docks; the basin itself is too small for cruise ships, but there is a marina there. That marina is not popular at all because it is too open to the seas and to the wakes of large vessels, and the seawalls and docks are too commercial;

3. The Truman Annex neighborhood and The Little White House is located in the long rectangle (would be a rectangle but for the one angled end to the northeast) of streets that boarder the south end of that big basin;

4. The Custom House as indicated;

5. A small area of seawall that juts out into the sea north of the Custom House and south of the Aquarium; this is where the Crazy Cat Man does his sunset circus act with trained housecats;

6. The Aquarium and several small malls with trinket and seashell shops for the tourists;

7. Just above the Aquarium is Mallory Square, the small green patch bordered by the Aquarium, Wall Street and the annotation “Chamber of Commerce”; when the cruise ship dock/seawall to the south is full with two ships, then a third might just be docked at Mallory Square and this can interfere with the sunset celebrations;

8. Mallory Square does not look directly west. As you can see, it faces slightly north of west. As such, the setting sun is visible all the way to the horizon from Mallory Square (or anywhere along the promenade that runs from the Truman Annex all the way to Mallory Square;

9. The islands to the northwest are as follows: 1) Wisteria Island is now re-named Sunset Key and it is a super exclusive, MEGA expensive residential island now. There is a ferry that runs from the basin to the island, and you can go have lunch there and wonder what it would be like to have enough millions to buy a mansion on one of the most exclusive islands imaginable and then try and insure it against hurricanes; and 2) Christmas Tree Island, which is not named on the map. It remains an undeveloped, low lying, scrub tree island.

10. Back on shore, directly to the west of Mallory Square is the Key West Bight. It is THE premier marina and recreational boating area. It is beautifully protected and all things nautical happen from the Bight: fishing charters, sunset sails on all sorts of vessels including authentic wooden schooners, ferries to the offshore Dry Tortuga National Park, ferries to Fort Myers, Scuba diving, the Annual Sailing Regatta, and all sorts of action is going on. And of course, the perimeter of the Bight is lined with famous watering holes like the Schooner Bar and famous restaurants like the A&B Lobster House and Turtle Krawls;

11. Following the shore northeast of the Bight, you see three fingers pointing west northwest. That area is the US Coast Guard base and there are BIG vessels like Cutters, sometimes even a submarine, and all sorts of military action going on. As you can see the, larger annotation for the whole adjacent area to the south east is “US Naval Air Station Annex” and in fact all of the areas above Whiting Ave and Palm Ave are restricted Navy Base areas, including the entirety of Fleming Key which is, among other things a HUGE ammunitions reserve;

12. The waters surrounding Fleming Key;

A. The West Side: is controversial because locals who used to be, or maybe never were, cruisers like to anchor off the west side of the island and get in close. The NAVY does not like that and considers it a security risk. The area is a very poor anchorage anyway. For one thing, the bottom has a lot of turtle grass and anchors do not hold well. Many locals have made moorings, and sometimes you can rent one if you get to know the locals. But, because this area is totally exposed to the north and east, the little indentations provide little real cover from the fierce cold fronts that blow hard from the northwest all winter. And the current RIPS through the area between Fleming Key and Sunset Key and reverses with the tide, challenging anchoring conditions even more so. There was a rift heating up between the NAVY and local boaters during our stay. There is ONLY ONE reason anyone in their right mind would anchor/moor there anyway: location, location, location: it is one of the few places you can anchor within a short dinghy ride to the Bight;

B. The East Side: this is where we stayed and it can only be reached by following a channel up the west side and around the top of Fleming Key and then down the East side where the shallows give way to a larger navigable area. It is here that the City of Key West installed 250 moorings . . . a GIANT mooring field that is totally exposed to the north and can be ROUGH. And that also means long dingy rides in rough conditions. It is called the Garrison Bight Mooring Field, but it is NOT in the Garrison Bight (that you see on the main island and below Trumbo Point). In fact, there is no clear view of the Garrison Bight Mooring field from any public property. The northern border of the actual Garrison Bight is all NAVY base. As you might imagine, the mooring to the very lower left corner were the most sought after because they make for a shorter dinghy ride and are the most protected from north and northwest winds in cold fronts. To get to land from your boat you get in the dinghy and; 1) go east and under the bridge to Fleming Key (not tall enough for any sailboats . . . just fishing boats can pass) and go all the way around the USCG base and into the Bight and pay $5 to tie up at a marina dinghy dock; or 2) go south into the Garrison Bight and to the dinghy dock all the way to the southwestern corner of the bight and on Palm Ave, or go under the Palm Ave, bridge and into the “yacht basin” and to a dinghy dock at the far eastern corner where the Marina/Mooring Filed Office is also located. This dinghy dock fee is included in the mooring rent, but it puts you nowhere . . . it’s a long walk to Duval Street, Mallory Square, the Key West Bight and the touristy areas, and also a LONG walk east to the modern areas of Key West like the supermarket, Home Depot and Walgreens. The bottom line: Key West is a very inconvenient place to access by dinghy. We did some LONG WALKS for months, sometimes as “pack mules” with tons of groceries etc. and in many ways Key West is a bitch to visit on the boat. Nonetheless, we loved it and it was worth the trouble.

Many of the boats in Key West (and in the Mooring Field) are totally BUM BOATS that have no masts, are is terrible disrepair and are used as cheap housing for those who work low paying jobs in Key West. Some are just homeless people on derelict boats. In fact, I would say that derelict boats and homeless people in general are a significant part of the fabric of Key West. NOT depicted on the map are some small keys just north of the cut in to the Garrison Bight . . . these little islands are not developed, but homeless folks bums have set up shop and have tent camps and such on them. It’s the homeless folks version of Sunset Key. It seems there really is room for everyone in Key West;

13. Garrison Bight: this bay has a LOT of skinny water. There are some docks to the south east of the Bight where it says Yacht Basin. And the south shore east of the Palm Ave bridge has huge houseboats (camps on barges);

14. The inner yacht basin at Garrison Bight: this is where much of the offshore charter fishing fleet had set up shop. There are about 20 large sportfishing boats backed in stern-to Palm Ave on the seawall and as you walk by, they “hawk you” with “wanna catch a big fish today?” or “the Mahi Mahi are tearing it up out there today . . .”;

15. Continuing along clockwise, there is a large island accessed by Byrd Road and it is all restricted NAVY base;

16. Moving along to the area where you see a number “5” on the street, this is the “modern” area of Key West: shopping centers, PUBLIX, Walgreens, Searstown, Outback, Big John’s Pizza, Cinema, Home Depot, Radio Shack, doctors’ and professional offices, etc.;

17. The bridge to Stock Island: this is the only way onto and off of Key West by land. This is significant when hurricane season arrives;

18. Stock Island: this island is a mix of commercial fishing and resort communities and marinas . . . just one little bridge and one little Key away and ALL of the charm of Key West is gone. Stock Island is just another Florida Key in its character (or lack thereof). I have always found all the Keys (except Key West) to be of little real interest themselves and with very little to offer except the emerald water surrounding them. History agrees. Everything of true moment historically happened on Key West;

19. South of the bridge to Stock Island is Cow Key Channel. Shallow but very well protected from the north and from cold fronts, this used to be called houseboat row and was a huge shanty town of terribly unsightly houseboats. It has been significantly cleaned up nowadays;

20. At the southeast corner of Key West, just past the Salt Pond and directly inland of the street, is an old fort that is not depicted on the map;

21. The airport where commercial flights come and go (all small puddle-jumper turbo props like American Advantage) and also where you can take a ride in the venerable old Orange Bi-plane that has room for two up front and the pilot in the back. Also, a local pilot maintains a very small and fast stunt plane here, and he sometimes shows up over Mallory Square and puts on a free show of amazing aerial stunts . . . just for the fun of it;

22. Along the southern shore, there are some beaches, but none natural. Sand has been pumped in. Key West is coral, not sand. And the shores off the south are situated on what is known as Hawk Channel, not the Sea. There is actually an offshore reef that separates Key West from the deep blue sea. Unfortunately, what this means is that the beaches are second rate at best. The shallows run for a long way. There is no surf and the water is not very clear as the bottom is covered with grass and weeds. That did not stop development, however. There are resorts and mansions on the shore, but there are no marinas, the area is too shallow for any recreational boating, and it is not the most popular area of Key West;

23. At Monroe Beach there is the stunning Casa Marina Hotel built by the Railroad Barron Flagler. The resort has extensive grounds and swimming pools and offers a fabulous Christmas Buffet Dinner that Melissa and I have enjoyed in several different years . . . as fly-in tourists and now as folks passing through on a yacht;

24. City beach at the corner of South Street and Whitehead Street is also where the famous Southernmost Point marker is located; and,

25. Finally, Duval Street runs from near Mallory Square all the way across the island to South Street, just one block east of the Southernmost Point marker. Duval to the north hosts famous bars like Hemmingway’s favorite Sloppy Joe’s and The Bull. You'll also find restaurants and other tourist attractions like Ripley’s Believe it or Not and Hard Rock Café. And then midway down Duval it’s Gay! In the center of the island on Duval St. clubs like “Q” and all make guest houses and such are open for business. Toward the south end of Duval the art shops take over and also, further south you can visit the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory, just one block up from South Street.