City Profile: Big Pine Key

By VISIT FLORIDA staff
Published: February 26, 2008
Last Updated On: January 16, 2012

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Florida Keys

Big Pine Key

Big Pine Key is home to wildlife that live nowhere else in the world (such as the Key Deer).

Named for its extensive pine forests, Big Pine Key was the homestead site of Key Westers of Bahamian descent, known as "Conchs," in the 1890s. This key is now the gateway to the Lower Keys, an unspoiled tropical wilderness of more than 100 tiny mangrove islands.

The area is a Mecca for nature lovers and bird watchers as well as boaters and fishermen. A wide variety of fish roam the shallows and the deep blue waters of the Gulf Stream. Nature trails wind through the pinewoods and exotic tropical foliage. Deserted beaches and shell-collector shallows rim the Gulf side. Dive boats, charter fishing boats, sailboats, kayaks and canoes will take you on the adventure of your choice. The historic sites, shops and nightspots of Key West and Marathon are only a half-hour's drive away.

Nearby Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary protects the most biologically diverse and aesthetically beautiful reef in the entire chain.

The National Key Deer Refuge encompasses most of the island. A unique species, tiny Key deer are a sub-species of the white-tail deer and stand only about 30 inches high. Big Pine Key is also home to Coupon Bight State Aquatic Preserve and the National Great White Heron Refuge. Nearby Looe Key Reef, part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, protects one of the most biologically diverse and aesthetically beautiful reefs in the entire chain. Three-quarters of a mile of spur and groove coral formations can be observed from two to 40 feet. Looe Key Reef is situated approximately six miles south of Big Pine Key and is the staging area of the annual Underwater Music Festival, a quirky concert that attracts several hundred divers and snorkelers to enjoy the sounds of music in the Keys' ocean realm. Besides its quirky and fun appeal, the event promotes a message of reef preservation and awareness among divers.

The excellent water clarity and moderate sea conditions at Looe Key permit its features and inhabitants to be easily observed from the surface. The wide range of depth also makes the reef accessible to the beginning swimmer and the experienced diver. Brightly colored fish can be seen swimming among the branching elkhorn and staghorn corals, huge brain corals as well as the delicate sea fans and sea wips. A diver's dreamland and an unspoiled natural paradise, the Lower Keys is a tropical setting where you can take the time to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings.