Big Pine Key — Key Deer, the National Wildlife Refuge, and the Best Place to Slow Down

Big Pine Key Is Where the Keys Stop Feeling Like a Tourist Destination

Big Pine Key is the last major island on the Overseas Highway heading south toward Key West. Most visitors pass through without stopping. This is a mistake.

The Key deer is the reason to come here. It's a subspecies of white-tailed deer that lives only in the Lower Keys — mostly on Big Pine Key. They're small (80–120 lbs), habituated to humans, and frequently seen grazing along Key Deer Blvd at dawn and dusk. There are about 60–80 left — an endangered subspecies, which makes seeing one genuinely notable.

Bahia Honda State Park is on Big Pine Key's southern end and is the most consistently beautiful beach in the Lower Keys. The sand is white, the water is consistently clear, and the old Bahia Honda rail bridge makes for one of the most photographed spots in the Keys.

No Name Pub is the social center of Big Pine Key — a roadside bar and restaurant that looks like it's been there since the 1950s (it has), serves food that's better than it looks (it is), and hosts a genuinely local crowd.

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