Florida Keys Host Swimmers For Alligator Lighthouse Challenge

The Alligator Lighthouse Challenge event, on Saturday, 14 September 2019, was created to raise awareness for the nearly 150-year-old Alligator Reef Lighthouse, as well as the five other aging lighthouses that sit off Florida’s Keys. Nearly 500 swimmers from around the world participated in the Swim for Alligator Lighthouse challenge off the Florida Keys on … Read more

Snorkeling (Not Just) For Wimps Part 2 – Islamorada Alligator Reef

Islamorada Alligator Reef – This was my second ever snorkeling trip and I feel that I have now just about advanced from ‘wimp’ status to ‘slightly nervous snorkeler clenching a noodle’. I smugly noticed that some people were more wimpy than me on this trip. It was satisfying to hear intermittent shrieking that definitely wasn’t my … Read more

Florida Keys Reef Lighthouses Getting Help

The Florida Keys Reef Lights Foundation has received permission from the Coast Guard to replace the zinc anodes on the Florida Keys Reef Lighthouses Carysfort, Alligator, Sombrero and American Shoal reef lights, according to foundation officials. Zinc anodes, which serve as a sacrificial metal, are used to preserve the iron legs of the lights, much … Read more

Florida Keys Lighthouses Endangered Historical Resources

The 6 Florida Keys Lighthouses are among the 11 “most endangered” historic sites in the state this year, says a statewide preservation group. This week, the nonprofit Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, meeting for its annual conference in Tallahassee, released its list of 2016’s most threatened historic resources. The lighthouses are on the list. Here’s what … Read more

Florida Keys History – Northwest Channel Lighthouse

1855: Northwest Channel Lighthouse was first lighted. This lighthouse was located eight miles (13 km) from Key West, Florida, at the entrance to the northwest channel to the Key West harbor. The first light was a lightship put on station in 1838. It is not known if the lightship survived the Great Havana Hurricane of 1846, which destroyed … Read more

Upper Florida Keys Suggestions For Your Bucket List

Do you know how many parks there are in the Upper Florida Keys? Me neither. Between the City Parks: Islamorada’s Founders Park and Anne’s Beach, Monroe County Parks: Harry Harris, Florida State Parks: John Pennekamp and Lignumvitae and the National Parks-Refuges-Sanctuaries: Everglades, Crocodile Lake and the all encompassing Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, you are … Read more

Fowey Rocks Lighthouse Endangered Historic Places

The Fowey Rocks Lighthouse in Biscayne National Park has been listed by the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the 11 most endangered historic sites in the state. The Fowey Rocks Lighthouse is included along with five other reef lighthouses in the Florida Keys. “A lighthouse that has kept mariners and their ships … Read more

New Exhibits Opening: Lighthouses of the Florida Reef

The first survey of the Florida Reef was performed by naturalist Louis Agassiz aboard the Coast Survey Schooner Petrel. Lieutenant James Totten of the U.S. Army accompanied the Coast Survey team when the initial study of the Florida Reef system was made in 1852. Lighthouses of the Florida Reef is being presented in partnership with … Read more