Indian Key is closed for its dock rebuild: what Islamorada paddlers can do instead

Indian Key is the 11-acre island state park about a half-mile offshore that paddlers reach across the seagrass flats. Since April 2026 it has been off limits. We read the Florida State Parks Indian Key park page on October 21, 2026, and the closure notice was still posted. This page sets out what the state says, what it has not said, and the nearby parks that are open.

What Florida State Parks says

The notice is short. Florida State Parks says that effective April 2026, Indian Key Historic State Park is completely closed to the public while contractors rebuild the park’s dock, and that the project is slated to take up to six months. It names a month, not a day, and it gives no end date. Florida State Parks also says the island is reached by boat, and the notice covers the whole park, not just the dock.

• Florida State Parks posts: "Effective April 2026: Indian Key Historic State Park is completely closed to the public while contractors rebuild the Park's dock. The project is slated to take up to six months." Florida State Parks: Indian Key Historic State Park
• Florida State Parks says Indian Key is accessible only by boat, about a half-mile offshore, and that one of the best ways to reach the 11-acre island is paddling over the seagrass flats. Florida State Parks: Indian Key Historic State Park

Counted from April, six months runs into October 2026, the month we checked. On Wednesday, October 21, 2026 the park page still showed the closure and no reopening date. Our research log marks the reopening as not confirmed until the state posts a date, and we will not guess one. If you are planning a trip, read the park page the week you go.

• Florida State Parks said in April 2026 that Indian Key would be fully closed for up to six months while its dock is rebuilt; no reopening date was posted when we checked on October 21, 2026. Florida State Parks: Indian Key Historic State Park

For when it does reopen, the park’s page keeps its usual terms: 8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days a year, and a $2.50 per person fee paid in cash at the iron ranger near the kayak launch or online. Florida State Parks lists kayak rentals for the island from Robbie’s Marina (305-664-4878) and Backcountry Cowboys (305-517-4177). None of that applies while the closure stands.

• Florida State Parks lists Indian Key hours as 8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days a year, and a $2.50 per person fee paid in cash at the iron ranger near the kayak launch or online. Florida State Parks: Indian Key Historic State Park
• Florida State Parks lists kayak rentals for Indian Key from Robbie's Marina (305-664-4878) and Backcountry Cowboys (305-517-4177). Florida State Parks: Indian Key Historic State Park

Why the island matters

Florida State Parks says Jacob Housman bought Indian Key in 1831 and in 1836 had it made the first county seat of Dade County. In 1840 Indians attacked the island, destroying all but one building and killing Dr. Henry Perrine. What is left today is stone foundations. Our Indian Key and Lignumvitae page and the history page carry the longer story.

• Florida State Parks says Jacob Housman bought Indian Key in 1831 and in 1836 had it made the first county seat of Dade County. Florida State Parks: Indian Key Historic State Park, History
• Florida State Parks says Indians attacked the island in 1840, destroying all but one building and killing Dr. Henry Perrine; today only stone foundations remain. Florida State Parks: Indian Key Historic State Park, History

Lignumvitae Key: the other island park

Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park is the other island park in these waters, and it is open. Florida State Parks says you reach it by boat or kayak; the listed address is 77200 Overseas Highway. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Monday, and it is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The visitor fee is $2.50 per person, plus a $2 per person tour fee.

• Florida State Parks says Lignumvitae Key is accessible by boat or kayak only; the listed address is 77200 Overseas Highway, Islamorada FL 33036. Florida State Parks: Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park
• Florida State Parks says Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Monday, and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Florida State Parks: Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park, Hours & Fees
• Lignumvitae Key charges a $2.50 per person visitor fee and a $2 per person tour fee. Florida State Parks: Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park, Hours & Fees

Getting there without your own boat

Florida State Parks says Florida Keys Boat Rentals at Robbie’s Marina runs a ferry to the island on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 1 to 4 p.m., 305-664-5533. Robbie’s lists itself at 77522 Overseas Hwy, MM 77.5 bayside. The next ferry days after we checked are Friday, October 23, Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25, 2026. The park also says both of its listed kayak providers rent kayaks for the Lignumvitae waters, not for the Key itself, so ask before you book whether a landing is part of the plan.

• Florida State Parks says Florida Keys Boat Rentals at Robbie's Marina runs a ferry to Lignumvitae Key on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 1 to 4 p.m., 305-664-5533. Florida State Parks: Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park
• Robbie's of Islamorada lists its address as 77522 Overseas Hwy, Islamorada, FL 33036, at Mile Marker 77.5 bayside. Robbie's of Islamorada: home page
• Florida State Parks says both listed kayak providers currently rent kayaks for the Lignumvitae waters only, not for the Key itself. Florida State Parks: Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park

Tours: call before you go

The park gives two answers on tours. Its Hours and Fees page lists ranger-led tours at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Friday through Sunday, with the Matheson House open during tours, while its main page says ranger-guided tours are unavailable and offers a self-guided tour brochure. We mark tours as not confirmed; call 305-664-2540. Florida State Parks says William J. Matheson, a Miami chemist, bought the island in 1919 and built a caretaker’s home with a windmill and cistern that is now the visitor center.

• Florida State Parks gives two different answers on Lignumvitae Key tours: the Hours & Fees page lists ranger-led tours Friday to Sunday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., while the main page says ranger-guided tours are currently unavailable. Call 305-664-2540 before you go. Florida State Parks: Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park
• Florida State Parks says William J. Matheson, a Miami chemist, bought the island in 1919 and built a caretaker's home with a windmill and cistern; it is now the visitor center. Florida State Parks: Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park

Windley Key: a state park you can drive to

Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park is at 84900 Overseas Highway, MM 84.9, phone 305-664-2540. It is open the same days as Lignumvitae, Thursday through Monday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is $2.50 per person. Florida State Parks says the limestone here was sold to build Flagler’s Overseas Railroad and the quarry produced decorative Keystone until the 1960s. You walk along 8-foot-high quarry walls on five short self-guided trails, 1.2 miles in all. Its two pages disagree on whether ranger tours run all year, which we also mark as not confirmed.

• Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park is at 84900 Overseas Highway, Islamorada FL 33036 (Mile Marker 84.9), phone 305-664-2540. Florida State Parks: Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park
• Florida State Parks says Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Monday, and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Florida State Parks: Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, Hours & Fees
• Admission to Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park is $2.50 per person. Florida State Parks: Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, Hours & Fees
• Florida State Parks says the Key Largo limestone here was sold to the Florida East Coast Railroad to build Flagler's Overseas Railroad, and the quarry produced decorative Keystone until the 1960s. Visitors walk along 8-foot-high quarry walls. Florida State Parks: Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park
• Florida State Parks says Windley Key has five short self-guided trails, 1.2 miles in all, plus a visitor center and picnic tables. Florida State Parks: Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park
• Windley Key's main page says ranger tours run December through April, while its Hours & Fees page lists tours Friday to Sunday without a season. We could not confirm whether tours run year-round. Florida State Parks: Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park

The Overseas Heritage Trail

For a ride or a walk instead of a paddle, Florida State Parks says the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail has more than 90 miles of paved trail along a planned 106-mile corridor, with no fee, open 8 a.m. to sunset. It calls the stretch from MM 106 in Key Largo through MM 72 at Islamorada the longest continuous paved section, and says the trail uses 23 historic Flagler Railroad bridges.

• Florida State Parks says the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail has more than 90 miles of paved trail along a planned 106-mile corridor from Key Largo to Key West, with no fee, open 8 a.m. to sunset. Florida State Parks: Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail
• Florida State Parks says the longest continuous paved section of the trail runs from MM 106 in Key Largo through MM 72 at Islamorada. Florida State Parks: Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail
• Florida State Parks says the trail incorporates 23 historic Flagler Railroad bridges and parallels U.S. Highway 1, a National Scenic Highway and All-American Road. Florida State Parks: Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail

A dive site beside Indian Key

If you have a boat, San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve State Park is open 8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days a year, with no fee. The wreck lies in 18 feet of water about 1.25 nautical miles south of Indian Key, and Florida State Parks asks visitors to tie up to the mooring buoys to prevent anchor damage. Our guide to the 2027 anchoring rules covers the reefs farther out.

• The San Pedro lies in 18 feet of water about 1.25 nautical miles south of Indian Key, at 24 degrees 51.802 N, 80 degrees 40.795 W. Florida State Parks: San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve State Park
• San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve State Park is open 8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days a year, with no fee. Florida State Parks: San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve State Park
• Florida State Parks asks visitors to tie up to the mooring buoys at the San Pedro site to prevent anchor damage; its manager's message mentions five mooring buoys. Florida State Parks: San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve State Park

Plan the day

Lignumvitae and Windley Key both close on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so a Thursday to Monday visit covers both, and a Friday to Sunday visit adds the ferry. The day planner puts stops in mile-marker order, the shore-access finder lists public launches by activity, and our beaches and parks page covers the Village parks.

Indian Key and state park questions

Written by the Islamorada Guide Editorial Team. Some content may be AI-generated. People check every fact before it publishes.

Dates, rules and hours can change. The organisers have the final word: Village of Islamorada (official site)