With 175 award-winning state parks, historic sites, and trails in Florida, it’s quite difficult to visit them all in one lifetime. While many visitors tend to stick to the bigger parks, like the 11 national parks in Florida, we have an underrated state park that is just as deserving as the others. Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, located down in the Florida Keys is filled with geological wonderment not to mention a ton of history.
Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park in Islamorada is one of the most fascinating geological wonders in the state.
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Consisting of Key Largo limestone, otherwise known as fossilized coral, this land was once owned by Henry Flagler!
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Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railroad wanted the stone in order to build the Overseas Railroad in the early 1900s.
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Once the railroad was complete, the quarry continued to be in use up until the 1960s. From the quarry, beautiful pieces of decorative stone were produced, called Keystone.
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Today, the quarry is no longer in use, as it has become a state park open to the public. Visitors can walk the eight-foot-tall quarry walls and see the beauty of the fossilized geology throughout.
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There are five self-guided trails here, each one short and sweet with much to see! There are even samples of the quarry machinery still up for visitors to enjoy.
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Immerse yourself in nature as well as geological wonderment when you visit Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park in the Florida Keys.
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Google Maps Click here to find out where Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park is in Florida.
Have you ever been to the Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park in Florida before? Share with us your experience in the comments section! Or if you’re looking for more information about visiting this underrated state park, then make sure to visit the Florida State Parks website.
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Click here to find out where Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park is in Florida.
Meanwhile, all that quarry walking likely got you hungry, right? Head on over to Lazy Days Islamorada for a cold drink and some fresh Florida Keys seafood.
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Address: Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, 84900 Overseas Hwy, Islamorada, FL 33036, USA
