Message from the Manager

The winter months in Florida are some of the most enjoyable found throughout the country. It is no wonder why visitors flock by the thousands to bask in the warm sunshine! Typically, weather conditions from December through March provide the ideal setting for a boat ride to Lignumvitae Key.

Come out and visit Lignumvitae Key during the fabulous winter season. The cooler weather and northeasterly breezes combine for making many spectacular days to take a walking tour of Lignumvitae Key. Patrons will join a ranger to walk through one of the last old growth tropical hardwood hammocks in the Florida Keys. After a hearty wet season this fall, the tropical hardwood hammock is lush with green.

This isolated location also provides the opportunity for photographers and bird-watchers to gain access to an elusive still shot of a favorite bird. Migratory and local bird populations can be seen taking advantage of the windbreak that the shoreline mangrove community provides. On calmer days, an ibis or heron may move into the yard to do a little foraging or hunting in the grasses. Whichever is your preference, don’t miss the wonderful winter weather of South Florida.

Pat Wells, Park Manager

The serenity and isolation of remote islands have always captured man's imagination. Lignumvitae Key is no exception. To step ashore here is to take a step back into the past. The Matheson House, built in 1919, has changed little over the years. A windmill supplied power; fresh water was provided from a cistern which filled by rain falling on the roof.

The virgin tropical forest that thrives here is typical of the kind of scenery that was once enjoyed on most of Florida's Upper Keys. As the Keys were developed to accommodate an increasing number of people, most of the unique vegetation was scraped away, making the tropical forest of Lignumvitae Key a very rare and special place. Here, you walk in the shade of trees with strange names like mastic, strangler fig, poisonwood, pigeon plum and gumbo-limbo.

Hours of Operation

Park is open Thursday-Monday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Driving Directions

Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park is located one mile west of U.S.1 at Mile Marker 78.5. Access is by private boat or charter boats at nearby marinas.

Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park P.O. Box 1052 Islamorada, Florida 33036 Phone: 305-664-2540 Fax: Contact Park for Number Park Manager: Patrick Wells