Florida Keys - Uninhabited Cays

[yankee28]

Hi all,

I was wondering if someone could recommend any uninhabited cays in Florida. Alternatively, is there a reliable way to find out which islands are private and which are not?

I was originally hoping to go to Bimini, but then we decided that it is too far away for the time we have and for the experience.

Basically, my main criteria are:

1. that it has to be either uninhabited or close to being so.. I have a dog and I really prefer to have her off leash

2. i will be starting off from а Key Biscayne, so I need something relatively close to this place. we will have our boat on a trailer, so it can be a different place, but close to Miami, since we will be driving from DC and we do not want to drive forever

3. white sand and green water is preferable

Forgot to mention we just got a new 23 foot boat, which has a swing keel, therefore we can go pretty much anywhere.


Thank you.

[yankee28]

uninhabited KEYS not CAYS

[Chief Engineer]

Nobody wants your dog off leash especially the wildlife.

[Surveyor]

Cayo Costa near Ft Myers is uninhabited but its a state park so the dog will need to be leashed unless its well behaved.

Other than that, all the spoil islands in the ICW are uninhabited, except a very few. Lots of UH'd islands in the keys but your gonna get your @ss ate up my mosquitos, noseums and biting flies.

[keyspc]

you should have been here yesterday. No really, what the sanctuary doesn’t own park service does.
Any reachable by stolen dinghy are inhabited by "Piralects" not misspelled, drunken bums that think their pirates!

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by yankee28

uninhabited KEYS not CAYS

Unless there is some local usage that is different that I'm unaware of, I had always been instructed that the terms were interchangeable.

This wiki is under the same delusion.

Cay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


American Heritage dictionary seems to think so also.

cay (k, k)
A small, low island composed largely of coral or sand. Also called key.

[tsampsel]

Tomato, tomato. Wait they're spelled the same. I'm just pronouncing it differently. Never mind...

[Chief Engineer]

If you are in America you are in the Keys

[Chief Engineer]

At least that what it says in my Conch Republic passport.

[capt_douglas]

I'd think any Keys oceanside are probably either state park or occupied. I know of a dozen or so Gulf side that are uninhabited at least during the week. The problem with cruising the Gulf close to the keys is the shallow water. There are also a few barrier islands on the eastern side of the Hawk Channel but they get real popular on the weekends.

[DaveOnCudjoe]

Your not going to find what you want here. What few sandy spots will be very shoal, the others will be mostly mangrove with little access. On top of that it's the Fl Keys National Marine Sanctuary with lots of rules. My only suggestion would be travel down the ICW to Key Largo, go under the new Jewfish Creek bridge and hang out in Fl Bay. Just look around, the off limit islands are posted. Get Waterproof Charts #33E. Dave

[Chief Engineer]

You are right....there are really few beaches.....and the mangrove keys aren't much more than mangroves.

And with the Pythons in the Northern Keys......I wouldn't let Spanky or Fluffy run around loose.

[capt_douglas]

It's not the Pythons that bother me - it's the Keys mosquitoes! Those suckers come out around sunset and unless you've got your shields raised, er, screens in, you'll be slap-happy long after they've feasted.

[yankee28]

Originally Posted by Surveyor

Cayo Costa near Ft Myers is uninhabited but its a state park so the dog will need to be leashed unless its well behaved.

Other than that, all the spoil islands in the ICW are uninhabited, except a very few. Lots of UH'd islands in the keys but your gonna get your @ss ate up my mosquito, noseums and biting flies.

thank you very much! I just checked it and it seems very close to the land

is it possible to use OFF or similar products to keep mosquito,noseums and biting flies away?

[yankee28]

Originally Posted by cal40john

Unless there is some local usage that is different that I'm unaware of, I had always been instructed that the terms were interchangeable.

This wiki is under the same delusion.

Cay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


American Heritage dictionary seems to think so also.

cay (k, k)
A small, low island composed largely of coral or sand. Also called key.

good to know