Local Area Attractions Near Sugarloaf Key / Key West KOA Resort

Just a short drive to exciting Key West excursions, Sugarloaf Key/Key West KOA is a relaxing basecamp for experiencing everything the Keys offers. Don't want to drive? Hop the shuttle and you'll be enjoying the magic of the Florida Keys in no time!

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Key West Aquarium

Key West Aquarium

Get up close and personal with marine life at the Key West Aquarium. Cited by some as the most intriguing aquarium in the world, this is a must visit destination in the Keys, especially for families. Learn about all sea life in their many exhibits, including the popular shark exhibit, touch tanks, jellyfish exhibit, alligator exhibit and stingray bay.  Exhibits aren't just educational, they are interactive too. Take part in the museums many tours, activities or conservation lectures while visiting the museum and leave with a better understanding of the natural world surrounding Key West.

Key West Aquarium

1 Whitehead St

Key West, FL 33040

888-544-5927

Website

Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary

Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary

The underwater adventure at Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary is only a short boat ride away from the campground. The sanctuary contains more than 5-miles of well-developed coral and is home to a diverse fish population. Divers on the northern side can see parrots and surgeonfish while barracudas and and jacks swim on top the reef.  

Because this is a Sanctuary Preservation Area some activities are prohibited at Looe Key including harvesting, removing or possing any marine life, and anchoring on living or dead coral. Bait fishing is allowed with a permit.

35 East Quay Road

Key West, FL 33040

305-809-4700

Website

Dry Tortugas National Park and Ferry

Dry Tortugas National Park and Ferry

Located about 70 miles west of Key West is a cluster of islands that make up the dry Tortugas National Park. Situated inside Fort Jefferson (one of the largest coastal forts ever built), this park is famous for its bird and marine life and legends of pirates and gold. Enjoy a continental breakfast aboard the Yankee Freedom ferry or get outfitted with snorkeling gear aboard the Sunny Days catamaran. The 100-square mile park is mostly beautiful blue open water which makes it an ideal location to visit for both adventurers and history buffs.

Dry Tortugas National Park

40001 SR-9336

Homestead, FL 33034

305-242-7700

Mallory Square, Key West

Mallory Square, Key West

Visit the historic waterfront hub of Key West for nightly sunset celebrations or spend the day perusing shops, art galleries, the historic sculpture garden and the shipwreck museum. You'll be entertained with street jugglers, clowns, tightrope walkers and musicians. Find unique gifts and souvenirs from local artisans who set up shops in the square.

Mallory Square

400 Wall St

Key West, FL 33040

305-809-3700

Website

National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine, FL

National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine, FL

This 9,200-acre National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1957 to protect and preserve the Key deer and other wildlife in the Florida Keys. The natural area includes pine rockland forests, tropical hardwood hammocks, freshwater wetlands, salt marsh wetlands and mangrove forests. It is home to 23 endangered and threatened plant and animal species as well as 100s of others.

Key deer are endangered mammals unique to the Florida Keys. They are the smallest subspecies fo the North American white-tailed deer. They were listed endangered in 1967 after years of habit loss and poaching reduced their numbers to just a few dozen. Since the refuge has been established there has been a dramatic recovery of the species.

National Key Deer Refuge Nature Center

30587 Overseas Hwy

Big Pin, FL 33043

305-872-0774

Website

Southernmost Tip

Southernmost Tip

The Southernmost Tip of the keys and the U.S. is accessible to civilians at the corner of South Street and Whitehead Street. Say "cheese" for the camera while standing next to the monument against a backdrop of endless blue ocean. Cuba is 90 miles away and Miami is just over 120 miles away.

Southernmost Point of the Continental US

Whitehead St & South St

Key West, FL 33040

305-809-3700

Website

The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum

The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum

Take an educational tour of the house where Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote his novel A Farewell to Arms. Many of the museum's 60-plus cats are said to be descendants of Hemingway's six-toed cat; accordingly, about half of the felines have extra toes. Learn about the legends and facts surrounding one of America's most prolific authors.

The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum

907 Whitehead Street

Key West, FL 33040

305-294-1136

Website

Duval Street

Duval Street

Duval is the pulse of Key West, the heart of Old Town. With points of interest like The Butterfly and Nature Conservatory, along with its quaint shops and unique Caribbean/Victorian architecture, Duval Street offers a mixed bag of entertainment and touring attractions all within walking distance. For more adventure, grab a drink in a selection of hole-in-the-wall bars or scout for spirits in its many haunted establishments.

Mel Fisher's Maritime Heritage Museum

Mel Fisher's Maritime Heritage Museum

Visit the legacy museum funded by the world's greatest treasure hunter. The museum features interactive treasure hunt exhibits utilizing genuine artifacts as clues. From slave ships to sunken Spanish galleons' silver to Mel's own story, this nonprofit museum will keep the whole family engaged for hours.

Mel Fisher was an American treasure hunter who found teh 1622 wreck of Nuestra Senora de Atocha in the Florida waters. With this find and more, he was quickly recognized as one of the world's leaders in historic shipwreck and recovery.

As the only fully accredited museum in the Florida Keys, the museum not only serves as an educational attraction, but it is also a nationally recognized research and archeology institution.

Mel Fisher's Maritime Museum

200 Greene St

Key West, FL 33040

305-294-2633

Website

Conch Tour Train - Key West

Conch Tour Train - Key West

See the "best of Key West" which is just a few minutes drive south of Sugarloaf Key, aboard the Conch Train. This little Key West trolley tour has been pleasing passengers since 1958. Some of the sights it highlights are Mallory Square, the Harry S. Truman Little White House, Schooner Western Union and more. The 90-minute tour departs several times daily and is available for charter.

Conch Tour Train

108 Sea Grove

St. Augustine, FL 32080

888-916-8687

Website

Key West

Key West

Key West, located just a twenty minute drive south of Sugarloaf Key, is a historic destination with it's own distinct style. Explore a beehive of narrow streets, learn about its characters like James Audubon, Harry Truman and Ernest Hemingway, shop eclectic boutiques and stop for a lunch of conch chowder and key lime pie. Key West also boasts an unending calendar of events including frequent boat races, performances at Red Barn Theater, concerts at the Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center and a variety of festivals and fairs.

Harry S. Truman's Little White House

Harry S. Truman's Little White House

Visit Florida's only Presidential Museum. Originally constructed in 1890 as naval officers housing, this landmark has hosted some of histories most influential people including Thomas Edison, Edward Hayden and six American Presidents. However, in the winters of 1946 through 1952, President Harry S. Truman found refuge here amidst the rebuilding of Europe, Civil Rights issues and responses to the Cold War. 

Visitors to the museum will learn more about our nations 33rd President; the many challenges he faced and the impact he had on our nation.

111 Front St

Key West, FL 33040

305-294-9911

Website

Guided Trips and Tours

Guided Trips and Tours

Our friendly front desk staff can help you book site seeing tours, snorkeling adventures, boat excursions or other local experiences you'll never forget. Let us help you complete your vacation and make the most of the Florida Keys.

Marathon Key

Marathon Key

Marathon is the commercial and sportfishing center of the Middle Keys, and charters are easily arranged from here for deep-sea, reef, and flats fishing. Tourists also enjoy the numerous water sports available, including paddleboarding, kayaking, and jet skiing, not to mention the excellent beaches and waterfront restaurants.  
Marathon is home to top Florida Keys attractions, like the Turtle Hospital, the Dolphin Research Center, and Aquarium Encounters.
Marathon is the starting point if you want to walk along the former seven-mile bridge. This stretch of bridge was left in place, and the walkway is open to walkers, joggers, and cyclists for free.

Bahia Honda State Park

Bahia Honda State Park

Featuring an award winning beach and historic bridge, Bahia Honda State Park at mile marker 37 in the Florida Keys has become a favorite destination for visitors to our island paradise. The park, encompassing over 500 acres and an offshore island offers some of the best snorkeling and beachcombing in Florida. The perfect and quiet getaway for the entire family.

36850 Overseas Highway

MM 37

Big Pine Key, FL 33043

305-872-3210

Website

Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory

Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory

The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory provides you with the unique opportunity to wander the glass-enclosed conservatory where nearly 60 species of butterflies soar freely among the plant-filled habitat. In addition to the butterflies, more than 20 species of exotic birds are also kept here.

1316 Duval St

Key West, FL 33040

305-296-2988

Website

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

A true one-of-a-kind experience, visiting Fort Taylor not only provides a magnificent natural setting to bird-watch or swim but also to immerse yourself in history.On the southern edge of Key West, Fort Taylor predates the Civil War and is a National Historic Monument housing the largest cache of Civil War armament in the world. Beyond its historical importance, the park is the southernmost state park in the continental United States.Walk the red-brick corridors of Fort Zachary Taylor, past cannon and gun ports, and history becomes more real than books and photos can depict. One better grasps how soldiers lived as they defended the nation's southeastern coastline.

301 Howard England Way

Key West, FL 33040

305-292-6713

Website

Key West Shipwreck Museum

Key West Shipwreck Museum

Wreck Ashore! With these words, enter the world of 1856 Key West… the era of the wreckers. At the Key West Shipwreck Museum you will step back into time as you discover Key West's unique maritime heritage and how it became the richest city in the United States.The KEY WEST MUSEUM combines actors, films and the actual artifacts from the 1985 rediscovery of the wrecked vessel Isaac Allerton, which sank in 1856 on the treacherous Florida Keys reef.

1 Whitehead Street

Key West, FL 33040

305-296-1617

Website

Key West Lighthouse Museum

Key West Lighthouse Museum

If you're up for a climb, you'll be rewarded with stunning views of Key West and the ocean. The Key West Lighthouse was built in 1825 to help the many ships entering the port avoid the hazardous reefs. Today, you can climb the 88 iron steps to the top of the tower for a scenic look at what the lighthouse keepers watched over for more than 120 years. Tour the grounds to see the Keeper's Quarters which have been restored to their original charm and view the displays of nautical artifacts, antique furnishings, maps and vintage photos. The Lighthouse Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places.

938 Whitehead St

Key West, FL 33040

305-294-0012

Website