Key Colony Beach: Beaches, Water, and Island History

Key Colony Beach offers travelers several perspectives on a stay: a public beach, destinations for water activities, and an island history dating back to the 1950s. If you’re looking for hotels in Key Colony Beach, these features can help you organize your travel interests.

Beach and Shoreline

A 2020 state coastal management description identifies Sunset Beach as the city’s public beach on its western shoreline. Check current beach conditions locally. A 2020 state coastal plan also lists a 0.9-mile critically eroded beach segment in Key Colony Beach along the Florida Strait. The shoreline is stabilized by 15 limestone groins built in 1958. These details offer insight into the shape of the coast and how it is protected; beach conditions can change.

Key Colony Beach has direct access to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. For travelers interested in the surrounding waters, snorkeling and wreck diving are among the activities described. Sea conditions and arrangements with providers also play a role in planning a wreck visit.

Snorkeling and Wreck Diving

The Coffins Patch Sanctuary Preservation Area lies about four and a half miles offshore from Key Colony Beach and offers snorkeling opportunities in the Middle Keys area. Sea conditions and sanctuary regulations can change. So, before visiting, check local conditions and applicable rules.

The Rib Wreck lies about half a mile southwest of Key Colony Beach; its average depth is 14 feet. The Thunderbolt wreck lies four miles south of Marathon and Key Colony Beach at a depth of 120 feet. Access to both wreck diving sites depends on sea conditions and arrangements with providers. The different depths offer a concrete way to distinguish between the two wreck sites; actual conditions on the water are also part of the planning.

Activities and Events

Key Colony Beach’s 9-hole par-3 golf course is on 8th Street. Sunset Park is a peaceful place for wedding ceremonies overlooking the ocean. The two places offer different features: the golf course is described by its type and location, while the park is characterized as a waterside ceremony venue.

Key Colony Beach Day is the city’s birthday celebration and takes place in March. Since event dates can change, check the details for your travel dates. The Key Colony Beach Market is a seasonal market held on Tuesdays. Here, too, it’s a good idea to check the dates in advance.

Public viewing of boat parades is possible along the Sadowski Causeway. Viewing opportunities can vary by edition of the event guide. This note can be treated as a general option for event planning.

How Key Colony Beach Came to Be

Key Colony Beach developed from Shelter Key, which originally covered more than 97 acres. A dredging and filling project begun in the early 1950s transformed it into an island of nearly 400 acres. The figures show how the island changed: its original area and its later expansion mark two distinctly different stages in its development.

Individual events are also part of local history. The building now used as Key Colony Beach City Hall hosted the 1958 meeting of the Outdoor Writers of America Association, attended by about 800 writers. The Key Colony Beach Sailfish Tournament also began in 1958; about 60 sport anglers took part in its first edition. Local history also records that in 1957, 50 to 75 false killer whales stranded in the shallow waters of the bay near the present-day marina. Together, these dated events trace different aspects of the city’s past.

Discover more destinations: Summerland Key, Key West, Duck Key, Marathon, Stock Island, Tavernier, Little Torch Key, Layton.

For the broader travel overview: Monroe.