Florida: Everglades & The Keys

DAY 1: We meet in Miami - the heart of southern Florida. We’ll have our rental bike fitting at 1:00pm, an orientation at 2:00pm and then get on our bikes for a wonderful ride down Key Biscayne. The bike path will take us to the Cape Florida Lighthouse at the tip of the island. The area was once a secret meeting place and port for runaway slaves and is now designated a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site. Take a dip in the ocean on your way back if you’d like. Then we’ll have our first dinner together. 17 miles.

DAY 2: After an early breakfast, we’ll shuttle to Shark Valley in Everglades National Park. We will cycle on the tram trail through the heart of this dynamic landscape that supports a greater variety of plant and animal species than anywhere else in the world. Climb the observation tower for a 360-degree view and look for alligators, turtles, and herons. After cycling, be sure to walk the Bobcat Boardwalk and the Otter Cave Trail to learn more about hardwood hammocks and sawgrass sloughs and their role in the delicate balance between water and land in the Everglades.

After a picnic lunch, we’ll head to the Everglades Alligator Farm for an airboat ride. We’ll see alligators in all stages of life and learn about the farm’s egg harvesting. Then you can choose to cycle the rest of the way to our hotel. 15 or 21 miles.

DAY 3: A short shuttle this morning takes us to Key Largo and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. This stunning park protects the only living coral reef in the continental United States. We’ll explore the beautiful world beneath the ocean’s waters on a glass-bottom boat tour.

After our picnic lunch, we’ll hop on our bicycles and start down the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail. It parallels National Scenic Highway US 1 all the way to Key West for 106 miles. We’ll go as far as Islamorada today. 23 or 29 miles.

DAY 4: It’s back on our bikes this morning to continue down the keys. You might want to stop for lunch along the way at a fun tiki bar. If you have the energy after arriving at our hotel, you should walk to the Turtle Hospital. The nonprofit veterinary hospital rescues, treats, rehabilitates and releases injured sea turtles. Five of the seven species of sea turtles are found in Florida and most of them are considered critically endangered. 31 miles.

DAY 5: We’ll finish our trek to Key West today with our longest ride of the week. The route is a mix of bike path and shoulder. If you don’t like the thought of the 7-Mile Bridge with a narrow shoulder, we’ll help you across with our van. We’ll cycle by Bhaia Honda State Park with its narrow sandy beach and National Key Deer Refuge with its indigenous deer population. Once at our hotel, you can relax at the pool or bike into town to catch the nightly sunset celebration at Mallory Square Dock. Dinner is on your own tonight. 47 miles.

DAY 6: We’ll start our day with a guided kayaking tour of a protected mangrove forest. The calm waters and quietly beautiful mangrove tunnels will be in stark contrast to the bustling town of Key West.

Your afternoon will be free. The entire population of Key West seems to ride a bicycle so it’s easy to get around. Check out the house where writer Ernest Hemmingway lived for ten years, visit the Key West Lighthouse, or enjoy the Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. We’ll get together again in the evening for our last dinner together. 0 miles.

DAY 7: We’ll say our good-byes after breakfast today. You can choose to fly home out of Key West or take our shuttle back to Miami. The trip takes nearly four hours and we’ll arrive at the Miami airport by 1:00pm or our starting hotel by 1:30pm. 0 miles.