When it came time to plan our next family trip to the Florida Keys, we took a suggestion from one of Zach’s friends and decided to stay in Key Colony Beach. We knew we already loved Key West and the Florida Keys in general, but after this week, I would go back to Key Colony Beach anytime!
Key Colony Beach
Key Colony Beach used be known as Shelter Key and is connected to Marathon via one road, the Sadowski Causeway. Named after Phil Sadowski who began dredging the island and building developments in the 1950s. What sets this area apart is that it has a great neighborhood feel and most of the houses are on canals, so there is tons of water access, but it is still private. It is nicknamed the Gem of the Florida Keys.
Where We Stayed
A lot of the houses on Key Colony Beach are rentals and I was able to find a great option that fit all 7 of us on VRBO. It was a four bedroom, three bath duplex located right on one of the canals with room to dock the boat, came with a fish cleaning table, power and water right at the dock.
It also had a private pool, but came with access to the Cabana Club in the neighborhood, if we wanted to venture to the pool or beach there. And if you decided to make the trip with even more people, there is the ability to rent both sides of the duplex.
Since this neighborhood is small and compact, it is very walkable. We could easily walk to the Cabana Club, to Key Colony Inn for dinner, to Sunset Park to look out over the water. There was a bait shop and pizza place (Causeway Pizza) right down the street and we could even take the boat a short distance to Sparky’s Landing for dinner and live music.
Communication with the Owner
One of the concerns with renting a house is always what do we do if something breaks or we have issues while we are there. Will we be able to get in contact with someone? The owners of the house were great and communicated with us via email and text. They sent all the necessary paperwork and rules of the neighborhood to us about a week out from our trip, so that we knew what to be prepared for.
The morning of the day we were to arrive, they text with the codes to get in the house and wished us a great time and to let them know if we had any questions. We did end up having an issue with one of the smoke detectors in the house, but they responded quickly and walked us through what we could do to disconnect the detector for the time being.
Life on the Canal
One of my favorite parts about being right on the canal, other than being able to hop right in the boat, was the amount of wildlife that we were able to see. We saw manatees every day in the canal and they loved to come right up to the boat when we were cleaning after a day out fishing and crabbing. There were also pelicans that would hang out to see if you had anything good. I even had one that would chomp at water coming out of the hose as I cleaned the boat.
One morning on the way out to check our crab traps, we had dolphins swimming through the canal right next to the boat. We also saw our first Velella Jellyfish in the canal and one would later sting one of us while we were out snorkeling.
Snorkeling, Fishing, Crabs & Lobsters
One of the reasons that Zach’s friend suggested Key Colony Beach is because reef access is closer than off of Key West. They also come here to catch lobsters. So we made sure to plan our trip to catch the tail end of lobster season. We had never seen lobsters in the water before and while we hoped we would catch some, we swore we would be happy if we just saw some in the water. Well we did see some lobsters, but no luck on catching any.
Snorkeling
As far as snorkeling, we went to two different spots while we were there; Coffins Patch and Sombrero Reef. At Coffins Patch, we were able to swim with schools of yellowtail snapper and other gorgeous fish. At Sombrero Reef, which is named after the Sombrero Lighthouse, we couldn’t get an available buoy in the shallow area. We went a little further out and found a buoy and as we were tying up, we saw a sea turtle swim by.
Before we go on anymore snorkeling trips, I need to figure out a way to avoid getting sea sick. I used dramamine on this trip, but it clearly wasn’t enough because after about 30 minutes I would start feeling sick. This was also the first time that I have ever seen my Dad get any sort of motion sickness. So if anyone has the magic solution to sea sickness, please let me know!!
Crabs & Lobsters
We had zero luck with catching crabs on this trip. We tried a couple different spots and only caught one crab between our five traps all week. And that crab already had both of his claws gone, so he got to swim free.
When it came to searching for lobsters, we did some trolling around to find some rocky terrain under water. With not much luck on the Atlantic side, we decided to look on the Gulf side. According to Florida Keys Treasures – Spiny Lobster Fishing Guide, the Gulf side from Long Key to 7 mile bridge is the best area to look for lobsters. And wouldn’t you know, they were right.
We found a spot with seaweed and coral with bowl like tops and after some searching, I found a lobster hiding in some of the coral. And after getting Sami and Zach over to where the lobster was, Sami spooked it away with the tickler stick before Zach was ready with the net. We did find a few more on the last day of the season, but the current was really strong and even with my dad holding Zach under, we couldn’t catch any.
Fishing
While catching crabs and lobsters may not have been as successful as we had hoped, the fishing was pretty darn good. It is easily the most fish I have ever caught; mostly grunts and yellowtail snappers, but a couple funky ones as well. We caught a couple atlantic bigeyes, a barracuda, some jolthead porgys, a couple southern puffers and a remora. The remora was a freaky looking fish and it didn’t help that it was bleeding and flew off the hook into the boat, so there may have been some screaming and dodging of the fish.
Until next time Key Colony Beach
We were fairly busy during this vacation, but it was truly relaxing and joyful. I absolutely fell in love with the Key Colony Beach area and being able to hop on the boat everyday to venture where ever we decided on the open ocean. I would highly suggest this area to anyone looking for the a vacation full of ocean adventure, especially if you will have access to a boat.
For a look at more travel adventures, click here.
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