Best Beaches In & Near Key West

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Contents
  1. Fort Zachary Taylor Beach
  2. Smathers Beach (Key West)
  3. Higgs Beach (Key West)
  4. Simonston Beach
  5. Calusa Beach
  6. Key West beaches map
Map featuring Key West beaches. Click on pins to view beach details

  • 1. Fort Zachary Taylor Beach

    Fort Zachary Taylor Beach
    © Chris Schieman

    Travel time from Key West: approx 0.5 hrs

    Set on the western tip of Key West, Fort Zachary Taylor is Florida's most southerly state park. It is also home to what is highly regarded as Key West's best beach.

    A stretch of near-white coral sand, lapped by the clear blue waters of the what feels like the Caribbean Sea make this spot is idyllic. The look is completed by a backdrop of palm trees and Australian pines, making it… read more »

  • 2. Smathers Beach (Key West)

    Smathers Beach (Key West)

    Travel time from Key West: approx 0.5 hrs

    Although Key West isn't famous for its great beaches, Smathers Beach is worth a visit. This gorgeous beach is walking distance from the airport with warm water that stays shallow for quite a distance out into the sea, so it's a perfect place to splash around with the kids. 

    Keep in mind that although the sand feels nice, it tends to get quite hot underfoot in the scorching heat. The… read more »

  • 3. Higgs Beach (Key West)

    Higgs Beach (Key West)
    Cristo Vlahos

    Travel time from Key West: approx 0.5 hrs

    Set between Smathers Beach and Fort Zachary Taylor Beach is the somewhat lower key and smaller Higgs Beach. A very pleasant stretch of perfect white sand backed by tall palm trees Higgs is everything you would expect from a tropical beach.

    However, not everything is as it seems - in fact the sand is actually imported from the Caribbean, something that is true of most of Key West's beaches.… read more »

  • 4. Simonston Beach

    Simonston Beach
    © Giancarlo Espinosa

    Travel time from Key West: approx 0.5 hrs

    read more »

  • 5. Calusa Beach

    Calusa Beach

    Travel time from Key West: approx 1 hr

    Lying close to the southernmost point of Bahia Honda Key, one of the Florida Keys, Calusa Beach comes complete with palm trees and white sand gently-sloping into warm azure blue waters.

    One of just a handful of great beaches in the keys, and one of very few that are entirely natural, Calusa Beach is part of Bahia Honda State Park. Encroached by grasses, it has a relatively narrow extent, and… read more »

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