Lower Florida Keys Areas
Click on the names below to see the Listings and a Google map for each
particular Key.
Big Pine
The Torch Keys
Ramrod Key
Summerland Key
Cudjoe Key
Sugarloaf Key
Big Pine in particular is one of the largest and most interesting Islands in the Keys. It has a population just over 5000 and as of Sept 2005-there were homes starting at $340,000. As you get closer to the water or buy a home on a canal, the prices rise accordingly. But there are quite a few different developments, mostly of single family houses, and some are pricier than others.
Water depth affects prices, and some areas have about 15 inches and some have 3-4 feet. Obviously this means you can have a certain kind of boat in some areas that won’t work in other areas. It depends what you’re looking for. The shallower areas have more direct and private access to a lot of the wilder and more pristine parts of the Island and adjacent backcountry. They may also (but not reliably) be less expensive.
Until now, on the drive down the Keys from Miami, the housing areas were arrayed on either side of the road, gulfside/bayside or oceanside. Here it’s different. The 2-lane, 45 mph Overseas Highway (what a misnomer!) runs across the southern edge of Big Pine, through the restaurant and business area; most of the residential areas are situated several minutes drive to the north. To some buyers that slow drive (30-35 mph speed limits, for the deer) is a price deterrent the farther north you go; to others the isolation means extra value.
The Torch Keys are located just west of Big Pine Key and are comprised of three separate islands know as Big, Middle, and Little Torch Key. Little torch Key is the primary residential area with the majority of development nestled into the canal systems just south of the Overseas Highway on the ocean side. While there is some residential development on both Middle and Big torch Keys, these islands are largely protected by state and federal wetlands and hardwood hammocks.
Little Torch offers excelent boating access to both backcountry and offshore for both small and slightly larger boats. Some of the canals can be tricky to get out of, so it’s surprising to find that a number of residents here keep fairly large sailboats tucked behind their houses and in the wintertime the cool evening breezes and the sounds of the sailboat halyards lull nearby residents to sleep.
Despite its feel of an older neighborhood, with smaller canals, a little like some parts of Key Largo, Little Torch prices can be relatively higher, as they tend to reflect easy access to a deep water channel.
This is where you catch the 1920’s style deluxe motorboat to Little Palm Island to stay or for dinner. It’s also a good place to rent a boat for exploring on your own.
Continuing further south on the island chain you come to Ramrod Key. Ramrod is a very quiet and primarily residential island with pleasant neighborhood developments located both north and south of the highway. It is described by residents as being more "laid-back", more "keysey" than the islands found further down the chain. Ramrod is very familiar to the residents of the Lower Keys as it is home to the Cruz Animal clinic, an excelent veterinary hospital, and a popular local restaurant. There’s also a dive shop with accommodations and a restaurant.
Boating control depths are typically 2-2 1/2 feet with good access to
both offshore and back country boating and fishing. Small boats are typical
here.
Prices are a little lower here.
Summerland Key
Imagine flying your own plane to your island paradise home where you step onto your sports fisherman or cabin cruiser for a weekend of sun and fun. It's all possible here. Summerland is a mecca for large boat owners and private pilots. It’s one of the few places in the whole country where you can have it both ways.
The island boasts unusually wide flow-through canals and a private air strip for local residents making it a perfect spot to park a Beechcraft and a 50 foot + boat. The majority of homes on Summerland are located on the Atlantic side of the Overseas Highway.
Although there is some price variation, homes here are generally very expensive; those on what’s called “open water” or the airstrip moreso
Summerland has a small downtown along US#1, with a good boutique grocery
store, a couple of restaurants, real Estate offices, a bank, a wholesale
fish shop, some healthcare offices, an office building, and some retail.
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Imagine flying your own plane to your island paradise home where you step onto your sports fisherman or cabin cruiser for a weekend of sun and fun. It's all possible here. Summerland is a mecca for large boat owners and private pilots. It’s one of the few places in the whole country where you can have it both ways.
The island boasts unusually wide flow-through canals and a private air strip for local residents making it a perfect spot to park a Beechcraft and a 50 foot + boat. The majority of homes on Summerland are located on the Atlantic side of the Overseas Highway.
Although there is some price variation, homes here are generally very expensive; those on what’s called “open water” or the airstrip moreso
Summerland has a small downtown along US#1, with a good boutique grocery store, a couple of restaurants, real Estate offices, a bank, a wholesale fish shop, some healthcare offices, an office building, and some retail.
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Cudjoe Key
There are a number of (perhaps apocryphal)stories of how Cudjoe got its unusual name. Many Cudjoe streets are named after either famous or amazingly obscure pirates, which might include a Mr. Cudjoe. Another story has the island described in 19th century Key West scuttlebutt as the location of ”Cousin Joe’s” woodcutting and charcoal-making place, of which there were quite a few in the Lower Keys.
Whatever its history Cudjoe is a quiet and peaceful residential island surrounding its own bay, probably the best bay in the area for water sports. The island’s fishhook appearance and bay are such distinctive features that they can be seen easily in satellite pictures.
Cudjoe Key provides a wide variety of housing ranging from ocean front executive homes to both Keys standard canal homes and some extraordinary ones, to the upscale gated mobile home park, Venture Out, on Cudjoe's eastern shore. All waterfront properties on the island, including Venture Out, have become expensive.
Former home to the Sugarloaf Pineapple Plantation, Sugarloaf Key offers quite solitude to its residents. If you are looking for larger floorplans, more luxurious landscaping and privacy this is the Key for you. The majority of homes are located south of the Overseas Highway looking out onto the distinctive blue white waters of Upper and lower Sugarloaf Sounds. Large ocean front Estates rim the outside of the island facing out to the Atlantic.
Boating is excelent for shallow draft boats with quick access to the backcountry, but there is no access for large boats or sailboats. The Sugarloaf backcountry is legendary for flats fishing.
If you are a pilot, Sugarloaf has a basic public airstrip you can fly into. There’s a popular sky diving operation, and you’ll definitely see folks falling from the sky. The houses along the airstrip get together at Christmas and the “Ho-Ho-Ho” and lights can be seen for miles.