National Key Deer Refuge Nature Center — Attraction in Florida

We had a hard time finding the place. It's not obvious. It's in the parking lot with the grocery store which I missed the first pass by. All this to find that it was closed. However, we read reviews and went out to No Name Key and on our way out we spotted our first key deer. Cute little guys and they were everywhere. We got there just before sun set which I have since read is probably the best time to find them roaming in the open. We went to No Name Key and hiked around a little in the reserve but didn't see any wildlife at all. Then on the way out we ran into quite a few walking the streets and hanging out in people's yards. They were very curious and walked right up to my wife and sniffed her and her camera which made for a cute photo. Worth the couple minutes out of your way to go and...

Although the refuge is large, the area accessable to visitors is small. There's a clear fresh water pond, the Blue Hole, inhabited by healthy looking alligators, a observation pavilion next to the pond, and a short walking trail about a quarter mile long. I saw no deer while there. I did, however, see a nice six-point buck. in a neighborhood nearby at dusk. Because of the current government shutdown, the visitor center, in a local strip mall, was.closed. The whole experience was underwealming. Still, any effort to preserve even this small bit of natural Florida deserves support. And Big Pine Key possesses quiet charm, at least when you get away...

Wow. We were traveling to Key West and decided to stop and visit the National Key Deer Refuge. The ranger inside the office told us that we might see a deer, if we are lucky. She explained to us that they are active dawn a d dusk, normally. We drove up to the Blue Hole, parked there and surprise: we saw our first deer, she was eating and was not afraid to see us. Walking on the trail we saw an alligator, a "small" 8 ft alligator that was looking for some food. We also saw a smaller deer and then driving from the blue hole back to the main road 3 more. This was an incredible experience, please drive slowly as they jump in the street...