Bahia Honda Railroad Bridge — Attraction in Stock Island

We visited on a Wednesday in late December 2024 (Christmas Day). They were open. We arrived around 10AM and there were 3 cars waiting in front of us at the gate and plenty of parking in the parking lot by Calusa Beach (facing Florida Bay/to the North). We heard this was the best place to snorkel and it was right at the trail head for the bridge.

It was a very short hike with pretty gradual elevation. No bikes are allowed and the trail is gravel at the beginning which makes it difficult for wheelchairs or some strollers with smaller tires. The bridge itself is concrete and is easier to maneuver at the end. The views were amazing from up there. Totally worth the short hike.

The bathrooms were also pretty nice and are located by the trailhead. They had a number of outdoor showers although some worked better than others and access here was all concrete so easier for wheelchairs and strollers. I would not hike this barefoot.

The hike was short enough I would probably hike it every time I visited just to enjoy the view. It's a short hike with big reward/gains at the end. I wish we were here at...

Old school bridge. It's very photogenic. I found that sunsets in October look great here. You will need to pay to go see the north (actually east) side of the old bridge. Go to the Bahia Honda State Park, park, and walk. Besides these, I took several more photos of the bridge at Calusa Beach and Loggerhead Beach and put them on Google, because that's the place to park and see this bridge. However, if you head toward the Atlantic side and go to the left side of the old bridge by following the brown signs, you can see the channel and the underside of the bridge. A lot of people fish there down below at the retaining wall and on the rocks.

It's not a perfect view from the wingwall, so you will need a boat to see more of the deteriorating railroad bridge. This is a popular boating channel between the Gulf and the Atlantic, as the water is pretty deep...

An outstanding piece of early 20th century engineering in one astonishing beautiful setting in the Florida Keys. Bahia Honda Rail Bridge is a derelict railroad bridge in the lower Florida Keys connecting Bahia Honda Key with Spanish Harbor Key. It was originally part of the Overseas Railway, but the state of Florida purchased it from the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) after the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and converted it for automobile use as part of the Overseas Highway in 1938. After a replacement Bahia Honda Bridge was opened in 1972, two spans of the old bridge were removed for the safety of boat traffic and to prevent pedestrian access to unsafe parts...