Long Key State Park, Long Key, Florida

After enjoying the wildlife in Key Largo, we decided to take a day and visit Long Key State Park. Long Key is located between Islamorada and Marathon Key and the state park is a beautiful place to visit.

We started our day having a nice chat with the ranger at the gate. She was very helpful and told us all about the birds in the park. She even let us borrow a pair of binoculars to use for the day. We had fun playing the Bird Bingo game she let us take a pic of, too.

We drove to Golden Orb Nature Trail to see what wildlife we could spot. My main mission for the day was to see the elusive golden orb weaver spider. They used to be plentiful on Long Key, but after Hurricane Irma in 2017, they are now a rare sighting.

The boardwalk led us to an isolated trail that felt like we were the only people around for miles. It was wonderful and secluded. We did see a few other people during the day, but overall we were alone in this peaceful paradise.

On the 1.1 mile Golden Orb Nature Trail loop, there are 4 different habitats you will find:

Mangrove Swamp
Coastal Berm
Salt Pan
Hardwood Hammock

It was really interesting to see and learn about the different areas the trail led us through.

In the Mangrove Swamp, there were lush mangrove trees in addition to some other interesting vegetation such as gumbo limbo, pigeon plum, and crabwood. We were a bit surprised to learn about poisonwood. This is a tree with orange bark and black sap marks. According to the sign the park installed, “The tree is related to poison ivy and contact with the sap may irritate the skin.” We definitely stayed away from that one!

We did see a few spiders, but so far we didn’t spot the golden orb weaver. It was nice to see a White Ibis so close to us on the trail and to watch the hermit crabs scurrying across our paths.

The Coastal Berm habitat took us along the Atlantic Ocean where new types of plants emerged. There were a few herons and egrets wading in the water near the shore. We found a few more spiders, but still no luck finding the golden orb weaver. Some of the spiders in the area had their webs stretching from the ground to over 6 ft. high. It was amazing! I do want to mention that we had to actively look for the spiders and webs we found. They were not blocking the path, and we had an unobstructed trail while we were hiking.

The Salt Pan habitat gave us a view of the adorable fiddler crab. It was really neat to see the amazing flowers and vegetation here. We found the whitemouth dayflower, seagrapes, and so many more. The dragonflies also kept us entertained. We didn’t see very many spiders that were close to the trail in this area.

The Hardwood Hammock was the final habitat. I need to tell you, the shade from the trees felt amazing! There were hit and miss spots of shade in the Coastal Berm and Salt Pan, and the heat of the day was making itself known. Here we encountered the largest hermit crab any of us had ever seen. It was at least 4-5 inches long! Some of the amazing plants we found were the triangle cactus and bromelaids. I’m sure you’ve got to be wondering if we found any spiders in this habitat. Yes, we did! But unfortunately these were not the ones we were looking for.

We thoroughly enjoyed this hidden gem state park nestled in the Keys. It was quiet, relaxing, and a great place to spend the day learning about the birds, wildlife, and plants native to Long Key.

Some tips to help you make the most of your day at Long Key State Park:

Bring a water bottle. Sounds simple enough, but honestly when you’re hiking the trails it can get pretty hot. There are refillable bottle stations at the restrooms before you enter the trail.
Don’t forget the sunscreen. We loved hiking Golden Orb Trail, but some parts of the trail are not shaded, so sun protection in helpful.
Pack a lunch! There are nice picnic tables in the park that you can use to enjoy a picnic.
Bring binoculars. The birds in the park are amazing and it was a joy to be able to see them.
Don’t forget the bug spray, either. There were some gnats that wanted to bother us, so the bug spray came in handy. Not sure if they’re out all year round, but it wouldn’t hurt to bring it just in case.

If you’re interested in watching the Long Key State Park vlog post, you can click this link Hiking Long Key State Park | Mangroves, Wildlife & Coastal Views or click on the photo below:

We hope you enjoyed traveling along with us!

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We’ve also shared videos on our YouTube channel to complement this post and bring the experience to life.

Thanks so much for traveling with us — and stay tuned for more adventures with Traveling with the Trapps.

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