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Marathon Attractions and Activities

Marathon & the Middle Keys

The Middle Keys have the three longest bridges in all of the Florida Keys. The journey by car through this area is one that traverses water on second generation bridges, alongside the older, original spans that first carried visitors, workers, and residents alike. The bridges define Marathon and the Middle Keys, and create a world where to travel means that one always seems to be gliding over water. The vistas are different here than in the rest of the Keys, with architectural remains of older bridges alongside the newer versions. Sunsets and pictures always include an fading perspective of a bridge reaching into the horizon towards Key West. The Middle Keys have an ambiance all their own, thanks to these bridges. Making Marathon and the Middle Keys drivable was a Herculean undertaking, and rumor has it that the workmen named Marathon for the gigantic effort given by all the workers to building the bridges and roads through this area.

Marathon, Florida never really had many citizens until around World War II, when it became a popular sport fishing destination. With sport fishing tourists came development, restaurants, motels, and bait shops. Today, Marathon is a heavily developed strip with congestion, especially in the winter months. Once you get off the main strip, otherwise known as the Overseas Highway, there are nicer residential areas, a golf course, and other nooks and crannies to explore. Marathon really came into existence because of the railroad, serving as a base camp for thousands of workers who toiled under the sun to make the great railroad developer Flagler's project come to fruition. At first, there were only railroads on the bridges, and the trains never went more than around 20 miles an hour, possibly 30 or 40 on the really uninhabited islands. The men that built these railroads lived in workcamps made of wood and came from the Caymans, from northern cities of the US, and even from as far away as Europe. After the turn of the twentieth century, when the Overseas Railroad still hadn't reached Key west, ships used to come in at Knight's Key and meet the trains there. Ships came from Cuba and exchanged fruit and sugar for tourists bound for Havana. Folks in the shipping industry in Key West feared competition from this port at the southern end of Key Vaca, since this was where the railroad ended at that time. They looked at the great expanse of water west of Marathon and saw what would have to be the longest bridge yet. They breathed a sigh of relief in 1911, when the first Seven Mile Bridge was completed. Workers were no longer camped in Marathon after this, and the town's population shrank. It existed as a train stop and sleepy outpost for a few tourists until the 1940s, when more tourists arrived as well as an airstrip. The airstrip was built by the government as a training base for B-17s.

Activities

Fishing

Catch Em All Sportfishing - Fishing all over the world and perfecting the saltwater techniques needed to be a top fishing guide in the world as well as in the Florida Keys has been one of Capt. Jeff's life dreams since he was a boy. He started his career in Marathon, which is located right in the middle of the Florida Keys. It's just a stones throw from Islamorada and halfway between Key Largo and Key West. Wanting to learn all aspects of fishing, from snapper fishing to marlin fishing, his fishing career took him to places such as Costa Rica, all over Central America, and too many places to name in the Baja and mainland Mexico. He has now been back fishing in the fertile waters off of Marathon for the past several years. Let Capt. Jeff help you to catch your fish of a lifetime in the Heart of the Florida Keys!!

Island Charters - Island Charters offers the finest Sportfishing Charters in the Florida Keys, providing a wide variety of fishing charters, tailored for both offshore of Marathon, Big Pine, Summerland, and west to Key West, or Back Country into the Florida Bay and Gulf of Mexico for a wide variety of the Florida Keys fishery.

It doesn't matter if you're looking for a hard-core offshore sport fishing trip for Dolphin, Sailfish and Tuna, a night trip for the mighty Swordfish or a laid-back drift fishing charter over the reef, we'll accommodate you're every need. And we'll catch fish. Guaranteed... no fish no pay!

Camping

Knights Key Campground - Knights Key Campground in Marathon has perhaps one of the best location in the Florida Keys for a campground. It's right at the base of the Seven Mile Bridge, on the Marathon side, at Mile Marker 47. Since the campground is at the bridge, boating access is great for either Ocean or Bay. Bring your boat and keep it at a boat slip at the campground, and they have a boat launch, too. There's a private beach for watching the sun set behind the bridge, so what could make a better evening than that? Bring your camera because the sunset with the famous bridge in the picture is going to be fabulous. Bring your bicycle for jaunts into the center of Marathon, just three miles away. There'a supermarket, restaurants, dive shops, boat rentals and charter fishing. The famous Dolphin Research Center is at Mile Marker 59, and you can pay to swim with the dolphins here. The old section of the Seven Mile Bridge that's still standing makes an excellent walk or jog, and leads to Pigeon Key. Pigeon Key has historic workman's buildings from the railroad construction days, and you can either walk or take the trolley tour out to see it. The place where you get the Pideon Key Tour is 100 yards from Knights Key Campground.

RVs and tent sites are available, and you can choose from harbor sites, ocean sites, or inland sites. Some of the ocean sites have a view of Sombrero Lighthouse, on the Atlantic Ocean. If you're a boater, you will want to choose a harbor site. You can put our boat right behind your camper. Nothing bigger than 28 feet, however. They all have a picnic table, water, and electric. Tent sites just have a picnic table. If you rent a harbor site, you get dockage for your boat. If you are a tent camper, they won't let you bring your pet. They require an RV with air conditioning.

Knights Key Campground has off-season rates, and discounts for longer term reservations paid in advance. If you stay a week or a month it's cheaper than day by day.

Diving

Sombrero Reef - Swimming through the 8-foot natural coral arch at this dive makes a great underwater photo opportunity. Many species of tropical fish inhabit the wide spurs of coral that grow under the Sombrero Beach lighthouse. Nurse sharks, schools of barracuda, and stingrays drift through the area frequently.

Thunderbolt - The 188-foot research ship sank upright on the site in 1986 and still makes for an interesting dive through her holes and hull. Beginning life as an Army ship, the power company employed The Thunderbolt as a lighting rod until before she sank in the Miami Harbor and was relocated to MM 20. Her propellers and staircase are intact; all doors and portholes have been removed for the convenience of divers.

Shopping

Marathon K-Mart - If you're vacationing in Marathon and fishing is what you came for, then one place you'll want to visit is the Marathon K-Mart. While there are other bait and tackle shops in Marathon, you'll find the most selection and the best prices at the good old KMart. They've dedicated a whole wing of the building to the fishing department and you'll even find fancy upscale fishing reels resting behind glass cases to tempt you. The area dedicated to fishing supplies at the Marathon K-Martis probably larger than all the other bait and tackle places in Marathon put together. If you need anything, stop here first and chances are K Mart's fishing section will have what you need and at a more reasonable price than anywhere else in town.

There are freezers in the front where you'll find a large selectin of frozen bait, chum and ice. This is also where you'll find discount poles, twenty dollar fishing poles you could just leave behind when you leave the Keys and go back home.

While you're there, of course it's really easy to grab anything else you need for your day of fishing or beyond. The seasonal section is also very large, with everything from sunblock to beach chairs, tropical clothing and camping equipment. If you're staying at a Marathon vacation rental you can get some groceries here as well, although you'll pay a slight premium for the convenience of one-stop shopping.

The Marathon K-Mart is open every day of the week starting at 8 am. It's also open every night until 10 pm, except on Sundays when it closes an hour earlier. It's also easy to find, located right on the Overseas Highway in the center of town in Marathon.

ATTRACTIONS

Crane Point Hammock - Although you might pass right by it, don’t miss Crane Point Hammock right in the center of Marathon. It’s the home base of the Florida Keys Land and Sea Trust. Considered my many to be the most environmentally friendly and historically significant piece of property in the Keys, all 63 acres of this nature preserve contain exotic tropical trees and mangrove wetlands. There are also archaeological sites and a Bahamian conch-style house. A boardwalk over the tidal lagoon brings you in touch with stunning views of native plants and animals.

Long Key Bridge - Fine ocean and Gulf views appear as soon as you hit the Marathon area on the Long Key Bridge. As you leave Layton and cross the bridge you’ll feel like you’re driving out to sea. Between Long Key and the first little Conch Key is the point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Gulf of Mexico. There is actually some sandy shore, so people like to snorkel and or scuba. There are pull-offs for drivers on both ends of Long Key Bridge. It’s the second longest in the Keys.

Seven Mile Bridge - One of the most famous symbols of the Keys is the gateway to the Lower Keys: the magnificent Seven Mile Bridge. As you leave Marathon you’ll go over this bridge and end up at Sunshine Key. The bridge is the “new” bridge built in 1982 and replaces the old narrow bridge which still stands, running alongside it.

Pigeon Key - Some see the old bridge as “the longest fishing pier in the world” because you can walk way out on it, to Pigeon Key. From the new bridge you have a perfect view of the handsome yellow and white conch houses surrounded by breezy palms and blue and green waters

Bahia Honda Key - Bahia Honda Key has precious and, rare for the Keys, white-sand beaches. Because the physical orientation of the Lower Keys, which is north-south, is different from the Upper Keys, you’ll find different vegetation and wildlife, too.

Fat Albert - If you scan the sky on the north side of Overseas Highway, you’ll catch a glimpse of Fat Albert floating high above the water. A large, white, blimp-shaped radar balloon, he watches for drug traffickers and whatever other mischief might be happening. Fat Albert is moored on Cudjoe Key.

Old Flagler Bridge - The old Flagler Bridge can be seen from the southern tip of Bahia Honda Key. The railroad trestle is on the bottom level and the automobile highway arches above it, an impressive bit of engineering for its time.

Festivals

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