LOWER KEYS MAIN OVERVIEW
For the real Estate buyer or investor, the Lower Keys start at Mile Marker 30 or Big Pine Key (home of the Key Deer, an endangered species, sort of a miniature Virginia White-Tail). Key deer?
You’ll immediately become aware of them because of the radically lowered speed limit the minute you cross from Bahia Honda and Spanish Harbor Keys onto Big Pine Key, imposed to make sure you don’t run one over.
Humor aside, you really have entered a different world once you cross over that huge seven mile gap of ocean from busy Marathon and the rest of the upper and middle Keys on the famous 7-Mile Bridge.
You have arrived in a world that is more laid back, slower-paced, more isolated in most ways, and geographically shaped differently.
This geography has implications today mainly in two ways:
First, the fabulous ecosystem of the Lower Keys backcountry provides – some claim, anyway – richer opportunities for boating and fishing, and certainly better kayaking and birding than any other portion of the Florida Keys from the Mainland to Key West. Almost the entire area north of the Overseas Highway (US#1) is protected wild environment as part of either the National Key Deer Refuge or Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge. And that makes this part of the Keys very special, from a homeowner’s or visitor’s perspective.
Second, this north-south orientation of the islands provides dozens of flow-through channels in the event of hurricane storm surges, helping to reduce the extent of water pressure and flood damage. I’ve ridden out one category 3 hurricane in my friend’s house on Cudjoe Key, and while we had to deal with extensive flooding common to these great and rare storms, the damage was much less than it might have been if the storm surge water had been blocked and therefore tumbled whole houses in its path instead.
Big Pine “Metro”
The Lower Keys or what I’ll call “Big Pine metro”, includes the islands of Big Pine, Little Torch and Big Torch Key, Ramrod and Summerland, Cudjoe and Sugarloaf. Each Island is unique in its environment and boating access, which does translate down to home prices. More on that below.
When you enter the Lower Keys, you will see right away that it is much more laid back. Generally, the further you get away from Miami, the more the Bahamian feel. And to some extent, particularly on Big Pine and its attached No Name Key, and a couple of other spots in the Lower Keys, that sensibility is well-preserved despite the rapid development of the very limited remaining land available for new building. Parts of Sugarloaf preserve this same feel, and residents of the Torches and Ramrod would claim that too. It’s less true on Cudjoe and Summerland, but they have other advantages.
A few other general reflections about this area, why it’s different, will help bring it into focus.
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.
Big Pine may be “remote,” caught as it is between the commercial centers of Marathon and Key West, but Big Pine does have it’s own major grocery store, post office and restaurants. It has some medical facilities, police and fire protection, and other basics of a “town It certainly has some interesting and unique retail shops, but in general it doesn’t have a lot of socalled unnecessary shopping. In fact the residents of the other Keys mentioned above generally will go to either Marathon or Key West for both basic needs and discretionary shopping. There is one big exception to that, on Saturday mornings, when it seems like everybody in the Lower Keys comes to the Big Pine Flea Market.
Nor does Big Pine have its own school system. Monroe County’s elementary and middle schools for the Lower Keys are on Sugarloaf; for high school kids are bused to Key West.
That’s this isolation feel like? Not bad, actually.
The Lower Keys are definitely getting away from it all.
But in conclusion, if you want to be near world-famous Key West but yet have a quiet neighborhood and homes that are more affordable, the Lower Keys could be the answer. And if you really want to get away from even the sight of traffic on the Overseas Highway, Big Pine offers you that too.
To see more general information see the links under Florida Keys.
The Rest of the Lower Keys
There are five islands or sets of islands, proceeding from Big Pine towards Key West, that account for most of the available real Estate in the Lower Keys. Some of these islands contemplated getting together as a new municipality called Village of the Islands a few years ago.
The referendum failed, partly because there was obviously insufficient commercial activity and commercially taxable property in the miniature downtowns of Summerland and Sugarloaf or anywhere else to support such a venture, and partly because most of the residents of these islands really do like their isolation and privacy, and didn’t like the idea of a another tier of municipal taxation.
So they voted against incorporation. Stay tuned; the issue is not dead, and eventual passage (which I consider unlikely) would definitely change what these islands are all about.
Here’s a brief thumbnail sketch of each of the islands that make up what I’m calling Big Pine metro. Each one is quite different from the others, so here goes.
The Torches
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.
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.
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.
Nearly all the homes are on the Atlantic side of the Overseas Highway. Boating access on Cudjoe is excelent , almost no matter where you reside. Boating drafts generally range from 2-4 feet, but some canals on the fishhook are narrow and have shallow entrances to Cudjoe Bay. Eastside canals are also narrow and open onto shallow water. The more expensive Cudjoe Gardens housing area at the west end of the island has much bigger and deeper canals that will accommodate large boats.
Sugarloaf Key
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.
Sugarloaf has a whimsical downtown, where you can also rent a kayak or a boat, buy essential supplies, and get a bite to eat.
Properties here tend to be expensive, partly because the average lot sizes are roomier than those found on the other Keys.
