The Middle Florida Keys

THE MIDDLE FLORIDA KEYS

Marathon, the heart of the Florida Keys, is approximately 50 miles from Key West and about 2
hours driving time from Miami. The city of Marathon on Key Vaca has a permanent population
of about 12,000. We also have a large population of ‘snow birds’ that come down just to spend
the winter months in their second home or condominium. The Marathon area includes Long
Key, the Conch Keys, Duck Key, Grassy Key, Boot Key, Crawl Key and Pigeon Key.

Marathon is a 10-mile-long island city which like the Upper Keys, is well-known for scuba
diving and sport fishing.

The Marathon Hump, a rise in the ocean bottom, is about 27 miles South East of Marathon and
is a popular sport fishing location. The Hump rises from 1150 feet on the east side to 410 feet
at the top and is an excellent location for catching the huge game fish like dolphin, wahoo,
blackfin tuna, huge amberjack, blue marlin, sailfish, white marlin and big sharks, chiefly makos
and great whites. Fishing deep on the bottom, you might catch snowy grouper, queen snapper
and a variety of other bottom dwellers.

It is said that Marathon was named because of the non-stop work schedule when the city was
the base of operations for the construction of Flagler’s Railroad. Ride the train down the old 7-
mile bridge and visit Pigeon Key for more about Marathon’s history.

Marathon has one of the two fully staffed hospitals in the Florida Keys – the Fisherman’s
Hospital. Marathon also has one of the two commercial airports in the Keys. There is a
country club, yacht club and golf courses in Marathon. You will also find public schools, a
library and public beaches.

For the nature lovers, Marathon is home of the Turtle Hospital which provides (for a small fee)
guided tours of their facility. Marathon’s Wild Bird Rescue Center, whose mission is to rescue
and rehabilitate injured and orphaned birds for eventual release back into the wild, is on the
grounds of the Museum of Crane Point Hammock. These are both very interesting places to
visit.

The Dolphin Research Center, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote
peaceful coexistence, cooperation and communication between marine mammals, humans
and the environment we share through research and education, is located on Grassy Key near
Marathon at MM59. The Dolphin Research Center is open to the public and offers several
different interactive programs.

Accommodations in the Marathon area are mostly resorts, hotels and motels with very few B &
B's. Usually hotels and motels are a bit cheaper here than in the rest of the Florida Keys and
many are waterfront. Key West is about an hour and a half away from Marathon, the drive is
spectacular and there are many sites to see between Marathon and Key West. So, if you have
a car and like adventure, you may want to think about staying in or around Marathon.

Marathon Chamber of Commerce video