Saddlebunch Keys near Key West

[Timothy Englert]

Has anyone tried squat/camping on Saddlebunch Keys?
YOu can ride the bike trail form Key West to there.
Old State Rd 4A/ 939A goes on for 5miles from Sugarloaf Key along the ocean side.
Seems pretty empty ....just perfect to hang and camp
If things go my way I want to take my bike down there to key west and camp at Saddlebunch.
I used to live down in Key West when it was cheap [long ago] and I need to return......View attachment 46151

 

[Jackthereaper]

I have a friend from miami that says he used to go backpack both in the keys and up north. He was a navy pilot for a while, and now lives outside the area but i sent a text to ask

Does the tide make it marshy there?

*edit* so i have heard back and he says 100 percent you wont have problems. Pitch a tent and enjoy, he knows ppl who take 10-20 in a group camping there even still(in 2018, he now lives in austin). I would prob watch the weather right now, its hurricane season

 

[Timothy Englert]

Never camp down there from June to October the mosquitoes will eat you alive!...Nov to May is good. I used to camp/squat down there in the 80s..but would like to again..the bike trail covers a lot of the bridges...... Key West can be heaven or Hell depending whether She [Key West], blesses you with her graces or not....

 

[cixcell]

yeah i knew the keys like the back of my hand up till irma. havent seen them since but during summer the skeeters and especially noseeums will be brutal. used to live in homestead between 2005-2016 so i was always down there. winter its heaven down there. i suppose you could sleep under the bridges in the keys on the way down. all youll see is fishermen occasionally. good fish to be caught under there too. you could probably sleep off parts of card sound road too during the winter but all i ever saw was a crazy guy camping out there during the summer. tons of area behind the homestead air force base and the turkey point nuclear plant too thats pure wilderness and random roads. but again, keep it to winter. youll regret the 2 inch horseflies in summer. plenty of summer camping in florida but you have to be north of jupiter before it gets tropical.

 

[cixcell]

btw saddlebunch area is usually alot of shallow mangrove flats on hard bottom. theres some sandy beaches out there too though but you gotta get to them by kayak.