Bahia Honda State Park — Old Bridge Overlook
Bahia Honda State Park at 36850 Overseas Highway (MM 37, Big Pine Key) contains the remnant of Henry Flagler's 1912 Overseas Railroad bridge — a 5,055-foot structure that was hailed as an engineering marvel of the Western Hemisphere. A trail leads from the park up onto the elevated deck of the old bridge, providing a panoramic 360-degree view of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the chain of keys stretching in both directions. The park also has three distinct beaches rated among the best in Florida. Entry fee is required ($8 per vehicle). The old bridge reopened for pedestrian and cyclist access following restoration work.
The old Bahia Honda Bridge that riders walk out onto started life as part of Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad, completed in 1912 to connect the Florida mainland all the way to Key West. Because the channel here is the deepest in the Florida Keys, engineers had to hang the railroad tracks from steel trusses rather than use the concrete arch construction found elsewhere on the line — making it structurally unlike any other bridge along the route. After a hurricane severely damaged the railroad in 1935, the state purchased the bridge and engineers added a concrete deck on top of the narrow truss so it could carry highway traffic. That highway deck closed in the 1970s, and today the structure serves exclusively as a pedestrian overlook within the state park.
The park's one nature trail, located in the Calusa area on the southwest end of the island, follows what was once the old U.S. 1 roadbed up onto the bridge deck. From the top you can look down at the water on both sides simultaneously — the open Atlantic on one end, Florida Bay on the other — and the clarity of the water below means you can often spot rays, fish, and sea turtles moving beneath the surface. The trail is open to walkers only; bicycles are not permitted on it. Entry is $4.50 for a single-occupant vehicle or motorcycle, and the park is open 8 a.m. until sundown every day of the year. On busy weekends and holidays the parking lots can fill and the park closes to additional day-use visitors, so arriving early is worth planning for.
The only place in the Keys where you can stand above the Overseas Highway and look down both ends of it simultaneously — the bridge-top view of the open Atlantic on one side and Florida Bay on the other is genuinely disorienting in the best way. Worth the entry fee as a scenic and historic stop.
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