Explore Florida's Geological Wonderment At This Underrated State Park
By Marisa Roman|Published July 06, 2022
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Marisa Roman
Author
A New Jersey native with over 15 years of writing experience, Marisa has studied at both New York University and Florida International University. She has lived all over the country, including a decade stint in South Florida. Marisa is well-versed in exploration as she travels a good majority of the year in her self-converted Sprinter van. Her articles have been featured in various notable publications over the years, she has a published collection of short stories, and three completed screenplays under her belt.
With 175 award-winning state parks, historic sites, and trails in Florida, it’s quite difficult to visit them all in one lifetime. While many visitors tend to stick to the bigger parks, like the 11 national parks in Florida, we have an underrated state park that is just as deserving as the others. Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, located down in the Florida Keys is filled with geological wonderment not to mention a ton of history.
Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park in Islamorada is one of the most fascinating geological wonders in the state.
Once the railroad was complete, the quarry continued to be in use up until the 1960s. From the quarry, beautiful pieces of decorative stone were produced, called Keystone.
Today, the quarry is no longer in use, as it has become a state park open to the public. Visitors can walk the eight-foot-tall quarry walls and see the beauty of the fossilized geology throughout.
There are five self-guided trails here, each one short and sweet with much to see! There are even samples of the quarry machinery still up for visitors to enjoy.
Have you ever been to the Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park in Florida before? Share with us your experience in the comments section! Or if you’re looking for more information about visiting this underrated state park, then make sure to visit the Florida State Parks website.
Meanwhile, all that quarry walking likely got you hungry, right? Head on over to Lazy Days Islamorada for a cold drink and some fresh Florida Keys seafood.
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