12 Marvels In Florida That Must Be Seen To Be Believed

This well-preserved stretch of shore along the Gulf's barrier islands in Northwest Florida has some of the whitest sands and clearest turquoise water you've ever seen.

In the middle of nowhere in swampy Central Florida, one man single-handedly built a castle from reclaimed materials and filled it with is amazing (and often hilarious) artwork. It's not quite "roadside," but it's a very unique attraction that will appeal to art lovers and dreamers of all ages.

In the Everglades you'll find 1.5 million acres of unmatched subtropical wilderness. The park protects rare plants and animals you won't find anywhere else in the country.

The Overseas Highway from Miami to Key West started as the Overseas Railway, an unbelievable feat at the time of its construction in the early 1900s. It only operated for a little over 20 years before a hurricane caused irreparable damage. It was sold to the state and converted into a very narrow highway. In the 1980s, it was replaced by the current Overseas Highway that runs alongside pieces of the old structure.

On an isolated island about 60 miles from Key West, accessible only by boat or seaplane, sits the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere. Fort Jefferson sits surrounded by beautiful blue water as far as the eye can see, making it a favorite location for modern-day adventurers and photographers.

This mysterious looks like a Floridian Stonehenge. It's all the more impressive when you discover that the multi-ton structures were sourced, carved and arranged by just one man, who was around five feet tall and weighed around 100 pounds. The castle was meant to be a monument to a lost love.

It's a real treat to be able to tour a real medieval monastery without leaving your state. The monastery was purchased by newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst in 1925, dismantled and held shipped to America in more than ten thousands crates. It wouldn't be until decades later that they were finally reassembled in North Miami Beach as an attraction. The structure is now owned by the Church of St. Bernard de Clairvaux, and it hosts regular services, weddings, and other events.

This park in Central Florida contains many of Florida's most beautiful springs and a wide range of native animals, including the most Florida black bears in any one place.

A set of stilt houses sits in shallow water about a mile south of Cape Florida. Constructed in the '30s, the houses were once an offshore party town for Miami's wealthy and well-connected citizens. They are now preserved by Biscayne National Park.

If we didn't know better, we'd think this wasn't Florida. Visitors can actually hike to scenic bluffs looking out over hardwood forests at this park in Northwest Florida,