We visited on a Sunday, and therefore, the Visitors Center was closed. Thankfully, we knew of this beforehand, so we had printed a map of the refuge. If you are visiting on a weekend, do print out the map. The refuge is not a separate area, but just runs along the main roads. There are a lot of places where... More

Kids loved looking at all the deer in there habitat More

I am all for animal encounters so I decided to stop here for a quick trip after our stay in Key West. The Visitor's Center is in the Big Pine Key Shopping Center and really isn't as hard to find like other reviewers seem to think it is. It's just right across the parking lot from the big Winn Dixie... More

The miniature Key Deer are everywhere. One of them with a full rack came up to me and kissed my hand---I swear I was just taking a walk and did not have food (it's illegal to feed deer)---and I saw a few with only one horn that reminded me of little unicorns. I was told their horns fall off. Anyway,... More

The visitor's center is in a strip mall, centrally located on the key. The staff was very friendly and made some good recommendations as to where we might go for a walk to see some of the wild life. Their directions were easy to follow. Hiking boots might have been a good idea on the trail we took as it... More

We stopped at Blue Hole 3 times in the week we were in the Keys. There is a breeding pair of alligators there. One was at the viewing station each time we stopped; both showed up once. Also saw a few birds, fish, a Key deer, and an iguana. We drove around in search of more deer. The best spot... More

We visited mid-afternoon. This refuge has no admission fee and 3 trails within ~0.5 miles. The first trail--the Blue Hole trail--is very short and just goes a bit around the unusual fresh water pond that draws the deer for drinking water. (Key deer have evolved to drink brackish water for short periods of time, but they still need fresh water... More

My husband and I went in search of the refuge on a Sunday... which was unintentional and proved to be a bit of a problem. The visitors center, which is in a strip mall fyi, was closed to our dismay. We found one of the trails on our own, but wished that we had a map so we could have... More

On vacation I would normally not wake up before the sun rises but I had read on TA that the best time to see Key Deer is at sun rise. So we drove to the refuge from Marathon to be there at sunrise. I drove to the end of the key deer blvd and found a nature trail. It seemed... More