Cedar Key, Florida

If you are ever in need of a place to kick back and not worry about the rest of the world leaving you behind; where one day flows seamlessly into the next and where time has stood still for the last 50 years, Cedar Key Florida is the place for you. We stayed for a week!!
Cedar Key is referred to as "Old Florida' ... a quiet island community 4 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico accessed by Highway 24, the only road coming into town. It crosses over salt marshes and channels on 4 small low bridges. Cedar Key, the town is on Way Key. There are a number of islands which collectively make up the Cedar Keys.

Cedar Key has a small town feel; there are approximately 800 full time residents;  no high rise buildings or apartment complexes and no chain stores of any kind. No ... definitely no Starbucks!  However we found a great little cafe overlooking the gulf, which made superb double espresso and other delightful morsels.

We stayed at the Sunset Isle RV park which is 1.3 miles out of town. It was just the place to fully recover from the flu! The bikes came off the bus and we settled into a daily pattern of riding into town; morning coffee overlooking the water; then exploring the island museums and other  places of interest including the part the Cedar Keys played in the Civil War.

Afternoons were spent lazing and reading. At 4.30ish a short walk to a Tiki Bar about 200 yards down the road at the Low Key Motel! A small structure made of what looked like driftwood and old bottles! A neat place with so much character. Interestingly among the memorabilia adorning the walls were a full set of Australian motor vehicle number plates - one from each state and territory!

Main Street

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Dock Street

Winter temps range from 60-70 degrees during the day and the 40's at night.


















The area was settled in the early 1840's. The original town was established on Atsena Otie Key. Cedar Key however was flourishing in 1861 when a railroad from Fernandina on Florida's east coast to the port in Cedar Key was completed. Cedar Key was a major supplier of seafood and timber products. In 1862 during the Civil War, a federal force attacked the area by sea and captured Cedar Key which by then was an important and valuable seaport and rail terminal.
After the war, lumbering again flourished. Pine and cypress were cut as well as cedar for pencil manufacturing. Remember Faber pencils? They were produced at the Eberhart Faber Mill on Atsena Otie Key. The Eagle Pencil Company mill was later built on Way Key.
In the late 19th century there was a general economic decline as other centres in Florida started to compete. A hurricane and tidal surge in  1896 devastated the area.
By the start of the 20th century fishing, sponge hooking and oystering were the major industries.

On 1 July 1995 a state wide ban on large scale net fishing went into effect. In an effort to keep Cedar Key viable, a government retraining program helped many fishermen begin farming clams.Today Cedar Key's clam based aquaculture is a multi million dollar industry

Cedar Key is an old fashioned fishing village with several regionally famous seafood restaurants including Tony's World Champion Clam Chowder. Today it is a haven for artists, writers and tourists.

We had a wonderful week. One highlight was a flight (in a very small 4 seater plane) over the area and the Gulf. I had not realised just how small was the area of land that we were on. We could see the thin ribbon of road that comes into Cedar Key stretching out into the Gulf. We also saw (we think) the areas which are being clam farmed.

The Red Baron!