McCoy Indigenous Park

The Charles “Sonny” McCoy Indigenous Park is a tiny stretch of land facing the Atlantic Ocean, across from the beach on Atlantic Boulevard in Key West. It showcases about 75 different Florida Keys native trees and plants, and attracts numerous butterflies and birds as well. There are over one hundred species of trees that at native to the Florida Keys, and about 85% of these are tropical trees. Thirteen of these native species can only be found in the Florida Keys. McCoy Indigenous Park was founded in 1981 to help preserve and protect some of these species. They need protecting since the arrival of settlers in the Florida Keys in the 1800s. These settlers did what settlers loved to do at the time: they cleared the land of all vegetation and introduced new, non-native species. Environmentalists have been working hard to restore native trees and plants such as the Lignum Vitae tree, the Buttonwood and the Silver Palm tree, all of which you can see at McCoy Indigenous Park in Key West.

Charles “Sonny” McCoy, by the way, is a Monroe County Commissioner and was mayor of Key West for five terms.

It’s located on Atlantic Boulevard, the south side of Key West on the oceanside. Look for the park’s sign at the corner of Atlantic Boulevard and White street, across from the Key West Aids Memorial and the White Street Pier. It’s open every day except Sunday from 9 to 5.