Photo: USFWS Headquarters / Public domain · source

🌺 Gardens & wildlife

National Key Deer Refuge

Big Pine Key, FL · Florida Keys

About

This Big Pine Key refuge protects the Key deer, the world's smallest deer and a creature found nowhere else, with full-grown bucks no taller than a German shepherd. The easiest viewing is at Blue Hole, the largest freshwater pond in the Keys, where an observation deck overlooks deer, turtles, and resident alligators. Come at dawn or dusk, when the tiny deer move out to browse.

Highlights

Home of the endangered Key deer, the world's smallest deerBlue Hole, the largest natural freshwater pond in the Florida KeysObservation deck and short trails for easy wildlife watchingBest viewing at dawn and dusk when deer are activeOver 84,000 protected acres across Big Pine Key and nearby islands

Getting there

Blue Hole, Key Deer Boulevard, Big Pine Key, FL 33043

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Best Florida Wildlife

Where to see Florida's wildlife up close: manatees, alligators, roseate spoonbills, the Florida panther and the tiny Key deer, across springs, swamps and refuges from the Panhandle to the Keys.