Cedar Key, Florida

The truest sentence I could write about this town is that it will transport you.

Transport you to a place out of a book or Hallmark movie.

Transport you through time with its tales and historic architecture.

Transport you by its views from the water, land, and air.

Transport you to a Florida worth investing in and preserving for generations.

Cedar Key has been on my Florida bucket list for years and was the focus of my master's degree capstone. Finally, I got the chance to journey 5 miles off the coast into the Gulf to visit this charming southern seaside town.

I love history and was excited to stay in this historic Island Hotel, built in 1859. But it's not just historic—it's haunted. The staff assured me that only friendly ghosts reside here. Southern hospitality extends to the great beyond here as well.

You can tell that the bones of this place are original.

It once was a post office, hence the box you will receive your key from. It also was a refuge place for Civil War soldiers. Apparently, there have been sightings of one on the top of the building, acting as its guard. Some even think this guardianship is the reason why the building had minimal damage after hurricane Helene.

The downstairs is where you will find the Island Hotel's Restaurant and Neptune's Bar. Upstairs is where the guest rooms are located, with access to a charming seating area and a lovely wraparound veranda on the second floor. From here, you can see the whole of downtown Cedar Key and the ocean.

I kept it easy on my first night here, with a quick little bike around the town to get my bearings. Everything is walkable! And bike-able! It's like being on a cruise ship, but a lovely island version.

That first night I ate at the Island Hotel Restaurant. I called earlier that day to make a reservation, just in case. During the summer months, the island isn't as busy, but on holiday weekends and in the winter a reservation is helpful. I would say this is the fanciest of the restaurants here on the island of Cedar Key, with its white tablecloths, flowers and candles on every table, and even proper silverware settings.

I got the well-known Heart of Palm Salad. It is a sweeter fruit salad, on a bed of romaine surrounded by fruit, candied pecans, with a lime gelato dressing. Very southern in its style and taste.

To pair with the sweet salad, I ordered the special, which was a pasta dish with peppers, clams, crabs, and andouille sausage in a Cajun sauce over pasta.

For my nightcap, I cruised over, across the hall to Neptune's Bar. I have had a few Key Lime Pie martinis in my life, but this was the best one. Shout out to bartender Angie for this fabulous tasty concoction!

I was up and at 'em early the next morning to paddle out to Atsena Otie Key. I always check the NOAA site for updates on currents and tides.

I dropped in at the Cedar Key Public Beach, which is literally 1 minute from the Island Hotel. The public beach has restrooms and a rinsing station.

The current was definitely stronger in the early morning compared to the later morning. I would say this is an intermediate paddle.

OMG! So many dolphins! I mean, I was surrounded by them at one point. I later learned that a pod of about 100 call the waters of Cedar Key home and use it to raise their young.

In about 30 minutes, I was pulling up on the shore of Atsena Otie Key, which was the original Cedar Key, until a hurricane forced them to where the town is located now.

If you want pretty a white sand beach and the best water quality for the Gulf, the paddle out here is definitely worth it.

There are some historic ruins you will see on the outskirts of the island and a small graveyard left over from when the town was located here, but it is quite far inland and the path after Helene is not very clear. You can find the landmarks noted on Google Maps.

I took a detour on my paddle back to explore the marshy mangrove mazes on the east side of the Island, around the corner from the beach. I felt like I was in the book Where the Crawdads Sing.

And before heading back, I had another run into our lovely dolphin gang again! If you want to see dolphins, Cedar Key is the place to visit!

To refuel after an eventful morning, I popped into the Cedar Key Island Bakery in the cheeriest little cottage right by the beach, baking up delicious goodies and serving homemade ice cream! Per the suggestion of the owner John, I got their carrot cake. Leaning into the slow southern town life, I sat in one of their rocking chairs on the porch enjoying my cake.

I freshened up before exploring the towns very cute stores and two different local artist co-ops.

Everything runs on island time so stores are only open usually between 10:00am-4:00pm or 5:00pm, so plan your day accordingly.

Speaking of island time, it was time for a fun island cocktail. The Tipsy Cow is one of the few businesses still located right on the water. Hurricane Helene and a fire did quite a bit of damage to a good portion of the dock, but the town is continuing to work on rebuilding.

For waterfront views of the Gulf, you can't beat this!

Once located on the dock, but temporarily located back on 2nd Street, Steamers is an Cedar Key legend. If you didn't know Cedar Key is known for its clam farming, and Steamers is serving up all kinds of clam dishes, low country boils, and other dishes of the sea. Btw, their garlic hot sauce is fire!

Classic Clams in a White Wine Butter Sauce

I was headed in for the evening, most things close around 9:00 pm, when I struck up a conversation with Ryan, who runs Living Cedar Key golf cart tours. He was about to begin his Cedar Key Ghost Tour and asked if I wanted to join. I was slightly hesitant at first as I am not one for scary movies and such. He assured me this would be more historical, with of course, touching on the legendary ghost stories of the town, which has been around since the mid-1800s, so it's got some stories to tell. I said, "Sure, Why Not!"

I am so glad I went. Ryan is very knowledgeable, nice, and prepared...with bug spray. We zoomed all over the island and I came away with a deeper understanding of the towns history, views of a starry night sky, and cool ghost stories to share at my next campfire get-together.

Thanks Ryan for a great tour!

My next day was filled with adventures, seeing Cedar Key and its surrounding islands by boat, and then by plane. I had called ahead to book my Island Boat Tour reservation with Cedar Key Boat Rentals and Island Tours, but you can also walk down to the marina and sign up for the tours there.

The tour groups are small, only 7 of us, including Captain Nick, which was nice. We hung out in the harbor at first for a bit, watching the dolphins putting on a show once again!

Our island hopping started with Atsena Otie Key, as it is the closest and was the original town location.

We then boated over to Snake Island, which don't be fooled by the name, is where all the birds party at. There is such a variety of birds, from brown pelicans to roseate spoonbills to ibises and cormorants who call this island home. Flocks of them flew right over our boat landing on the island.

Next was Sea Horse Key, which has the lighthouse on it. Though the lighthouse is no longer in use, the island is used by the University of Florida for research purposes.

After the tour, I grabbed a coffee from the positively pink Prickly Palm. I got the iced pistachio honey latte which was absolutely gorgeous and perfectly balanced flavor-wise.

The next day I got their dirty chai latte, and it was seriously the best one I have ever had in my life! They serve breakfast and lunch food, open 7:30 am-2:30 pm.

I mentioned before the Island is bikeable, so I took a 10-minute bike ride through the lovely neighborhood and then along the water to Cedar Key's airport, which has the smallest runway in all of Florida.

I learned about Cedar Key Island Air Tours and pilot Bill from John, the bakery owner. He does flights by appointment Monday through Friday, but on the weekends he is at the airport doing "first come first serve" flights from 12:00 pm-4:00 pm. I had given him the call the day before just to be sure and he said to come on down after I finish my boat tour.

I remembered seeing this plane flying over when I was on my paddleboard, and now I was about to go up in it.

If you are visiting Cedar Key, I Highly Highly recommend doing this tour! The views were incredible!

After a draw-dropping amazing flight, I chatted with Bill a bit and asked if there was anything else I should check out while I was here. He asked if I had been to Low Key Hideaway and Tiki Bar, and while I hadn't yet, it did come up when I was looking around. I love to get a local's take on a place. He said it is a super cool place with the best sunset view on the island. So now, I knew what I was doing later.

Knowing I was going to be out past sundown, I decided to drive out to Low Key Hideaway and Tiki Bar instead of bike. It took like 3 minutes to get there.

*Fun Fact*: They actually have a little golf cart transport that you can call up to pick you up and drop you off wherever you are staying. Call 352-605-8658 to get a hold of their Free Tiki Taxi.

Now, I love my trips down to The Keys, and I have been to some cool tiki bars in other places in Florida. But this....was the most authentic legit Florida Tiki Bar I have ever seen!

The food from the food truck was spot on! I got a seared tuna and crab rice bowl. The drinks were like $10. Live music kept the vibe going strong, and the sunset over the marshes? Pure gold!

The next morning, I was up and at 'em to head over to Bronson Blue Springs, which is 40 minutes back on the mainland, but details on that will be in another post.

Key Things when visiting Cedar Key:

• The island is out on the Gulf, surrounded by marshes and barrier islands. BUGSPRAY is a Must!!!!!!

• Check the tides before doing any paddling or boating.

• Many places do take cards, but $CASH$ is very handy.

• Everything operates on island time so business hours are not exact, and hours might be limited so check before you go.

• Most everything is walkable, bikeable, or go-kartable, which is good because there is Limited Parking.

• Lots of stuff is closed on Mondays.

Places I didn't get to visit but you can add to your adventure:

• Tidewater Tours has a Sunset Tour

• Annie's Cafe

• Kiss Coffee House and Grill

• Bonish Studio (highly recommended by the locals and open late)

• Cemetery Point Boardwalk (another local recommendation)

  
  

Spending only three days in this town, I began to feel like one of the townsfolk. Everyone was friendly, the locals and the other visitors. It was like being in Mayberry or Stars Hollow. People would recognize you, call your name, and wave after just one meeting.

Circling back to my eating my scrumptious carrot cake on the porch of Cedar Key Island Bakery. The owner John, in a very neighborly way, came out on the porch and joined me. Living here for years, having opened a business and raised a family, he has become a pillar of the community. He shared with me stories about the town's history, its current status (recovery after Helene), and the resilience of the people here that transcends history. A quote from John, "We've been here for 200 years doing what we do and we will continue to do it for 200 more."