18 Best Things to Do in Marathon

The 1912 Flagler railroad bridge reopened to foot and bike traffic in January 2022 after a $44 million restoration. The 2.2-mile section runs from Knight's Key to Pigeon Key, flat, with the new bridge beside you and tarpon under you. Free, open sunrise to sunset, no shade. Bikes rent in town for about $20 a day.

The five-acre island at the end of the old bridge housed 400 railroad workers in 1909. The wooden buildings are a museum now, with a small beach and a snorkel spot off the dock. Reach it on foot along the bridge or by the ferry from Knight's Key; admission is around $15 and includes the tour.

The best view of the bridge is from the water at dusk. A 90-minute shared sunset cruise that runs out under the spans is about $69 per person; private sunset charters for up to six start at $300–$400 for the boat.

Sombrero Reef sits 4 miles off Marathon in 10–25 ft of water, marked by a 142-ft lighthouse. It is the healthiest easily reached reef in the Middle Keys: elkhorn coral, parrotfish, barracuda, nurse sharks. Shared trips run 2.5–3 hours and cost $50–$90 per person with gear. Summer is calmest; mornings are clearest.

Marathon's sandbars are in the bay off the Marathon Key side, 10–15 minutes from the marinas. Shared sandbar trips run $85–$100 per adult for 3–4 hours with floats and a cooler; combo trips add a reef stop for about $100. Private boats for six start at $500 for a half day.

Guided two-hour paddles on clear-bottom kayaks through the mangrove flats near the Seven Mile Bridge, $84 per person, morning and midday departures. Rays, small sharks and juvenile fish are right under the hull in a foot of water.

A three-hour day sail on a small sailboat runs about $99 per person; private sails for a group are $500 for the boat. It is the quietest way to see the bridge and the bay, and the only boat here that does not run an engine the whole trip.

A two-hour cruise that snorkels a shallow patch reef and then stays out for the sunset, about $69 per person from Captain Pip's. Good compromise if you only have one evening.

Marathon's charter fleet is the biggest between Islamorada and Key West. Half-day reef trips for snapper and grouper run $800–$925 for the boat; three-quarter day offshore trips for mahi, tuna and sailfish are $1,100–$1,400. Party boats sell single seats for $60–$80 if you do not want the whole charter.

Mile Marker 48.5, a working sea-turtle hospital in a former motel. Guided 90-minute tours run every hour or so, about $35 adults, and you meet the current patients in the rehab tanks and feed the permanent residents. Book ahead in winter; tours sell out.

On Grassy Key at Mile Marker 59, a research and education facility that has been on this site since 1984. General admission around $35 covers the narrated sessions; swim and trainer-for-a-day programs are extra and book weeks out. Three hours is plenty.

Mile Marker 53. A small aquarium built around in-water encounters: a coral reef tank you can snorkel in, stingray and tidal pools you can touch, and a predator reef. Admission is around $25; encounters are priced per program. Good for a rained-out morning.

Sixty-three acres of tropical hardwood hammock and mangrove at Mile Marker 50.5 with a 1.5-mile trail, a wild bird rehab center and the 1906 Adderley House, the oldest house outside Key West. About $15 entry, two hours.

Marathon's public beach at the end of Sombrero Beach Road: real sand, calm water, shade, a playground and free parking. One of the three or four swimmable beaches in the Keys. Loggerhead turtles nest here May through October, so the beach closes at night in season.

Mile Marker 56, with a quiet beach, a kayak launch into the mangrove creek and the Keys' best kiteboarding when the wind is up. Small entry fee; kayak rentals at the park.

Twelve miles south of Marathon at Mile Marker 37, the park routinely named the best beach in the Keys. Calusa and Sandspur beaches, the ruined Bahia Honda railroad bridge you can climb for the view, and snorkel boats to Looe Key from the park concession. Arrive before 10am in winter; the park closes the gate when the lots fill.

A working fish house on the Gulf at Mile Marker 49 with a walk-up window: lobster reuben, stone crab in season (October 15 to May 1), and the bar upstairs for sunset. Order by picking a famous name as your callout, which is the whole joke.

At the foot of the Seven Mile Bridge on Knight's Key, with a pool you can swim in while you wait for your food and the bridge in front of you at sunset. Casual, loud, and the easiest sunset in Marathon if you are not on a boat.