Camping in Bahia Honda State Park

I've returned to Bahia Honda State Park in Florida to camp for a few days.

My favorite part of Bahia Honda is the old railroad bridge that goes straight through the park. The bridge is made of iron and steel and towers at least a hundred feet into the air above the water that seperates the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. This bridge and the railroad upon it was once the primary method of land travel from Miami to Key West. The Labor Day hurricane of 1935 destroyed many portions of the railroad but later this bridge and others were converted to automobile use. A newer, modern bridge is located to the west and the Bahia Honda bridge now sits unused. A portion of the bridge within the state park is maintained so visitors can walk on top and take in the amazing views. The unmaintained portion of the bridge disintegrates in the hot sun and salty air a bit each day.

There are three campgrounds at Bahia Honda. A bayside campground for tenters that is rather secluded. An ocean side campground is a windy one way road between the trees near the ocean offering amazing views but limited beach access. The main campground where I stayed is the largest and centrally located. Once again I got to enjoy the pleasures of camping on white gravel and learned how absolutely hard it is to pound metal tent stakes into the hard coral rock below. Not much shade either as hurricanes tend to rip out the taller trees every so often.

The last photo is of a rather large crab that lived in the hole next to my campsite. Most of the time he'd just sit there but occasionally I'd hear the sound of rustling leaves and knew he was on the move in the trees around my site. One day he decided to just come walking in and when I startled him he decided that hiding under the picnic table by my feet was an effective strategy.