2 Best Sights in Grassy Key, The Florida Keys

On the ocean and bay sides of the Overseas Highway are 260 acres of upland hammock, wetlands, and mangroves. On the bay side, there's a trail through thick hardwoods to a rocky shoreline. The ocean side is more developed, with a sandy beach, a clean bathhouse, picnic tables, a playground, grills, and a 28-site campground with electric and water hookups. Locals consider the paddling trails under canopies of arching mangroves among the best kayaking spots in the Keys. Manatees frequent the area, and it's a great place for watching herons, egrets, ibises, plovers, and sanderlings. Raptors are often seen in the park, too, especially during migration periods.

The 1963 movie Flipper popularized the notion of humans interacting with dolphins, and Milton Santini, the film's creator, opened this center, which is home to a colony of dolphins and sea lions. The nonprofit center has educational sessions and programs that allow you to greet the dolphins from dry land or play with them in their watery habitat. You can even paint a T-shirt with a dolphin—you pick the paint, the dolphin "designs" your shirt.