Have you ever heard the saying "Brown, brown, run aground”? Shallow water in the nearshore environments of the Florida Keys can look brown due to light reflecting off a substrate of seagrass. While the seagrass flats may not look like much to the casual observer, seagrass is vital to the Florida Keys ecosystem.

The Bay City Walking Dredge is an example of one of the great machines used to construct the first modern road from Tampa to Miami. This road became known as the Tamiami Trail. This project could have been considered the Eighth Wonder of the World back in the 1920s.

The annual reenactment of Dade's Battle of 1835 is a January tradition that brings Seminole and soldier reenactors, pioneer craft demonstrators, period sutlers, food vendors and thousands of park visitors together to commemorate the battle that started the Second Seminole War.

Dade Battlefield offers an array of events, interpretive programs and skills classes for park visitors of all ages.

As you walk on the Tomoka Trail, take time to look, listen and imagine what life was like for the generations of people who lived here and traveled the path for thousands of years.

Fernandina Plaza’s history dates back 2,000 years as a Native American campsite, and later became the northernmost military post of Spanish Florida.

Operated with the labor of enslaved people, the 5,000-acre Margarita Plantation and mill processed sugarcane into syrup, molasses and rum.

On one side of the street lie the ruins of the historic sugar mill, abandoned at the end of the Civil War, while on the other is a pleasant, open grassy area with tables and a pavilion.

Experience island living 1930s style. Take a self-guided tour of the historic Matheson house and hardwood hammock.

I often come to this quiet neighborhood park to take time out from a busy day. Fernandina Plaza’s history dates back 2,000 years as a place Native Americans used as a campsite, and later became the northern-most military post of Spanish Florida.