Once over the bridge, you’ll pass artsy cafés, colorful restaurants, pelicans seemingly perched on every piling and, on the main street, balconies resembling those in New Orleans' French Quarter. Heading into Cedar Key, you will drive by countless pine trees, horses and cow pastures. Enjoy a dinner of local specialties - fresh-caught mullet, fried, and the best hush puppies according to many- at Roy's Restaurant, which overlooks the Gulf. Bringing along a bottle of red wine, crackers, cheese and red grapes, you can munch and sip as you chug along the Steinhatchee, which - with its limestone outcroppings and towering cypress trees - looks much more mysterious in the moonlight. The innkeepers will also take you out on resort's pontoon boat. The nearest lights are miles away, so you get a breathtaking vista of stars for miles in each direction.
Since the road dead ends - it literally goes nowhere - there are no street lights, and no other cars. It was built years ago as a landing strip for drug-running planes. County Road 361), which is a long, perfectly straight road. Hike through a nearby reserve and even tried archery! Your hosts can drive you to "Road to Nowhere" (a.k.a. Take advantage of the resort's numerous recreational activities. Someone will have just made it about as warm and welcoming as possible. Upon entering, don’t be alarmed if it looks like someone has already made themselves at home - the room will be bathed in soft light, the smell of cranberry-orange wafted from a lit candle, and Pachelbel's Canon playing in the background. It is also known for having some of the darkest skies in Florida.Ī brightly lit and decorated Christmas tree on the front porch greeted us when we pulled up to our "honeymoon cottage" at Steinhatchee Landing Resort. You can use the school's telescopes to observe the moon, stars and planets.įlorida's Big Bend is home to the small fishing town of Steinhatchee, known for some of the country's best scalloping, and the island community of Cedar Key. In Gainesville, the University of Florida's Astronomy Department offers free, public open houses on Friday nights in the observatory when school is in session (weather permitting). The area also offers more "social" ways to stargaze in Florida.
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The spa offers "Full Moon Baths" and the outpost runs a full moon paddle on the Santa Fe River. High Springs is home to the Santa Fe Canoe Outpost and the Wellness Spa, both of which plan activities around the full moon. The Grady House has two places with spectacular views of the constellation in the night sky: its balcony and the huge, beautifully landscaped backyard, complete with gardens, a koi pond, bamboo grove and a gazebo hidden away in a secluded corner. Stargazing in Florida gets no better than at this location. Travel to High Springs and fall in love with the charming little town near Gainesville, famous for springs and outdoor adventures and home to the Grady House, a haunted B&B (don't worry - she's a friendly ghost) that will immediately become one of your favorite inns. Walk to the tip of the south jetty, where you may startle great herons standing perfectly still, used to having the jetty to themselves at night.
It gets very dark - perfect for seeing stars - with waves splashed on the rocks. The planetarium offers star shows on the weekends.Īnother place to stop in is Nokomis at the jetties - one of the Gulf coast's best, but lesser-known, places to surf. You’ve most likely heard about Orion, and other constellations, stars, planets and galaxies at a place like the Bishop Planetarium in Bradenton, just north of Sarasota. Besides fishermen casting their lines, it’s populated by families and couples strolling hand-in-hand.Īt the pier's tip, you can search the southern sky for Orion, the constellation marked by three stars in a diagonal that's supposed to represent the hunter's belt. The pier, which juts 700 feet over the Gulf, can sometimes be busy at late hours of the night. For instance, in Venice, you can walk the Venice Municipal Fishing Pier.
In Sarasota, there are plenty of Florida stargazing opportunities nearby. You can polish your constellation knowledge and remember all of the stories behind them. You just need good weather – something Florida has plenty of. You don’t need a telescope to truly enjoy gazing at the starry night. Florida is filled with starry nights - read on to find out where the best spots are hiding, waiting for you to discover them.
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