Key West · United States · Reef
Sand Key
An eroded island's sand patch ringed by shallow reef under Sand Key Light
Photo: NOAA Photo Library · Public domain
Sand Key was originally an island. Erosion and hurricanes have reduced it to a very small patch of sand ringed by coral reef beneath Sand Key Lighthouse, southwest of Key West in Hawk Channel. The reef summit lies between 1 and 35 ft (0.3 and 11 m) and the site is a no-take Sanctuary Preservation Area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, dived and snorkelled from boats over a sand patch that most Florida reefs do not have.
Also known as Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Reef.
Where it is and how deep
24.4542° N, 81.8778° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
You go in beside Sand Key Lighthouse over what used to be an island; the reef lies to the south of the light. Erosion and hurricanes have cut Sand Key down to a very small patch of sand ringed by coral reef, and the reef summit lies anywhere from 1 to 35 ft (0.3 to 11 m), so the profile is set by where on the reef you choose to swim rather than by your gas. Pick a depth on the reef edge and work around the sand patch; at these depths the dive is long and bright, and nothing about it needs a deep plan.
The sand is the feature you rarely get on other Florida coral reefs, and it is what makes Sand Key as much a snorkel stop as a dive. Sand Key falls within a Sanctuary Preservation Area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary; the sanctuary's 2025 Restoration Blueprint rule kept the SPA unchanged and removed its old exception for catch-and-release trolling, so the zone is now fully no-take. You finish where you started, ascending up the shallow reef edge to the boat with the lighthouse still in view.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Key West: Boats dive all year; May to October brings the warmest water and best visibility, but August to October is hurricane season.
Photos from Sand Key
Florida Keys--Public Libraries from Key West, Fla., USA · CC BY 2.0
SNORKELINGDIVES.COM · CC BY 2.0
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Sand Key reef?+
The reef summit runs from 1 to 35 ft (0.3 to 11 m), so Sand Key is a shallow dive well within Open Water depth limits.
Is Sand Key a protected area?+
Yes. The reef falls within a Sanctuary Preservation Area (SPA) inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, kept unchanged by the 2025 Restoration Blueprint rule, which also removed the SPA's catch-and-release trolling exception.
Sources
- Sand Key (reef) — Wikipedia
- Sand Key Lighthouse — Scubago
Photo credits
- Sand Key Lighthouse standing on its iron legs in shallow turquoise water by NOAA Photo Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aerial view of Sand Key Lighthouse surrounded by the reef and open water by Florida Keys--Public Libraries from Key West, Fla., USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A cluster of orange and yellow coral on the reef at Sand Key by SNORKELINGDIVES.COM, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse
More dive sites in Key West
The world's second-largest artificial reef, sunk in 2009
Hundreds of sea fans and unhunted grouper in a fully no-take reserve
Coral fingers and sand canyons on an SPA reef a mile east of Sand Key light
Unusually deep, wide reef crevices that hide grouper and morays
Reef
Hammerheads, bull sharks and eagle ray formations on the park's outer edge
A forest of deep-water sea fans on the north face of a lone coral mound
A small piece of the wreckage still breaks the surface
Goliath grouper and turtles on a 5-9 m reef fifteen minutes from town
Similar dives elsewhere
Reef
Rio Mar Reef
Treasure Coast · United States
Ledges with lobsters, large grouper and nurse sharks 15 m from the beach
Rocky reef spine and replanted giant kelp a short swim off the sand
Sea lions in 3 to 9 metres, on a rock bottom with no coral.
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Winding channels and swim-throughs inside a protected reef