Three million visitors vacation in the Florida Keys each year, most of them looking for a secluded island with a private beach and unique experiences.  Most of them drive right past or even bike right over Pigeon Key.

Four acre Pigeon Key was the work camp for 400 employees of Flagler’s incredible railroad to Key West and there are eight original buildings still on the island.  The Old Seven Mile Bridge, now used by bikers and hikers, does not connect to Pigeon Key.  You have to take a ferry from Knights Key to visit the island now administered by the Pigeon Key Foundation and Marine Center.

You can rent a guesthouse in a newly restored cottage or even rent the entire island for a wedding or a campground for 70 people.  But don’t expect privacy – there are historic tours everyday, a summer camp for kids,  and marine biologists doing their thing.

And don’t forget the thousands of people photographing the island as they speed down the Overseas Highway.

Still, staying at Pidgeon Key gives you your own private beach, small dock, snorkeling lagoon, and four acres to explore.  How many tourists can say they vacationed on their own island?