Next time you’re visiting our area, you may want to put the new Welcome and Discovery Center at Lovers Key State Park on your “Must Do” list!
The recently-unveiled $5.7 million structure is just a short walk from the popular Lovers Key beach tram station. Outside, the building features pillars designed to model mangrove roots, a 400-gallon touch tank and glass walls that open to large observation decks.
Inside, the 2,100-foot exhibition hall invites visitors to explore replicas of beach and coastal dune ecology. The information desk takes its cue from Old Florida fish shacks. There is a state-of-the-art classroom and indoor/outdoor event space. And, of course, a gift shop is available to browse nature-inspired books, jewelry and art.
Future phases will feature more exhibits as well as outdoor manatee sculptures. The new Welcome and Discovery Center sounds like it will be a wonderful setting for listening to music, attending a lecture, or just enjoying the natural beauty of Lovers Key State Park.
Visitors from all over the world come to Lovers Key to enjoy its postcard-perfect shell-strewn beach that stretches 2.5 miles, with three different beach accesses along calm, clear waters.
Fun fact: In the early 1900s, the island was accessible only by boat. Legend has it that only lovers made the effort to get to this romantic island, thus the name Lovers Key!
