The "Southernmost Point Buoy," a concrete buoy permanently moored at Key West, Florida, marks the southernmost Point of the contiguous states of North America. The elevation is 18 feet above sea level. On September 10th, 1983, the city and Mayor Dennis Wardlow erected the huge painted Buoy as a tourist draw at the crossroads of South Street and Whitehead Street. It is one of the nation's most popular and often captured tourist destinations.
Key West initially designated the southernmost Point with a little sign that was frequently stolen; as a result, in 1983, the city erected the now-famous concrete Buoy that nobody could take! Typically, the concrete Buoy that draws tourists and photographers has weathered multiple hurricanes. Hurricane Irma damaged the painting in September 2017, but the original artist later repaired it. Although this information wasn't initially on the monument, it was later placed on a smaller sign next to it and now reads, "America begins here," with Cuba being roughly 90 miles south of this site in Key West. A picture with the Buoy is taken with almost everyone who travels to The Conch Republic.
Visiting The Southernmost Point Buoy
You don't have to pay to view Key West's iconic Southernmost Point because it is a free public attraction. There is no designated Southernmost Point access point because the Buoy is a freestanding attraction on the roadway. It is simply there on a typical street. If you're travelling to Key West by automobile and all you want to do is drive by to view the Southernmost Point, you may do it without stopping to take a photo. Because it is in the open, the road may see it. We will tell you How to view Key West's southernmost point buoy for free via bus and free car parking.
Free Parking
If you're travelling by car to the Southernmost Point and want to park as close to it as possible, you must pay to park in the area's metered street parking lots. There is free parking a short distance from the Southernmost Point, so if you are okay with walking, you may park there and avoid paying for parking when you visit the Southernmost Point. From the free street parking, it can take you ten minutes to walk to the Southernmost Point.
Find the Southernmost Point on Google Maps and go east on South Street for free parking. Starting a few blocks down, South Street has free on-street parking. You can drive through the region in search of additional unpaid street parking. Free parking is available nearby in the direction going away from the Southernmost Point. From there, you may drive around the nearby blocks. There are several streets with free parking besides South Street. To ensure free parking, look around for signs (or a lack thereof). Be careful not to park in "no parking" areas like those in front of driveways.
Free travel by bus
The Duval Loop bus makes it simple to move about Key West without a vehicle. Riding the Duval Loop bus is a simple way to move about Key West because it is primarily designed for tourists, many of whom are first-time visitors to Key West. All you have to do is board and exit the bus; no cost is involved. Determining which stop you should get off at and paying attention to when to do so will be the "hardest" parts of the journey. Overall, getting around Key West without a car using the free Duval Loop bus is not too difficult.
Finding Duval Loop bus stops
These streets are unknown to you. How do you decide where to go, then? Google Maps is the best resource to find out how to go to a bus stop. Once on Google Maps, you may enter the beginning and end points close to the Duval Loop bus route. Next, locate the public transportation icon on Google Maps and click it. It will display your location's nearest Duval Loop bus stop.
Timings of bus
According to the city's official statement, the Duval Loop bus travels through Key West every 20 to 30 minutes. The Duval Loop bus runs from 8 in the morning to 10 at night every day of the week, excluding Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
In this blog, we have given information about how to view Key West's southernmost point buoy for free via bus and free car parking. We have told you about the free parking spots and bus stops for free travel.