The Southernmost Point of the U.S.

The southernmost point of the United States is Ka Lae on the southern tip of the island of Hawaii.  I determined this point by using My Methodology.  Ka Lae is also the south-southwesternmost point of the United States.  However, as I've stated in My Rules, for logistical reasons I'm visiting only the contiguous United States (i.e., the Lower 48) during my 2016 trip around America, so that's the focus of this website.

Identifying the Southernmost Point

The main goal of my eight-month trip around America was to become the first person to visit all 16 extreme geographic compass points in the contiguous United States (i.e., the Lower 48 states).  Before I left on my trip, I did some research using my computer mapping software to help me identify the exact locations, and most of the 16 points had been easy to locate (see My Methodology).  I left Portland, Oregon in the spring of 2016 and visited my first extreme point, the westernmost point of the U.S. at Cape Alava in Washington state, on April 30.  By early November, I had reached Florida and, after driving over 20,000 miles around North America, I'd visited 13 of the 16 extreme points.  

...
	Above:  A dorky tourist (me) in Key West, Florida in 1995.  After seeing this concrete buoy, I figured I was at the southernmost point of the continental U.S.  Of course, this was long before my "Extreme Geographer" days when I was blissfully unaware of the cold, hard truth (har, har).

The final three extreme geographic compass points in the contiguous United States – the southernmost, southeasternmost, and south-southeasternmost points – were all in southern Florida but were more problematic.  Where exactly were they?  Identifying these three sites was more challenging than the others because much of southern Florida is a marsh or swamp, which gradually transitions into the ocean.  How do you tell where the land ends and the marshy swamp begins?  And what about all the islands, like Key West, which according to the Key West Chamber of Commerce is purportedly the “southernmost point of the continental U.S.”? Should I include islands in this quest?  Before I left on my trip, I had to identify precisely where these 16 points were, but the swamps and islands in Florida made it difficult.

Therefore before I started this trip, I created some rules so anyone could identify the exact same locations that I had (see My Rules), and my first rule was to not consider islands.  That’s because if you include islands, the task of visiting the 16 extreme compass points becomes virtually impossible, for me or anyone else.  Once you start including islands where do you stop?  How do you distinguish between an island and, say, a small rock that sits a little further out in the ocean?  And then maybe there’s a partially submerged rock that’s even farther out.  I may be stupid but I’m not crazy (or perhaps it’s the other way around), so I’m not going to paddle out in the ocean, whether it be in Florida, Washington, Maine, or California, just to set foot on some partially submerged rock three miles from the coast. 

That’s why I set up my rule about no islands, which thus limits my quest to the “mainland contiguous United States.”  And therefore, sorry to say, Key West was eliminated from contention in this quest.  I visited Key West in November 2016 but didn’t bother to visit the ridiculous concrete buoy that boastfully claims it’s the southernmost point of the continental U.S.  Heck, that buoy isn’t even the southernmost point of Key West.  And truth be told, Key West isn’t even the southernmost island in Florida.  Nope, that honor goes to the privately-owned Ballast Key, which is 10 miles west of Key West and about two miles south and is owned by a millionaire who made his money by, ironically, selling real estate in Key West. 

So again, I’m not considering islands, just the mainland part of the United States.  That solves the “island issue.”  And using that criteria, Cape Sable on the Florida mainland in Everglades National Park, and not Key West (or Ballast Key) is the southernmost point of the contiguous mainland United States.    

...
	Above:  During my trip to Florida in 2016, I took a ferry to the Dry Tortugas National Park.  On the way there, we passed by Ballast Key, the southernmost point in the continental United States, which is about 2 miles south of Key West.  It's also privately owned, so you can't visit it.

O.K., that covers the southernmost point of the U.S.  But where are the southeasternmost and south-southeasternmost points of the U.S.?  If you look at a map of Florida, you’ll probably agree that those points are somewhere in southern Florida, but where precisely?  This is where it gets difficult because there are lots of marshes in southern Florida that gradually transition into the ocean, so like I say, how do you tell where the mainland ends and the marsh or ocean starts? 

Months before I started this endeavor, while I was still in Qatar, I studied aerial photographs of southern Florida, trying to identify the southeasternmost and south-southeasternmost points of the mainland contiguous United States. I realized that identifying these sites depended on your definition, so given that, I decided to create another rule:  to be considered part of the mainland, you have to be able to walk there at the highest tide (even if it’s along a highway right-of-way).  Otherwise I don't consider it part of the mainland.  This is a pretty standard definition of a "mainland" that's used by many geographers, I suppose, but I still wanted to state it.  

Using that rule, I was able to locate the southeasternmost point of the mainland contiguous United States.  Looking at the satellite imagery, I identified a point at a place on Card Sound south of the city of Homestead just before you reach the first bridge that heads to Key Largo.  This is the southeasternmost point of the U.S. mainland that you can walk to during high tide.  Likewise, I determined that the south-southeasternmost point is on the right-of-way of Highway 1 south of Homestead and just before you encounter the first bridge, which crosses a narrow waterway to a place called Pelican Key. 

No doubt about it, identifying some of the 16 extreme compass points is subjective and depends on the definition and criteria you use.  That's why it's important to state your "rules" and methodology beforehand, which I've done.  So with these three locations identified – the southernmost point at Cape Sable, the southeasternmost point at the Card Sound bridge, and the south-southeasternmost point at the Pelican Key bridge – I was ready for Florida.

Visiting the Southernmost Point

The southernmost point of the mainland contiguous United States, at Cape Sable in Everglades National Park, was my sixteenth and final extreme geographic compass point on my eight-month trip around America, and I knew it would be the most difficult.  I’d been to the Everglades before several times, including the village of Flamingo, which is at the proverbial “end of the road.”  In fact, I made the mistake of camping at the mosquito-infested Flamingo campground back in 1987, which was literally the worst and most uncomfortable night of my entire life.  I still itch when I think about all the mosquito bites.  Every time I visit Flamingo now, it’s understandably with a fair bit of trepidation. 

I knew that driving all the way down to Flamingo and the National Park Service village there would be the easy part.  The hard part would be getting out to Cape Sable, which is 11 miles west of Flamingo.  There’s a trail that goes part of the way there, but from studying my maps months before I visited Florida, it appeared that getting to Cape Sable would require a boat.  And preferably a motor boat, since I knew from previous visits that the headwinds here can be pretty strong, which would make paddling either a canoe or sea kayak unfeasible.  So with all that in mind, I was ready to hit the Everglades.

The evening after I visited the the southeasternmost and the south-southeasternmost points of the mainland contiguous United States, I camped at Pennekamp State Park in the Florida Keys.  The next day I left the Keys and headed north once again, this time going into the city of Homestead and then west to Everglades National Park.  I stopped at the impressive Everglades Visitor Center just past the park entrance and got some information about the Coastal Prairie Trail that extends about seven miles west of Flamingo towards Cape Sable, then I got back in the truck and headed south.

...
	Above:  The village of Flamingo lies at the southern tip of Everglades National Park.  The southernmost point of the mainland contiguous United States is at Cape Sable, shown with the label "East Cape."  There's a trail that goes part of the way there, but visiting Cape Sable requires a boat -- and preferably a motor boat.

Continuing my southward drive through the Everglades, I finally reached the village of Flamingo, at the end of the highway on the shores of Florida Bay.  There’s not too much at Flamingo:  a National Park visitor center, a marina and campground, and that’s about it, but it’s a nice place and very quiet this time of year before the winter rush.  My first stop was the Flamingo marina where I asked a fellow who was working there about the boat rental situation.  "I can rent you a canoe or kayak, but we don't rent motorboats," he said.  Bummer.

Next I strolled over to the spacious-though-dated Visitor Center and talked to a friendly park ranger standing behind the desk named Bob, who told me he’d worked here for many seasons and knew the area well.  I told him about my trip around the country and my quest to become the first person to visit all 16 extreme compass points of the U.S., then I said, “I’m planning to hike out to Cape Sable, the southernmost point."  He frowned and told me the situation straight-up.  “You really can’t hike there because the trail is flooded and there’s a lot of mud,” he said.  “And there are lots of mosquitoes, so you’ll need a full netting jacket.  And you’ll have to watch out for pythons.”  Then he chuckled a bit and said, “Besides, there’s a wide canal that you’d have to swim across, which is filled with alligators.” 

He could tell I was dejected, but he continued, trying to break it to me gently:  “Instead of hiking, you’ll have to paddle out there.  But it’s 22 miles round-trip and the winds are strong, so it’ll take you a few days.”  That was another bummer.  Nevertheless, we had a pleasant chat for 20 minutes, then I left and walked back to my truck in the mostly-empty parking lot.

Crestfallen, I drove over to the Flamingo campground, not to camp but rather to reminisce about that miserable night back in 1987 when I was nearly eaten alive by swarms of hungry mosquitoes and no-see-ums while squirming and sweating in the back of my truck on a hot and humid evening.  It was a lot different this morning with only a half-swarm to contend with.  Mosquitoes, as I’ve learned, come out to feast mostly in the evening. 

I remember driving into the campground, in May of 1987, and eagerly looking forward to spending a night in the wilds.  I couldn’t figure out, however, why the campground was deserted and why the Park Service wasn't charging a camping fee that time of year.  "Wow, free camping.  What a great deal!" I said to myself.  A few hours later after sunset when the massive clouds of voracious mosquitoes emerged, I understood why it was free.

After reminiscing at the campground, I drove over to the Flamingo picnic area nearby which, according to my map, was the southernmost point of Flamingo.  After learning about the Cape Sable situation from Ranger Bob, I’d given up on my plans to go out there, so I figured this was as far south as I (or anyone) could feasibly travel on the U.S. mainland.  I took some pictures and shot a video here on the shores of Florida Bay, which I posted on my Southernmost Point of the U.S. page.  This was as close to Cape Sable, the southernmost point of the mainland contiguous United States, as I could possibly get, so I called it good.

I was disappointed not to get out to Cape Sable, of course, but my goal on this trip was to get as close as possible to each of the 16 extreme compass points in the contiguous United States.  Some of the points had been impossible to reach, like the southwesternmost point of the U.S.near Santa Barbara, California, which is on an Air Force Base and is thus off-limits to the public, or the sites in northern Maine that were on private property.   I'd gotten as close as possible to each of the 16 points, so this one, I suppose, was no different.  As I sat by the beach, an Asian tourist walked by and, with a smile, said in broken English, "There are lots of bugs here.  Do you need some spray?" "No thanks," I smiled and said.  "I have my own."  A friendly gesture.  And yes, bugs.  Lots of them.

After saying goodbye to buggy Flamingo, I headed out but stopped a few minutes later at a pond to take some pictures.  A young couple from France were there, swatting themselves.  I paid it forward and gave them the half-filled can of "Off" in my truck and they were grateful.  "There are lots of mosquitoes here," they said.  "Yep," I said, "and they'll be a lot more after the sun sets, so be ready!" 

That evening’s destination was Long Key State Park, several miles west of Key Largo.  I reached the park an hour before sunset and found my campsite, which was stunningly beautiful.  I’d never been to this park but, as I learned, it’s a great place with a wonderful campground that stretches along the Gulf of Mexico, and each campsite has its own little beach.  It’s a terrific campground, actually, except for one thing:  it’s only a few yards from busy Highway 1.  Noisy trucks rolled by constantly so I was definitely going to need my earplugs while sleeping here.  Other than that, it's a great park.

After a dinner of fried chicken and potato salad, I took my folding chair, laptop and candle lantern down to my little beach and watched the gentle waves lap ashore, then as darkness fell, I saw the lights of a cruise ship twinkle way off in the gulf.  Now pitch black, and with only the light of the twinkling stars overhead, I opened my laptop and watched another Bogart and Bacall movie, the 1948 classic “Key Largo.”  It was the perfect movie for tonight, I figured, as I sat on the warm and breezy beach.

I walked back to my campsite after the movie and blew out the candle lantern.  After visiting all 16 extreme compass points of the U.S. and 56 other extreme sites around the country, my Extreme Geography adventure was over.  It was time to head home.

Summary:

• I visited this site on November 27, 2016.  
• To read my story and see my photos, click here.
• The coordinates of this point are: 25° 08.177' N, 80° 56.049' W. 
• To see a Google Map of the southernmost point, click here.
• To see the panorama photo I created at this site, click here.

How to Get There:  

To get to this point, travel to Everglades National Park in southern Florida.  Continue on the road past the Visitor Center for about 45 miles until you reach the end, at a village called Flamingo.  Drive to the picnic area near the campground and walk a few hundred yards south to the shore of Florida Bay.  The southernmost point is by the tree near the small beach.

The Southernmost Point

 News Flash!  Here’s the REAL Southernmost Point of the United States

After I completed my journey around America, in the winter of 2017, I wrote and posted stories about my visits to several of the extreme geographic compass points.  That includes the southernmost point of the mainland United States, which is at Cape Sable, Florida. 

Or is it?

For decades most geographers who are into this sort of thing (a strange bunch, no doubt), including myself, have agreed that Cape Sable, at the southern tip of Everglades National Park, is the southernmost point of the mainland United States.  You can Google it or read the Wikipedia page on Geographic Extremes or any of dozens of other reputable sources:  everyone "in the know" agrees that Cape Sable is the southernmost point of the mainland United States.  Some of these cerebral folks like to scoff at the lay people and tourists who consider Key West, Florida to be the southernmost point because they know the real truth:  It's Cape Sable.  And I was also one of these "in the know" folks -- though I don't think I ever scoffed or looked down my nose at any Key West supporters!

I recently changed my mind about Cape Sable, however.  That’s because after looking at Cape Sable more closely, I realized that it’s not on the U.S. mainland.  Instead, it’s on an island.  My definition, and the definition that many geographers use to define a site on a “mainland” is that the site cannot be surrounded by water.  Instead you have to be able to walk to the site at the highest tide.  But guess what?  You can’t walk to Cape Sable because it’s cut off from the mainland by a 200-foot wide canal, called the East Cape Canal, that was dug back in the 1930s. 

At one time Cape Sable was indeed the southernmost point of the mainland United States, but no longer.  Many canals have been dug in the Everglades, which isolates pockets of land and has turned them into virtual islands.  Cape Sable and the land around it is an island, just like Key West and Ballast Key.  In my mind there’s really no difference.

After realizing this, I looked at my maps and satellite imagery of the Everglades area, trying to determine the southernmost point of land on the U.S. mainland (i.e., the southernmost point you could walk to at high tide).  I realized that the southernmost point is an unnamed point of land about six miles east of Cape Sable, roughly halfway between Flamingo and Cape Sable.  For lack of a better name, I’m going to call this site “South Point.”  In looking at my maps and satellite imagery, it appears that you can walk to South Point.  Yes, there’s thick underbrush which would make hiking here difficult, but it does appear to be on the U.S. mainland, whereas Cape Sable is not. 

Sorry to disappoint you, Cape Sable fans, but my vote for the southernmost point of the mainland contiguous United States is South Point.  And during my next trip to Florida, I intend to go there.