Cat Hulls
The real southernmost point
The ongoing debate about America’s official southernmost point’s location remains a personal decision, depending on where you want it to be.
The word “contiguous” is the heart of the debate, which by definition means “To share a border by touching,” while some claim that bridges connecting American land should count.
The famous buoy in Key West takes first place at the polls, but there’s other factors to be considered, and even the Government has no straight answer.
Of the 1,700+ “Keys,” roughly 800 are named. 43 are large enough and in line to be connected by the Overseas Highway for residents and visitors, and all of it is Monroe County. Key Largo is the largest island by land mass, and Dry Tortugas, about 70 miles west of Key West, is the furthest island to the west.
The public road connecting the Florida Keys has multiple names depending which area is being referred to. “US-1” begins in Maine and ends in Key West. The “Overseas Highway,” once a 100-mile long train track connecting the Florida Keys, is now the road that connects Key Largo to Key West. From the Georgia border south to Key West is now branded as the “Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway,” which is currently on maps, but it’s all the same road.
The Florida Keys are considered to be a “place” as opposed to over 1,700 different places, which can make the southernmost land in the contiguous U.S. an island, or in this case, a “Key.” That Key is Ballast Key, a small private, inaccessible island a few miles southwest of Key West. The overall geographical southernmost U.S. point is Ka Lae in Hawaii.
Since the Keys are considered to all be one place, the chain of islands arguably holds the distinction of being the southernmost point of land in the contiguous United States.
Google says, “Ballast Key is a small private island located about 10 miles west of Key West, making it a short boat or helicopter ride away, and it's famous as the southernmost point of land in the contiguous U.S..”
Ballast Key’s name originates from the 19th century when ships would dump ballast stones nearby to lift a ship’s draft before docking at the lively port of Key West with cargo such as tobacco and rum from the caribbean.
In the mid-20th century, Ballast Key became the private retreat of developer and philanthropist David W. Wolkowsky. Often called the "Father of Modern Key West," Wolkowsky purchased the island in the 1970s, establishing a secluded sanctuary and hosting notable figures.
Along with the Hemingway House, Garrison Bight Marina, and several other Key West locations, Ballast Key appears in the 1989 James Bond movie "License to Kill."
In the film, Ballast Key, with its remote and exotic setting, serves as the luxurious residence and headquarters of the villain Franz Sanchez, a powerful drug lord. The natural beauty and seclusion contribute to the tropical, high-stakes atmosphere typical of a James Bond film.
Following Wolkowsky's death in 2018, the island was donated to The Nature Conservancy. Ownership was subsequently transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2020.
This made it the last privately owned property to be integrated into the Key West National Wildlife Refuge, ensuring its pristine beaches and diverse coastal ecosystems are permanently protected.
I had the opportunity to get up close to Ballast Key while fishing for Bonefish with Capt. Mike Bartlett a couple years ago. The wind was around 2-3 knots for days prior, which is unusual in Key West, so the seas were calm and the waters were crystal clear. It sure did seem that we were north as opposed to west of Key West.
The famous “Buoy” in Key West is considered by many to be the most southern point of the US. Others say it’s Ballast Key since it’s American land and all of the 1700+ Keys are a reference to one place.
If bridges were removed from the debate, the most southern point of the U.S. mainland is Cape Sable in the Everglades, but the famous tourist marker, the Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West is known to be the southernmost location if determined by car accessibility.
Many believe the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson are further south, but this is because it seems like the Keys run north and south. When you are physically in the Keys, this is a geographical illusion, as the islands run more east to west. Based on Lat & Long lines, Fort Jefferson is about 5 miles north of Key West.
A few years ago the famous buoy in Key West was set on fire by vandals. Between salt air, crashing ocean waves, fire damage, father time, and mostly a seawall that needed repairs, it needed to be repainted anyway, so local volunteers decided to give it a great restoration job.
In 2025 a temporary similar but smaller buoy was put at the end of Duval Street in “Duval Pocket Park” for photographs, about a block from the Whitehead Street home of the buoy.
The original Key West Southernmost Point Buoy has been painted and is scheduled to be tourist-ready in late 2026, after the city completes seawall and road reconstruction to the area.
Installed in 1983 by artist Danny Acosta and Henry Del Valle, the buoy's claim has another questionable issue as far as the perception of its location. South of the buoy is yet ANOTHER point of land on the island of Key West. Extending roughly 400 feet further south, it likely doesn’t count because it’s part of restricted Naval Air Station (NAS) property. This land is visible from where the famous buoy sits. From the buoy, look for the radar dome that resembles a giant golf ball. You can get close to this if you visit the beach at Fort Zachary Park, which is yet ANOTHER location, further south than the NAS property.
There, at “Straw Hat Beach,” you can walk to where a fence stops you from entering Navy property which is roughly 800-feet south of the famous buoy. Having your toes in the sand on a low winter tide where that fence touches the water is the southernmost point a person can be at without a boat or plane, though there’s no buoy or sign showing the world you were there.
This is not publicized as the park includes Fort Zachary itself and is not
structured to manage lines of people seeking a photo.
Ballast Key is a contender because the U.S. claims ownership of land up to 12 miles from shore, including control of what’s underwater. Ballast Key is less than 12 miles from Key West, and it’s governed by the U.S., making the island “contiguous.”
While some claim Cape Sable, some say Ballast Key, and others say Straw Hat Beach, the Key West buoy is the furthest destination south worthy of a photo recognized by the world that says, “I was there.”
Ballast Key is your photo opportunity if you have access to a boat, although the island has “No Trespassing” signage. If you’re limited to traveling in a vehicle, and you’re in Key West, make your way out to the fence at Straw Hat Beach just to say you did it.
There’s another famous buoy, the “Northernmost Buoy.” To reach this in Angle Inlet, Minnesota, you must cross land borders into Canada requiring passports, as it's geographically isolated with no direct road from the U.S. mainland. For the sake of checking an item off your bucket-list, a “selfie” at the buoy in Key West is more realistic, plus Key West has things like ice cream shops, and bathrooms…..
If any other location were to be branded as “America’s Southernmost Point” other than the buoy at the end of Whitehead Street in Key West, the amount of tourists lining up for a photo may be slightly less than those in Key West as there are no bars, strip clubs, or t-shirts for sale on private islands or places like the uninhabited Cape Sable.
Either way, as of now, America’s “Southernmost Point” is not where it is, it’s where you want it to be.
Jim Griffiths
Publisher,
Nautical Mile Magazine
