Lower Sugarloaf Key

Lower Sugarloaf Key is an island in the lower Florida Keys about 13 miles east of Key West.

It is located between the Saddlebunch Keys and Sugarloaf Key, apparently separated from Sugarloaf Key by Upper Sugarloaf Sound and Park Key.

U.S. 1 (or the Overseas Highway) crosses the key at approximately mile markers 16.5--17.5. Due to the routing of U.S. Route 1, it appears that Sugarloaf Key and Lower Sugarloaf Key are separate islands, but they are actually one large "U"-shaped island.

As its name implies, Lower Sugarloaf Key is the lower of the two connected islands. The islands make a loop shape, having Upper Sugarloaf Sound and Park Key in the center. Although smaller in area, than Sugarloaf Key, it is more densely populated and is also called Sugarloaf Shores.

It has Sugarloaf Lodge and restaurant, an airport, a volunteer fire department, and a bat tower built in 1929 which is listed as a historic site. The tower was put there by a man named Perky to control the mosquito problem in the Lower Keys, but when the bats were put in, they flew away, never to return. Mr. Perky intended to found a city named after himself, but did not succeed due to the local mosquitoes.