CEDAR KEY FLORIDA (before hurricane Idalia) | A Day in Levy County Exploring the Nature Coast | Ep 3
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 14. 07. 2024
- Located in Levy County along Florida's Nature Coast, Cedar Key Florida feels much more like an old Florida fishing village than your typical touristy Florida beach town. In fact, Cedar Key Florida is actually the second oldest town in all of Florida. But just because it's not as bustling as other coastal areas of Florida, does not mean that there aren't plenty of things to experience and enjoy.
In this video, we'll take you along with us as we explore Cedar Key. Along the way, we'll show you where you can find some of the island town's best food, drinks, and views. Before we get to Cedar Key; however, we'll also take you on a detour down Follow That Dream Parkway, the Florida road made famous by the king of rock and roll himself.
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Timeline:
00:00 Intro
00:58 Follow That Dream (detour to Yankeetown)
02:43 Paddle to Uninhabited Island in Yankeetown
04:50 Finding a Beautiful Sandbar
06:30 On the Road to Cedar Key
07:10 Arriving at Cedar Key (Funky Tiki Bar)
08:56 Exploring Dock Street at Cedar Key
10:06 Drinks + Views + Cats at Cedar Key
11:11 Dinner Time at Cedar Key (Local Seafood)
12:51 Best Sunset on Cedar Key
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Websites from Video:
Hideaway Tiki Bar - www.lowkeyhideaway.info/
Liam & Madi's - / liam-madis-beer-wine-s...
Steamer's - www.steamerscedarkey.com
Cedar Key Chamber of Commerce - www.cedarkey.org
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CZcams Audio Library
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Explorcation consists of Jamie and Skylar, a couple who typically shares their experiences traveling and staying active via blogs and travel videos.
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Way to follow your dream and paddle all the way to horsefly island! Your adventurous spirit led you guys to discover a gorgeous sandbar that I'm certain not many people have been to before. Very cool!
đ as we got closer and closer the sand areas kept disappearing on horsefly island, maybe it would be a different experience if we visited during low tide.
I was really happy we kept going and got to enjoy that little sandbar before it disappeared. Thanks so much for watching guys.
Love the old town look of Cedar Key!!
đI hope that everyone is doing well đ
Same here!
We drop our boat at this boat ramp almost every weekend and never knew about the Elivs history, thanks for sharing.
We're glad we were able to teach you something new! Thanks so much for watching.
Now ya have to watch the movie! My mom was a big Elvis fan and I think I've seen all the Elvis movies while growing up.
We would love to watch it!
Beautiful area...hopefully the area is recovering quickly from that last hurricane!
We really hope so too. Hopefully we'll find time before to long to get up there and help support the recovery.
I'm from levy county and grew up not far from cedar key, that water is full of bull sharks, enjoyed the video, takes me back.
Wow next time we visit we will keep our eye out for those bull sharks! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment, Ted!
Does Levy have a lot of crime?
Nice video! Love my Elvis and my hometown. Did you know they have a Dolphin project in Cedar Key? You can see so many while kayaking around all of our beautiful islands!
How amazing to be able to call Cedar Key your hometown, Gaylynn! We were not aware of the dolphin project, but we'll definitely do some research on it prior to our next visit to Cedar Key. Thanks so much for brining it to our attention!
Cedar key is a must for those who have not been. I was born and raised in Gainesville Florida,not far from there, and Iâve been to Cedar key quite a few times and it never disappoints. Great video đâ€ïž
Thanks so much for your comment :) we are so glad to hear you enjoy Cedar Key as well, and recommend it! Gainsville is an area we still need to explore some day â€
oh dang the flies! The island looked pretty cool apart from that haha, even with the beach being rocky. At least now you know! Great video as always đ
right? sometimes what looks like "paradise" is far from it. Try to stay on that island would be miserable đ we still had fun at least. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for taking me along on your trip. That was fun! đâźâđ
Thank you for joining us, Michelle. We're glad you enjoyed it!
I always considered Cedar Key too far out of the way when my life was to busy to enjoy such things. Just added it to my travel plans. Perfect stop on my way back from my next trip.
Hey, Bob! It really is a refreshing change from the majority of the Florida beach towns we've explored lately and would be a great way to wind down your next trip.
đđ
Great job!! Have been researching Cedar Key!
Thanks, Greg. We've had the privilege of visiting Cedar Key twice and both times were amazing.
Very interesting exploration trip
The coast look cool
This area of Florida is not as well known but we think it is a great area to explore. Thanks so much for watching!
Cedar key looks amazing and quite quirky, love the cute tiki bars and the decor.
I loved when you took the paddle boards and went exploring the little islands..itâs so cool!
The clams looked delicious đ€€ and a beautiful view!
Stunning sunset to end the day đ
It really is a quirky place, and such a nice change of pace from they typical Florida beach town, & clams were so good!
I lived there a few years. Farm raised clams are the biggest thing they have there.
Ugh... the sad truth about tiny islands in FL... HUNGRY BUGS đ„Ž We always explore during the week.. we are not crowd people lol. FL has so many filming spots đ Perfect sunset!! đđ
- Ashley from Adventure Encounters
I am sure with all of your Florida adventures you have plenty of experiences with the bugs too. We had an even worse experience paddling on Weeki Wachi. We can laugh about it now but boy were the bites miserable.
Exploring during the week definitely has it's perks here đ thanks for watching!
Paddleboarding on the ocean seems beautiful. I love how you guys just casually saw dolphins swimming by! So amazing! A sand bar seems like an awesome spot to chill while you're out there. Cedar Key seemed like a fun town to explore! As you said in the video, I bet it was nice to experience the smaller fishing town instead of another tourist-y beach town
We are really excited to see dolphins more frequently again. We used to see dolphins all of the time when we paddled in the gulf, but a few years ago red tide was really bad and it took a while for the dolphins to return to the area. It is something we definitely used to take for granted. Thanks so much for watching :)
I live in this country all I will really say is the big deck bar and gille is the my favorite spot to eat
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment, Nick. We'll definitely check out the Big Deck bar and grille next time we get up to the Cedar Key area!
Goodbye Cedar keys, thank you for doing this.
I hope it weathers the storm
It's not looking good for them, but the storm could still shift quite a bit over the next day. Wishing them and all of Florida the best.
Cedar Key is also a great place for birding.
Great to know, Jim. Thanks for sharing!
This awesome I enjoyed ur videos đ52
Happy to see u friend and want to see ur videos more & more
Thanks so much for your support!
Yet another great show from you guys! Iâm loving your channel. Iâm wondering if yâall have been back to Cedar Key after Idalia? Iâve been there and loved it and Iâd love to see how itâs recovering. I live in Los Angeles but I hope to get there this summer. Also thank you for your shows on Sarasota and St. Armandâs.
Thank you so much, John! We have not yet made it back to Cedar Key since Idalia, but we just spoke to a couple who was down there a few weeks ago. They said they had a great time, that there were a lot of tourists around, and that the island overall was recovering pretty well. We hope you're able to make it down to FL this summer... but summer weather in LA would be pretty hard to leave!
The rocky island that they paddled to is one good reason I'm a big fan of water shoes. They also keep your feet from burning on hot sand
Good point, Mary. It's never a bad idea to pack a pair of water shoes!
Skylar summarised it well, âJust keep going and things will work out!â That sandbar looked so relaxing with no horseflies in sight! Theyâre the worstđ©
The crabs were cool and finding dolphins on the way to the island is a pretty cool way to start the dayđ
Definitely the attitude you need to have with many things.... including CZcams đ It really was a great start to the day. So often the unplanned adventures are the best ones.
One of the best kept secrets in Florida
We sure do agree, Carlton!
This past weekend we visited Cedar Key using this video as our guide. The Mojito and Bloody Mary at the Tiki Bar are a must have âïž. Enjoyed the dining at Steamers. A quaint little fishing village that is busy on the weekends. Nice day trip from Ocala. Thank you.
That's so great to hear that our video helped you to make the most of your time in Cedar Key, Bill! We're glad you enjoyed it!
Cedar key looks great! Good choice guys! âïžâïžđșđ„€đđââïž
Thanks so much for watching! Cedar Key is a bit off the beaten path but worth a visit đ
@@Explorcation cool. Thanks for letting me know. đđ»
Yeah, Follow That Dream! Yeah, Elvis history there. Iâve watched beautiful sunsets where they filmed the movie at the bridge. It was also filmed at other locations in the area. The cast stayed in Crystal River.
We didn't even know about the Elvis history until we found out about it on the drive to Crystal River... but it's so interesting. I bet that bridge is a great spot to catch a sunset!
@@Explorcation Oh yes!!
Now here's a place I haven't heard about. Very nice tour!
Happy to be able to share something new with you đ I know you are familiar with a lot of the areas we have been visiting lately. Cedar Key is a bit off the beaten path but a nice day trip for something a little different. Thanks for watching!
HOME! â€
Those are most likely not flies but sandgnats.
You must feel really lucky to have grown up in such a beautiful place, Kat!
@@Explorcation Indeed, I do. :)
@@kathunter5773 thanks for letting us know!
I love Steamers and Cody's Road house in Cristal river .
Thanks for the suggestions, James.
@@Explorcation
You're welcome and Thank you for your videos . Have fun đ out there .
@@jamestopeka2236 thank you so much â„ we really appreciate you watching and your comments!
Looks so relaxing! Loved the kitties at the bar. Clams are one of the best seafood options!
Those bar cats were awesome. We could have hung out with them all night!
WowâŠawesome vlog đđ
Thank you so much đ
Cedar Key is an old time Florida town. Iâve hiked thereâŠetc. Thereâs a hiking trail that I once hiked that was an old trestle. Thereâs also a preserve nearby. Away From the World is my favorite restaurant there.
Next time we visit we'll definitely have to do some hiking. We've been there twice now, but only for a day each time. I feel like we need to spend a few days next visit! We'll definitely check out Away form the World too.
@@Explorcation Itâs called Cedar Key Schrub Preserve.
@@Victory1981 thank you!
The tiki bar is so awesome. We loved it there.
We agree 100%, Valerie. We can't wait to make it back there some time.
You guys are seriously awesome. Love the recommendations. Iâve been going to all of the places you highlight :) great spots. I feel like a local even though Iâm still a St. Pete newbie.
First WELCOME to ST PETE đ and thanks for the comment đ it makes us so happy to know you have been checking out some of the places we have included in our videos. There are so many amazing things to do in St. Pete and the surrounding areas. Do you have any favorites form the places/areas you have visited so far?
Crabs and dolphines all in one day, thats so cool! There was seriously so many little crabs, so cute. That's too bad the island infested with bugs and was rocky but it is pretty cool that you had the little island to yourself. Those bloody mary's look absolutely amazing, I could so go for one of those right now. Dock street looks like a lot of fun, love that there's awesome waterfront views. Those clams looks delicious too. Nice sunset to end off the day!
Yeah, the island really was cool until the bugs showed up. Next time we paddle to an uninhabited island, we'll bring bug spray!
I have never heard of that movie before with Elvis Presley but I am sure Steve knows it! Oh no the dream island wasn't too dreamy. I cant stand the mosquitos, sorry you had to deal with them. Dock street seems to have such amazing places! Dinner spot is looking very nice! We also love seafood :)
It's hard to beat fresh caught seafood. One of the best things about living on the coast!
This places looks so nice. Never heard of it before. So glad I found your channel!
It is definitely off the beaten path but a great destination for a day trip. Thanks so much for watching :)
Looks like a great place to hang out and relax! -S
We would definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking for a relaxing place on the water!
Been wanting to go to ceder key. Glad I found this video. Will definitely plan it out for next month
We're so glad that our video has encouraged you to visit Cedar Key. We're sure you won't regret it. Thanks for watching, Souky!
I loved the water front seating you had for dinner! I've never had class before but would love to try. The wings looked delish. Beautiful sunset view too! The paddleboarding looked so peaceful and calming, but I know if I tried it would not be a calm activity for me đ€Ł
Clams are delicious, but not very filling. I'm pretty sure you'd have to order about 300 of them to actually get full off of themđ
Great video. Informative.
Thanks for watching, Bill. We're glad you liked it!
I just found your channel. Living in Tampa Bay, it's fun to see if there are other places to explore. Sometimes we need a reminder of what is in our backyard, :) thanks for sharing!
We're so glad that you found our channel! We agree 100%. Even with our channel and going out exploring almost every weekend, we are still always finding new places here in Pinellas County that were not on our radar. If you are ever bored around here, it is your own fault!
Beautiful video! You naming it "Horsefly Island" made me lol. Was imagining seeing it called that on a map :).
đ the Horseflies were everywhere!
Thanks so much for watching đ
Amazing place and loved this vlog guys :)
Thanks so much for the kind comments! It really was an awesome place to visit.
Love cedar key. Old world florida. My favorite seafood is actually back on the main land called Robinsons. Just a concrete block shack but great seafood.
That's great to know. We've been to Cedar Key twice but never heard of Robinson's. Next visit we will surely check it out!
Moral of the video: FOLLOW THAT DREAM hehe đ this is an awesome vlog guys! Cedar Key looks gorgeous. I like to check out movie locations even if I havenât seen the movie cause you can watch it later and be like âhey Iâve been thereâ lol. You guys really found an awesome sand bar after leaving that island (especially since it didnât have horse flies! đŹ) Iâm adding this place to my Florida travel list. Steamers looks like a delicious place to eat đ I can already taste the seafood!
I agree completely. I probably never would have even heard of that Elvis movie let along watched it, but now I'm definitely going to watch it someday! The sandbar was pretty awesome, but we were mainly just happy that it didn't have horse flies!
We went yesterday and stopped at the Tiki Bar, the Bloody Mary was amazing! And so was the Dirty banana., but on the way home, we stopped there again and got two dirty bananas, and they did not taste the same. It was a different bartender. We were so disappointed.
We have the same taste in drinks! I (Skylar) love bloody marys & dirty bananas. That's too bad that the second bartender wasn't able to make the dirty bananas as good though. We hope the rest of your experience in Cedar Key was a good one!
Found in drop box lol some where lol ASD
Thanks for watching!
Yeah, I was looking at a map of Florida once and I was like, "What is this small island in the middle of the Gulf?" We ended up visiting and were surprised that there were hardly any tourists and it wasn't super commercialized and had an authentic Floridian vibe. We only stopped for a couple hours, as it was our last day in Florida, so just enough time to try some Gator tail and see a bit of downtown, but we could've easily spent a couple days there, exploring the little keys.
Florida had been on my bucketlist since childhood, and I never planned on restricting my visit to just the north of the state, but northern Florida has much more to offer than I originally thought. Definitely a great alternative the more touristy and commercialized places of the south. Undoubtedly one of the most underrated regions in the South. I don't even wanna go to south Florida anymore after visiting the north. Maybe only some of the historic sites around Miami, which can be done on a layover.
Hey Brian. That's almost exactly how we ended up deciding to visit Cedar Key as well. We were already planning on exploring the Crystal River area, but I had remembered seeing the island on a map previously and realized it would only be about an hour from where we were staying. It ended up being well worth the extra drive.
Cedar Key is about as far north as we've gotten exploring Florida, other than a short trip to Jax a few years ago. That said, we definitely plan on working our way up further north into Florida over the next couple of years. The older we get, the more we appreciate nature, and the more we seem to be drawn to the less touristy areas. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment!
@@Explorcation Us too pretty much. We were actually staying in St. Augustine, but we had a morning flight from Orlando, and since we wanted to visit some stuff around Gainesville and Crystal River anyways, we decided it would be more convenient to just book our last night in Orlando, and see those places on the way there.
Cedar Key was more of a, "if we have time" thing, as it was a bit of a detour, but it was well worth it.
Me too. I didn't mind them when I was younger, but now I also prefer less touristy, more authentic places. St. Augustine had some nice sites, but it was really commercialized and expensive, and there were a lot of tourist trap places too.
If you're looking for less touristy nature sites I HIGHLY recommend Paynes Prairie State Park. Blue Springs is also nice if you want to see manatees and water critters.
@@briantravelman thanks for the suggestions, Brian. Blue Springs has definitely been on our radar for a while, but we don't know anything about Paynes Prairie State Park. We'll make sure it's on our list when we do make it up that way.
@@Explorcation It's near Gainesville. I mainly wanted to go there for the Bison and Wild Horses, just because they're not typically associated with Florida. But since we'd seen those animals before this also ended up becoming a, "maybe if we have time left over" thing. But when we got there, it was completely worth it. We saw like 20 alligators and birds I've never seen before, and there were almost no tourists. We only visited the north unit, but the south unit is where the bison and horses are.
@@briantravelman we are so glad you enjoyed your time there :) and thank you so much for the suggestions, we've not been to Paynes Prairie or Blue Springs yet!
Cedar looks like my home in Murrells Inet SC.
Your home must be beautiful! We've have not yet made it to coastal SC (only the Greenville area), but when we do we'll have to check out Murrells!
I did spend some time in LA visiting some tv show sites... I would definitely like to follow this dream but might need to watch the movie first...Lol.
It's a shame you were bitten so much after getting to the island and that it wasn't as good as you thought. But this is where you need to explore and find that out đđ
That sand bar was cute...hard to time that one with the tides.
Those cats were pretty cute đđ
I've never had a clam before.... I don't see them on the menu much here but would give it a go
đ right? if we had done a little more research before the trip we may have tried to watch the movie, We thought we would drive down a road for 5 mins and then continue on our way to Cedar Key. We had nooo idea it would turn into the adventure it did, but that is sometimes the best part of traveling, being flexible and doing things on the spur of the moment.
If you do get a chance to try clams let us know what you think! They are a little chewy, but if your are ready for that and they are cooked well they are good :) Thanks for watching!
@@Explorcation your right...the random things are sometimes the best. Happened many times although I'm such a planning person most of the time.
Will let you know on the clams đ
Friends of mine had clam leases there. We made lots of $$$$.
I sure believe it, Tim! Definitely no shortage of clams in Cedar Key. Thanks for watching!
Did Park Place have any damage from the hurricane? đą itâs such a gem đ I pray it didnât â€
We can't tell you that for sure, but we really hope it didn't. It really is a great spot!
I went there on Monday 8/16 after watching some CZcams videos. Cedar Key initially struck me as a nice place to retire, but it was actually a spooky, dumpy ghost town. The Tiki Bar shown here was closed as was most of the rest of the town. I left Cedar Key as fast as I could, never to return. Those charming fellas that own the Firefly charged me $160 for cancelling my reservation. Unlike other commenters here, I gotta say I just don't get it.
We get why some people wouldn't like it. It does have more of an old fishing village feel than that of a beach town. Being used to the touristy beach towns where we live, we really enjoy the change of pace that Cedar Key provides. The place is a bit of a "ghost town" on Mondays, which again, we enjoyed. From what I'm told, the place is much more lively on the weekends. Like you, I don't think we'll ever retire on Cedar Key, but will always enjoy the occasional visit. Thanks for watching!
Yâall should check out loverâs key state park near Estero fl.
It's definitely on our list, Shannon. If you have any suggestions for places to visit in the area, let us know!
Check out manatee springs if you haven't gone there already.
Hey Shawn. We did visit Manatee Springs and loved it, but it's been about 3 years ago now. We're definitely due for a return trip!
It's a great place to camp for a few days. The spring has 72 degree water all year long.
If you haven't been to Venice beach, that place is awesome. Shark tooth capital of the world.
@@shawnsparkman7916 that would be fun to camp there! I think we are going to head back up that way soon...to check out Rainbow River :)
@@shawnsparkman7916 that is a great suggestion. We have been to Venice, but haven't dedicated a trip to look for sharks teeth...yet!
What town is best for children
Hi Bridget. We do not have any children so we're probably not the best people to comment on the best town for children, but Cedar Key is a pretty quiet place and we think it would probably be a great spot for kids.
more cats than rats, but there are still alot of them
Thankfully we did not see any of the rats!!
Sorry, but the 2nd oldest town in Florida is Volusia (est. 1680): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volusia,_Florida
Thinking of Cedar Key and hoping it can survive Hurricane Idalia.
Depends on if you consider Volusia a town or not I guess. Since Volusia is unincorporated, many consider Cedar Key to be the second oldest, but I can see how you could argue it either way. We're hoping the worst of the storm avoids them as well.
Lots of ticks and mosquito on those island, been there done that cedar key not bad the pencil island bad
Thanks for the warning! We will avoid pencil island.
Island Hopping!!! This is right up my alley. Great video. We love all of the Keys!!!! It does make me mad when people call it a Tiki Bar and it doesn't have anything Tiki in it. But, I will try to let it go.
Thanks so much. We love that there are so many keys to explore and each seem to have their own unique vibe.
Glad to hear the Tiki Bar didn't totally ruin the video for you đ