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Does Key West Get Sargassum?

Florida Keys · United States

Yes — Heavy in season

Key West's south-shore beaches get sargassum from about May through August, and 2026 was a record year. The sand is raked most mornings, but weed in the water often stays.

Sargassum in Key West by month

Jan
Light
Feb
Light
Mar
Light
Apr
Moderate
May
Heavy
Jun
Heavy
Jul
Heavy
Aug
Heavy
Sep
Moderate
Oct
Light
Nov
Light
Dec
Light
LightModerateHeavy
Worst months
May through August
Clearest water
November through March

What to know before you book

  • •Beach by beach: South Beach is consistently the worst, Smathers and Higgs are a coin flip (raked sand but often weedy water), and Fort Zachary Taylor on the island's southwestern tip is the best bet because deeper, better-circulating water where the Gulf and Atlantic mix flushes the weed - although the state park does not rake, so what arrives stays.
  • •Key West Island News marked 11 May 2026 as the unofficial start of the season, running about four months through August; the Keys sit directly in the path of mats carried up through the Yucatan Current into the Gulf Stream.
  • •South-to-southeast winds, the Gulf Stream running close to shore, and spring tides around a new or full moon are the combination that produces the biggest landings, per UF/IFAS Extension Monroe County.
  • •Key West is not a sunbathing destination the way Punta Cana is - the reef, the sunset sails, the backcountry flats and Dry Tortugas trips are all unaffected by shoreline sargassum.
  • •USF reported the Gulf still at a record high for July 2026 but declining, with amounts expected to keep falling into November, so late fall 2026 should be clear.

Sources: Key West Island News, May 2026 - Sargassum season 2026, UF/IFAS Extension Monroe County, Jun 2026 - 2026 Sargassum Inundation Event, WGCU/WUSF Public Media, May 2026 - Record tons of sargassum arriving in the Florida Keys, Keys News (Key West Citizen) - Record sargassum in Key West, company says

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