The Sandpiper

Welcome to the Sandpiper in Cedar Key! We are located right on the water at Fenimore Mill.

Fishing, bird watching, boating, kayaking, dining, and shopping are all typical past times for Cedar Key visitors, but perhaps our favorite tourist activity is relaxing. There's a peace and quiet here that is rare in tourist communities. There's something about the place that makes you want to sit down, catch your breath and lean back and say Ahhhhhh..... If it's time for you to just kick back and relax, you have come to the right place!

The Sandpiper at Cedar Key, our Florida vacation rental, is located in Old Fenimore Mill. Our balcony overlooks the back bayous and Gulf of Mexico in Cedar Key Florida. Our condo boasts a vaulted ceiling with awesome two story views of the sunrise and wildlife right off our balcony. Available for rent by the night, weekend, week or month, we know that once you stay with us, the Sandpiper will become your preferred home on the island of Cedar Key. Our many return visitors certainly think so!

While relaxing in the great room or on the balcony, the view is spectacular! The panorama includes the island's greenery, mangrove islands and salt marsh with its wildlife, with the Wacassassa Bay and Gulf of Mexico to the east. It is inspirational for anyone wishing to draw, paint, or photograph.

So, come and visit the Sandpiper at Cedar Key and explore, discover, learn, relax and renew……

Please note: The Sandpiper is a non-smoking home!

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For more info on the area, read below or skip to VACATION RENTAL FEATURES AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

After arriving, you will notice that the pace of life is slower in Cedar Key. People on the street say hello as you pass by; shopkeepers greet you warmly. One of our favorite shops is the Cedar Key Canvas Company. There you can browse the shelves of hand-sewn canvas bags of all types: wallets, purses, hand bags, backpacks, and duffle-bags. At the Cedar Keyhole, local craftsman and artists display their creations and also work in the store, so you can talk with them personally about their work.

At the Island Hotel and Restaurant, your waitress may proudly talk about Cedar Key leading the nation in clam production and the politics and natural resources that brought the industry here. The Island Hotel, a national historic treasure, is complete with old fashioned bar, good tap beer, and lots of stories surrounding its infamous past.

Another favorite eating place is the Island Room, a stone's throw from our condo. Both restaurants serve gourmet food and nightly specials with fresh seafood from the Gulf waters. The Island Room makes its own pasta and rolls to add to its already excellent menu. Both establishments have entertainment from local musicians to enliven your dining.

Cedar Key's Dock Street offers a variety of restaurants, art and craft galleries, and shops for your enjoyment. The best part is that all these places are within walking distance from the Sandpiper, so you need never get back in your car!

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Step back in time and explore....By Land or By Sea

By Land...

There are several ways to see Cedar Key. You can rent a golf cart, a bicycle, or a scooter right in town or you can take a walking tour. Second Street is the town's historic main drag. As you travel along you will see buildings of wood and tabby (mix of mortar and sea-shells) and architectural styles with gables and verandas and facades reminiscent of an old western town. The street is a collage of private dwellings, lodgings, hotels, bed and breakfasts, and shops. Its an eclectic mix of old and new, peeling and painted, run-down and restored, all lending to the charm of this village on Florida's Nature Coast.

By Sea...

Imagine gliding across the water's surface with seabirds and dolphins cavorting above and below you; paddling slowly towards a bald eagle's nest to get a glimpse of the magnificent bird; or walking on a trail where early Americans lived hundreds of years ago. It's easy to explore the natural history and ecology of the region, in and around Cedar Key. The convergence of the Suwannee River and the Gulf of Mexico create a unique system of tidal salt marshes, estuaries, mangrove islands, and mud flats. Vast expanses of marsh grasses converge with tracts of forests and hammocks. The salt marshes, tidal flats, and mangroves are important nursery grounds for fish, shrimp, and shellfish.

Thirteen islands of the archipelago are protected as the Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge. Many are covered by evergreen foliage of the live oak, cabbage palm, red bay, and laurel oak; these trees form an over-story for the greenery of the cherry laurel, saw palmetto, yaupon, wild olive, prickly pear cactus, Spanish bayonet, and the eastern red cedar. The islands range in size from 1 to 65 acres and rank as one of the largest bird nesting areas in all of Florida. Many of these birds are protected by state and federal law including white ibis, brown pelicans, snowy egrets, bald eagles, ospreys, tri-colored herons, and American oystercatchers. This group is part of the over 250 species of birds that inhabit the refuge islands.

Let Cedar Key become your island in the Sea of Life!!