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Passage

Miami to Key West: the inside route and Hawk Channel

South of Miami the Intracoastal Waterway was never finished. What the Coast Pilot says about the inside route through Florida Bay, Hawk Channel and the choice between them.

Last checked 21 Oct 2026Sources: NOAA Coast Pilot 4, ch. 12 (2026), NOAA Coast Pilot 4, ch. 11 (2026), NOAA Coast Pilot 4, ch. 1 (2026)

The route, mile by mile

Schematic: the stops sit at their mile figures, the line is straight.

Hawk Channel · where the Moser and Bahia Honda routes rejoin
  1. MiamiMile 1089.1
  2. Rickenbacker CausewayMile 1091.6 · fixed, 76 ft
  3. Featherbed BankMile 1107.6 · marked by daybeacons and lights
  4. Cutter Bank into Card SoundMile 1117.3
  5. Barnes Point bridgeMile 1126.8 · fixed, design clearance 65 ft
  6. Cross Key bridge, Jewfish CreekMile 1134.1 · fixed, 67 ft
  7. Baker Cut into Florida BayMile 1143 · the route across the bay crosses many bars, well marked
  8. Cross Bank, Cowpens CutMile 1152.5 · end of the completed project
  9. MarathonMile 1192 · town 1.5 miles south of the waterway
  10. Bethel BankMile 1193.4 · junction point: south or north of the keys
  11. Moser Channel, Seven Mile BridgeMile 1196.9
  12. Main Ship ChannelMile 1241.9
  13. Key WestMile 1243.8
  • Bridge
  • Place with a guide page
  • Open water

What the sources say

  • The project stops at Cross Bank The Miami to Key West section of the waterway has been completed only as far as Cross Bank, ICW Mile 1152.5; the remainder has been deferred for restudy. From there a channel marked in accordance with ICW markings leads to Big Pine Key along the northwesterly side of the keys.
  • Hawk Channel in the Coast Pilot's words Hawk Channel is the navigable passage inside Florida Reefs and outside the keys from Cape Florida to Key West, a distance of about 127 miles. It varies in depth from 9 to 34 feet and is 0.25 mile wide at its narrowest part.
  • The two routes to Key West At Bethel Bank, Mile 1193.4, vessels may follow the southern route via Moser Channel or Bahia Honda Channel and Hawk Channel, or the northern alternate via Big Spanish Channel and the Gulf of America. The southern route is about 14 miles shorter to Key West.
  • What the northern alternate costs For the route north of the keys, the controlling depth was reported as 2 feet in 1983, and numerous submerged pilings are in the channel; the Coast Pilot advises local knowledge. At Harbor Key Bank Light 57 the route enters the Gulf of America and runs 246° for about 28 miles.
  • Current in Hawk Channel Reports indicate the current usually sets fair with the channel, except alongside the open area between Hawk Channel and Biscayne Bay, where a fairly strong cross current exists, particularly on an ebb tide. Cross currents should be guarded against near the openings between the keys.
  • At night The channel is marked with lights, lighted buoys, daybeacons and buoys, but strangers should not attempt passage at night without local knowledge. The holding ground is poor where the bottom is hard.
  • Current at Seven Mile Bridge The tidal current at the bridge over Moser Channel has a velocity of about 1.4 to 1.8 knots, and wind effects modify it considerably at times.
  • How a clearance in the Coast Pilot is meant Vertical clearances of bridges and overhead cables are in feet above mean high water unless otherwise stated, and clearances of drawbridges are for the closed position — the open clearance is given as well only for vertical-lift bridges.
  • Everglades National Park in Florida Bay A protected area of the park lies in the northern part of Florida Bay. Landing on the beaches or keys of that area without the authorization of the park superintendent is prohibited, except where a sign marks the area as open.
Where the route to Key West divides: The sources disagree.
  • "At Big Pine Key, the waterway bifurcates going north through Florida Bay or south through Hawk Channel to Key West." (Coast Pilot 4, ch. 12, on the federal project) NOAA Coast Pilot 4, ch. 12 (2026)
  • "Bethel Bank, Mile 1193.4, is a junction point in the Intracoastal Waterway." (Coast Pilot 4, ch. 12, on the route itself) NOAA Coast Pilot 4, ch. 12 (2026)

Shown here: We show Bethel Bank, Mile 1193.4, on the mile strip, because it is the only one of the two the Coast Pilot gives a mile for. Chapter 11 of the same edition describes the same choice as being made at Moser Channel.

Depth the waterway was built for

Federal project depth, Miami to Key West
7 ft
Hawk Channel, range of depths
9 to 34 ft
Moser Channel, draft the Coast Pilot gives
7 to 8 ft
Florida Bay, western part
7 to 13 ft
Northern route via Big Spanish Channel, reported 1983
2 ft

Project depth is what the channel was built for, not what it carries today. Controlling depths are published in the Local Notice to Mariners – use official charts and current notices.

Stops along the way

Miami
Featherbed Bankmarked by daybeacons and lights
Cutter Bank into Card Sound
Baker Cut into Florida Baythe route across the bay crosses many bars, well marked
Cross Bank, Cowpens Cutend of the completed project
Marathontown 1.5 miles south of the waterway
Bethel Bankjunction point: south or north of the keys
Main Ship Channel
Key West

Sources & checks

Written by buoya editorial from the sources above. Every figure was checked against its source on 21 Oct 2026. Found something wrong? Report a correction.