Leonida Keys Beach Shack

A weather-beaten beach shack on a narrow strip of Keys sand.

Not every place in the Keys comes with marble floors and tiki bars. The Leonida Keys Beach Shack is a one-room wooden structure painted a peeling aquamarine, perched on low pilings above a slim stretch of white sand. The interior is exactly what the exterior promises: a single open room with a hammock, a small cot, a hot plate, and a window with a view that makes the rest of it forgivable. A kayak rack on the side gets regular use, as does the outdoor table for cleaning whatever the reef gives up that morning. There's no garage, just a patch of packed sand where a single vehicle can sit out of the way of the tide. It's the kind of place you forget in a week and remember for the rest of your life.