The Smugglers’ Run

For over 200 years the southern tip of Florida has been a hangout for pirates, smugglers and thieves. Still considered the most porous border in the U.S., mile for mile more illegal drugs pass through southern Florida than any other border area. But you don’t have to be a drug runner to enjoy the scenery. Boaters have discovered the last bastion of frontier in the swamps, groves, islands (and high-rises) of the “Florida Mini-Loop.”

Looping around South Florida was not possible until the Okeechobee Waterway (OWW) was created in 1937, cutting a route