Seven Mile Bridge
The game's Seven Mile Bridge is the real Seven Mile Bridge, part of the Overseas Highway at Marathon in the Middle Florida Keys. It is the single most photographed structure in the Keys, an old seven-mile section of concrete arches running parallel to a newer highway that took the traffic in 1982, and the game reproduces the arches rather than the modern span.
At a glance
- Address
- Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL 32952
- Coordinates
- 24.7016, -81.15969
- District
- Leonida Keys
- Confidence
- Strong
- Where it is seen
- Trailer 2 (0:04) and the Launch Trailer (0:03)
How confident are we?
The in-game bridge is the real structure, reproduced down to the arch profile and the low concrete section.
The bridge was built between 1935 and 1942 as part of the Florida Overseas Railroad, which carried mail and cargo to Key West until the 1935 hurricane destroyed the line. The rail deck was rebuilt as a highway, and the old concrete arches were left standing as the fishing walkway that has become the state's most famous bridge photo.
Which span you are looking at
There are two bridges here, running side by side across the channel. The old arch span, to the east, is the one everybody photographs and the one that appears in the game. The newer four-lane span to the west carries the traffic. If you want the classic shot, you want the old arches, which are also where the fishing camps are.
| Detail | The real thing |
|---|---|
| Address | Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL 32952 |
| Coordinates | 24.70160, -81.15969 |
| In-game name | Seven Mile Bridge |
| Region in game | Leonida Keys |
| Built | 1935–1942, as part of the Overseas Railroad |
| Length | 7.1 miles, old arch span |
The swim most people do not know about
Seven Mile Bridge has an annual swimming race, and the reason for it is extraordinary: the highway crosses the gap between two islands through the natural channel of the ocean, which means the swim is open water rather than a bay. There is a small concrete seawall at the Marathon side that locals use as the entry point, and the tradition of a marked channel and a spectator boat goes back decades.
When to go
Late afternoon, when the sun drops behind the bridge and the arches pick up the light. Mornings are quieter and the water is clearer for swimming. In winter, sunsets over the Atlantic from the bridge are the reason photographers plan their year around it.
Road closures happen
Hurricane repairs and construction have closed sections of the Overseas Highway more than once in recent years, and the Seven Mile Bridge has been under repair far more often than the photographs suggest. Check the Florida 511 service before you drive down, and treat the old arch span as something to view from the new bridge rather than to stop on.
Where it sits on our route
The bridge is the fourth stop on the Leonida Keys road trip, a full day from Miami down the Overseas Highway through Key Largo and Islamorada. We stop for the photograph, and on a clear day the turquoise water on the Atlantic side is the colour the game is trying to reproduce.
Getting into the water on race day
The tradition is older than it looks and it is genuinely local rather than a tourist gimmick: the bridge crosses the natural gap between two islands, so the water on either side is open ocean, not a lagoon. The seawall entry point is concrete, shallow at the edge and easy to get into, and on race day the channel is buoyed and a spectator boat runs the course.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Seven Mile Bridge in GTA 6 the real one?
Yes. The game reproduces the older concrete arch span of the Seven Mile Bridge at Marathon, including the arches that have been a fishing walkway since the 1980s, rather than the newer four-lane bridge beside it.
How long is the drive from Miami?
About three and a half hours each way on the Overseas Highway, which is why our Keys trip runs as a full day with a morning departure. The Seven Mile Bridge itself is about two hours from Miami Beach.
Can you swim at the bridge?
Yes. The channel between the keys is open ocean and there is a local swimming tradition with a marked course and a spectator boat on race day. Ask locally about current conditions before you enter, and respect the marked channel.
See it on a Leonida Tours route.
Seven Mile Bridge is one of the stops we drive past every day. Join a small group and see it in person, with a local guide who knows what to look for.
See this on the tourUnofficial tours. Leonida Tours is an independent tour company. Our tours are not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored or licensed by any game publisher or their affiliates. All game titles, characters, place names and trademarks belong to their respective owners and are used here only to describe the real-world locations that inspired them. Every stop on our tours is a real, publicly accessible place. Photography via Unsplash.