Levy County Florida map | Bronson to Cedar Key

Levy County Florida map readers can orient themselves around Bronson, then follow a broad landscape from the Suwannee River estuary in the northwest to the Cedar Keys offshore, Williston in the east, and the Inglis–Yankeetown area in the south. The coast is a network of marshes, tidal creeks, bays, and islands, so roads and waterways are more informative than a simple inland-versus-coast split.

No Interstate crosses Levy County. Regional travel instead depends on U.S. 19/98, Alternate U.S. 27, U.S. 41, and several state highways. A route from Bronson to Cedar Key therefore follows a different axis from a trip between Chiefland and Inglis; matching each destination with the correct numbered corridor is essential when reading the map.

Quick Facts

• State: Florida
• County: Levy County
• County seat: Bronson
• 2020 population: 42,915
• July 1, 2025 population estimate: 48,520
• 2020 land area: 1,118.22 square miles
• Incorporated places: Bronson, Cedar Key, Chiefland, Fanning Springs, Inglis, Otter Creek, Williston, Yankeetown
• Natural reference points: Suwannee River estuary, Cedar Keys, Waccasassa River and Bay, Withlacoochee River, Goethe State Forest

The 2020 density was 38.4 people per square mile. Large gaps between place names are therefore part of the county’s real settlement pattern rather than an omission: extensive forest, wetland, conservation land, and rural acreage separate its small population centers.

What the Map Shows

Bronson is the central administrative reference point. Chiefland lies northwest of it at the junction of U.S. 19/98 and Alternate U.S. 27, while Williston lies east near U.S. 41. Taken together, those places outline the main inland travel framework across the county.

On the Gulf side, Cedar Key occupies the southwestern island coast. Inglis and Yankeetown form a separate southern cluster near the mouth of the Withlacoochee River. The two coastal areas may appear close across open space, but wetlands and waterways interrupt direct overland travel, sending drivers back through inland junctions.

Fanning Springs sits near the northwestern edge by the Suwannee River, and Otter Creek is on the U.S. 19/98 corridor between Chiefland and Inglis. Morriston is an unincorporated community in the southeast between Williston and the Marion County line. These names divide a very large county into practical subareas even though they do not all have the same municipal status.

County Layout and Location

U.S. 19 and U.S. 98 share a route through the western interior, linking Fanning Springs, Chiefland, Otter Creek, and Inglis. It is the primary north–south corridor to trace when traveling between Citrus and Dixie counties. Alternate U.S. 27 crosses the middle from Chiefland through Bronson to Williston, forming the county’s principal east–west inland spine.

State Road 24 approaches from Gainesville and Archer, passes through Bronson, and continues southwest to Cedar Key. That corridor explains Cedar Key’s apparent isolation: the community is not merely offshore, but connected to the inland network by one dominant road direction. Levy County’s draft 2050 transportation element identifies SR 24 among the key coastal-access and evacuation corridors serving Cedar Key.

U.S. 41 passes through Williston on the eastern side, connecting toward Archer to the north and Dunnellon to the south. State Road 121 runs from the Williston area toward the Goethe State Forest sector, while State Road 40 branches west from Inglis toward Yankeetown and the Withlacoochee River mouth. Those routes separate the southeastern forest district from the southern estuary communities.

The Suwannee River marks much of the northwestern boundary with Dixie County before entering the Gulf. The Withlacoochee River follows the southern boundary with Citrus County toward its own estuary. Between them, the Waccasassa River, Waccasassa Bay, and many tidal channels break the shoreline into marshes and hammocks; bridges and inland intersections matter more here than straight-line coastal distance.

Local Context

Levy County occupies the southern edge of Florida’s Big Bend coast. Its low limestone coastal plain grades into salt marsh, forested wetland, tidal creek, and hammock rather than a smooth shoreline. Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park protects a large portion of this intricate coast between the Cedar Key and Yankeetown sides of the county.

Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge follows the lower river and estuary across parts of Levy and Dixie counties. On the Levy side, broad lowlands west of Chiefland and north of Cedar Key should not be read as future street grids or empty urban land. Their sparse roads correspond to protected freshwater and saltwater wetland habitats.

Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge consists of 13 offshore islands. The City of Cedar Key is reachable by road, but the refuge islands are separate water-access destinations rather than extensions of the street system. That distinction matters when interpreting the small landforms scattered around the mapped city.

Goethe State Forest covers 76,162 acres, with its main tract in southeastern Levy County. The wide spacing of roads and towns south of Williston corresponds in part to this large managed forest. Comparing that forested southeast with the marsh-dominated west coast prevents the county’s extensive undeveloped areas from being treated as a single uniform landscape.

Ways to Use This Map

• Reach Cedar Key: follow SR 24 southwest from Bronson instead of projecting a direct line from Chiefland or Williston.
• Cross the county: distinguish Alternate U.S. 27 between Chiefland, Bronson, and Williston from the western U.S. 19/98 corridor.
• Read the coast: arrange the Suwannee estuary, Cedar Keys, Waccasassa Bay, and Withlacoochee estuary from north to south.
• Check boundaries: compare the river boundary with Dixie County in the northwest and the river boundary with Citrus County in the south.
• Annotate a printout: mark highways, waterways, conservation lands, and communities with separate symbols before using it for a lesson or field notes.

For driving time or turn-by-turn navigation, pair the county reference image with a current routing service and official road notices. Conditions on the Cedar Key approach, river-adjacent roads, and unpaved refuge roads can change with weather, water levels, maintenance, or emergency restrictions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Cedar Key appear isolated from the inland towns?

Cedar Key occupies Levy County’s southwestern island coast and is reached from the interior along SR 24. Bronson connects directly to that road, but there is no straight shoreline highway from Chiefland or Williston. Tidal marsh and the Waccasassa Bay drainage fill much of the intervening coast, so the road distance is substantially different from the short visual gap across open map space.

Where is the Suwannee River estuary?

The estuary is at Levy County’s northwestern corner along the boundary with Dixie County. It is west to northwest of Chiefland and north of Cedar Key. Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge occupies extensive land around the lower river, which accounts for the limited road network and lack of large settlements near the mapped river mouth.

Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts — Levy County
• Levy County Government
• Levy County Draft 2050 Transportation Element
• Florida Department of Transportation — County General Highway Maps
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge
• Florida Department of Environmental Protection — Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park
• Florida Forest Service — Goethe State Forest
• VISIT FLORIDA — Cedar Key

Related County Maps

• Dixie County Florida map
• Gilchrist County Florida map
• Alachua County Florida map
• Marion County Florida map
• Citrus County Florida map