It isn’t easy getting to Dry Tortugas National Park, but it is definitely worth it. Located just under 70 miles from Key West, you either need to take a boat or a plane to visit the park, but once you arrive, you can’t help but love the isolation. The Spanish, under Ponce de Leon, gave the islands the name Tortugas (Spanish for “turtles”) because of the abundance of this important food source in the area. The British called them the Dry Tortugas to indicate there was no fresh water to be found there. More recently, it became the site of Fort Jefferson and an important lighthouse which helped guide ships making their way through the channel into the Gulf of Mexico. It may seem like a strange place for a fort, but it is at the very end of Florida’s massive barrier reef, which is the third longest barrier reef in the world. Big ships have to come this far south to get around the bottom of the state. The United States started building this fort just a few years after buying Florida from Spain in order to protect the important shipping lane connecting the Mississippi River to the world.
During the Civil War, the fort remained in Union hands, and helped enforce the embargo on the Confederate southern coast. After the Civil War, the fort was used as a prison, Its most famous inmate was Dr. Samuel Mudd, the doctor who had treated John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated Abraham Lincoln. After a yellow fever outbreak in which Dr. Mudd helped treat the sick, he earned a pardon from President Andrew Johnson. The fort would once again serve a military purpose during the Spanish/American War in 1898, and had served as a resupply point for the U.S.S. Maine before her fateful voyage to Cuba. Franklin Roosevelt designated Fort Jefferson National Monument in 1935, and the entire area was re-designated as Dry Tortugas National Park in 1992.
To get to Dry Tortugas, assuming you don’t have your own boat or airplane, you can take the wonderful ferry Yankee Freedom III from Key West or fly with Key West Seaplane Adventures. I chose the ferry option myself, and the trip was a good one. Although we had some pretty rough seas on the day I went, this massive catamaran held her own out there. The trip included breakfast and lunch, coffee and fresh water all day, a guided tour of the fort and snorkel equipment. The fort itself is fascinating and really big. The water and beaches surrounding it, though, are the real draw. Crystal clear and the perfect shade of turquoise, it made me smile the whole time I was there. This is a popular trip, so be sure you book as far in advance as possible, especially if you want to camp out there. To find out more about this wonderful National Park, visit the National Park website HERE.
Dry Tortugas National Park is a truly magical place to visit. If you have a day to spare during your visit to Key West, I highly recommend this wonderful National Park. I really loved my visit there and I hope you enjoy the photos I took on my visit.
This post is a part of my In Focus series which focuses on the truly spectacular National Parks of the United States. These parks are our greatest treasures, and are remarkable and memorable places to visit. In order to see more posts in this series, go to the footer of this website and type “in focus” into the search bar or scroll using the links below. Click on any photo to enlarge it. All photos are available for purchase and licensing.
