Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park

During a workation in 2021 we spent a week in Key West and took a trip to Dry Tortugas National Park. This is the most remote national park in the lower 48 states sitting 70 miles west of Key West, FL. This park is only accessible via float plane, private charter, or via the Yankee Freedom ferry, which was the route we took.

COVID protocols in full effect, but the boat ride was pretty smooth

They ferry leaves at 8 am with check-in starting at 7. The Yankee Freedom III was in drydock for maintenance, so we ended up on one of the fast ferries, even then the trip still took almost two and a half hours. They offered bagels, coffee, and water on the ride out with some additional products for sale. We stopped at the Old Town Bakery to grab a warm sandwich, croissant, and their famous hot sticky buns, all of which were excellent. Lunch is also offered on the boat, which for us was Jersey Mike’s sandwiches, not sure if that’s the norm or not, but they were pretty good. The ride out was smooth for about half the time, but once we got out to deep water the trip had a mild roll to it. We were told that section can often times be far choppier, and they sell Dramamine for $1, luckily we brought our own non-drowsy version. We didn’t see any wildlife on the way out, but the tour guide did call out that there was a jumping stingray and a couple of turtles, but they were long gone by the time we got to that side of the boat.

Fort Jefferson and Loggerhead Lighthouse

While approaching the fort we passed by Long Key, which was completely surrounded by Frigatebirds circling like some sort of shield protecting their nests from predators. Every once in a while a float plane would take off and the entire island would come alive with flapping wings. When we arrived at the dock we could see the seaplanes already parked and a wedding party was doing some pictures in the fort already. They offer snorkeling gear and a one hour tour, but we passed on both because it was December, so the water was a bit cooler, and we downloaded the self guided tour information. The site is wide open with the only areas off-limits being the Rangers quarters and any areas that might be under construction. Overnight camping is allowed on the island, and that’s probably a pretty fun thing to do during the summer when the water is warmer, but giving up two full days in the winter didn’t sound like a great use of time.

The fort itself is three levels with little to no guardrails and more access than you would expect from touring a nearly 200 year old structure. The walking paths are pretty solid, but there are some soft spots along the way in the grass. We were able to walk right up to the edges and get some pretty great pictures.

We spent four hours on the island covering each level of the fort, the causeway, and then walked along Bush Key and got as close to Long Key as possible without getting wet. The causeway doesn’t go completely around the fort anymore, there are two large breaks due to storm damage.

You aren’t allowed to take anything from the site since it’s a National Park, but that hasn’t kept people from leaving their marks. Along Bush Key there are several conch shells that have washed up and been turned into a small exhibit.

A branch washed ashore decorated with shells

The island was pretty amazing, one of these days we’ll head back and do the camping since the minimal extra lighting produces some pretty remarkable pictures from what we’ve seen online. The boat got us back just before sunset, but not close enough to it to have a good view from the water.