Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida - April 24th, 2023
Seventy miles west of Key West is Dry Tortugas National Park. There is a 19th century fort on one of the seven small islands within the park. The only way to reach the fort is by boat or by sea plane. It is a two and a half hour boat ride from Key West to Dry Tortugas, but it is well worth the trip.
We left Leo’s Campground at 6:30 am to catch our Lyft ride into town. Check in for the Yankee Freedom Dry Tortugas boat ride was at 7 am. It’s only a 15 minute car ride to the ferry terminal, so we were early. They were already starting to check people in. They give you a numbered boarding pass, based on the order that people checked in. Boarding started at 7:30 am, in groups of 25, based on your boarding pass number. So the earlier you check in, the sooner you get on board and get your pick of seats. We were in the first group and chose the outdoor seats on the sun deck, but in the row of seats just outside the upper cabin, under an overhang, so we had shade for most of the time. The indoor cabins are air-conditioned, but Ann likes the fresh air and doesn’t like to take pictures through glass windows.
Our tour guide provided some information about the few islands that we passed, but much of the ride was in open water with no land in sight. Keith was grateful that most of the ride was pretty smooth, as the water is shallow. However, there is a section where we cross a 60 foot deep channel that got a little bouncy.
Our tour guide also claimed he saw several sea turtles along the way. We thought we were pretty attentive, but didn’t see any. But we did see flying fish. Every now and then, they took to the air alongside the boat, to get out of the way. Ann tried hard to get a picture or video of them, but she doesn’t think she was quick enough. She’ll have to comb through the footage later to see.
The ride out to Dry Tortugas National Park is about two and a half hours. Yankee Freedom provided breakfast, which consisted of coffee, a carton of orange juice, a prepackaged fruit cup, yogurt, and a bagel along with packages of cream cheese, butter, and jam. Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but it gave us sustenance. You can bring along food and snacks, if you prefer. We appreciated the convenience of the food provided.
We had almost four hours at Dry Tortugas, but it went by fast. At 11 am, our tour guide gave a talk about the fort for twenty minutes, followed by a one hour walking tour of the fort. Both the talk and the tour were very interesting. Fort Jefferson, for which construction started in 1846, did not sound like a pleasant place to be. There was no fresh water, and their attempts to keep an adequate supply of fresh water was not successful. The sewage system failed, so the fort was surrounded by a moat full of sewage. Mosquitos spread yellow fever which took a heavy toll on the fort’s occupants. However, the fort was important and strategic as it controlled the shipping channel in and out of the Gulf of Mexico.
Sitting in the fort was a chug boat, one that was used by some people a few years ago to escape Cuba. Back in January, over 300 Cuban refugees landed at Dry Tortugas and the park closed to tourists for about a week as law enforcement and medical personnel evaluated the people and gave them basic aid before transporting them to Key West (NPR news article).
After the tour, we went back to the boat to eat our lunch. It consisted of a Jersey Mike’s sub, a bag of chips, carrots, celery, cookies, and a choice of drinks, lemonade, water, or iced tea. After quickly finishing our meal, it was already 1 pm. Everyone needed to be back on board by 2:45 pm. Ann wasted no time getting her snorkel equipment, which was provided, and headed for the South Beach, while Keith strolled around the perimeter of the fort.
At first, Ann didn’t see much during her snorkel. But as she swam further from the beach, making sure she stayed within the area marked by the buoys, she came across some coral and fish. She’s hoping some of the nice colors of the coral and fish come out in the video she took. She’s never snorkeled with the GoPro before, so we’ll see. She got out of the water at 2 pm and took her time heading back to return her equipment and change.
There were some salt water hoses on the dock to wash the sand off her surf shoes. Then she went onto the boat to use the fresh water showers on the back of the boat to rinse the salt water off her body. The fresh water was hot; she wasn’t quite sure why. Cooler water would have been more refreshing, but beggars can’t be choosy. Then she got back off the boat to go to the changing rooms on the dock to get out of her wet bathing suit and into dry clothes. There was a line for the two women’s changing stalls. By the time she returned to the boat and sat down in her seat, it was 2:40 pm. Not much time to spare.
Ann would have liked more time on the island. She had no time to stroll around the fort on her own to observe the fort and wildlife surrounding the fort. She could have skipped the fort tour, but she found the tour really interesting. It would also have been nice to have more time to snorkel. But Yankee Freedom’s contract with the National Park Service limits how much time they can stay there each day. However, there is an option to tent camp on the island overnight. We looked into this, but the number of people allowed to camp is ten per night. Those ten slots fill up a year in advance.
If you find yourself in Key West, we recommend that you don’t pass up the opportunity to visit Dry Tortugas National Park. There is something there for everyone, whether you’re into history, birds, snorkeling or all three.
Check out our related video: Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
(Ann)