Lincoln blackwash - conspirator Samuel Arnold once call off the Dry Tortugas islands , “ Without elision … the most horrifying property the eye of valet de chambre ever set upon . ”
Or course , Arnold was there in prison – but if you ’re NOT in prison , Dry Tortugas National Park is absolute paradise . With just 60,000 yearly visitor and approachable only by sauceboat or waterplane , the string of seven islets ( including the preserved Fort Jefferson , which put up Arnold from 1865 to 1869 ) 68 nautical mile off the coast of Key West , Florida is one of America ’s least visited interior common , but its unique scene and chronicle make it a treasure worth putting on your pail inclination .
The island are as close as you ’ll get to feel like Robinson Crusoe ( or on an installment of Lost , if you opt ) . Overnight stay give you a chance to appreciate the remote , natural beauty of the Dry Tortugas , though part of the draw here is that you could experience much of it in a day , unlike some national parks that you could n’t see all of in a lifetime .
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But , more significantly , it ’s a park that may not be around very long . clime change has already shrivel up some of the seven islands by one-half . And as sea continue to uprise , the land on the islands continues to fly , so you should likely see it while you still can .
What to do at Dry Tortugas
Tour historic Fort JeffersonAfter the War of 1812 , the US built a series of coastal forts to protect its eastern border , stretching from Maine to Florida . The one put up on Dry Tortugas ' Garden Key – Ft . Jefferson – was an epical projection containing 16 million red bricks , and the most advanced military building project of its fourth dimension . The six - sided fort does n’t contain a unmarried structure joint , but still sport arches and entry , and is the large Freemasonry structure in the Western Hemisphere . And on a red-hot twenty-four hours it can expand nearly 2 ft in width without any residuary equipment casualty .
At its height , the fort house 1,729 people and was more densely inhabit than Manhattan . But beyond soldiery , the fortress also served as an island prison house , like a Florida version of Alcatraz . It mostly housed ground forces deserters , but its most notable yard bird was Dr. Samuel Mudd , the man who assisted and house John Wilkes Booth for two twenty-four hour period after he assassinated Abraham Lincoln – along with the quotable Samuel Arnold .
you may take a commando - led tour of the fort most days as part of your $ 10 ballpark admission . But the tours are n’t scheduled on a regular basis so if you take your own gravy boat in you ’ll have to see when – and if – they ’re running . If you take the ferry out , a scheduled go is include in the price . ego - guided tours are , of course , always uncommitted .
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SnorkelingThe green is base to 67,000 acres of coral reef , at the remnant of the Florida Reef arrangement . Because it sits so far away from soil and in a protect domain , the Witwatersrand has n’t been nearly as damage by human being , and has more maritime aliveness than you ’ll notice in the eternal sleep of the state . The waters are also signally clear , specially in the summertime , which makes the snorkeling here better than the dive in most of the cay . By daylight you ’re likely to see nurse sharks , parrot fish , monkfish , moray eels , and all sorts of tropical fauna .
If you stay on overnight , lend a dive light with you and swim the fortress ’s moat wall at nighttime . It ’ll change the agency you perceive undersea life , and you ’ll see rarefied nocturnal creature like octopus and basketful sea star . The ferryboat service has gear you’re able to borrow , but if you go on your own you ’ll need to bring your own cogwheel .
DivingThe Dry Tortugas sit smack in the middle of trade routes from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic , and because of the shallow coral Witwatersrand , they were the cause of many a wreck . Those reefs and wreck make this one of the most various dive sites in America .
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The best nosedive – and the most popular – is the wreck of the Windjammer , an iron - hulled ship that wrecked off Loggerhead Key in 1901 . For Rand diving , Pulaski Shoals is the easygoing diving with the most diverseness . It ’s a serial publication of Rand heads with stiff of multiple wreck , and schools of Pisces that feed in off the coral . And because this park is so remote , all of it is in far good flesh than you ’ll witness elsewhere in Florida .
Of course , this kind of distant beauty hail with a price . And in this case that price is an all-night live - aboard dive head trip , which can run upwards of $ 2,000 . Because day trips to Dry Tortugas do n’t pass on enough time to dive , your only option is to book a trip through a Key West dive shop . And none propose daytime trips . The overnights are n’t cheap , but for a dive enthusiast it ’s worth handle yourself .
BirdingWhen John James Audubon visited here in 1932 he said , “ I mat … as if the birds would raise me from the ground , so thickheaded were they all around . ” And birder have take note , pee-pee this park one of the top birding destinations in North America . The Pisces the Fishes that float around the Reef make this a popular touch for frigate birds , and every September 100,000 sooty terns nest here . The rarefied ignominious noddy has also been make out in Dry Tortugas , as well as ruddy - footed boobies and halcyon warblers . About 300 mintage of birds go here , many of them class around . And even if you ’re not an devouring birder they ’re a dramatic increase to the scenery .
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Getting there
The most popular way of getting to dry out Tortugas is the National Parks Service ’s ferryboat , the Yankee Freedom III . The 2.5 - hour ferrying ride is a sorcerous misstep over greenish blue water , and leaves you about four to five hours on the island if you ’re making a day trip-up . It includes a ranger - led spell of Ft . Jefferson and costs $ 175 per person . you may also enter the island via seaplane fromKey West Airport . The trajectory is only about half an minute to 40 proceedings , but most seaplane spell only allow two to three time of day on the island . These flight average out about $ 300 per person , reckon on the operator .
Private boat are also permit in the car park , but can only dock during daytime hour , and not between 10am-3pm , when ferries are dock . This is your adept option if you want unlimited time in the park , or if you want to dive . Docks on the other keys are for government consumption only .
Where to stay
Garden Key , rest home of Ft . Jefferson , has one campground with 10 rude first - semen , first - served campsites – eight soul , one grouping , and one grassy outpouring orbit – and come with some of the most incredible sunsets and stargazing you ’ll ever see all for only $ 15 per site , per night . All campsites have a three - night upper limit if you arrive via ferry , or 14 day if you fall via secret boat . ferry have space for 10 campers each path each twenty-four hour period , but hydroplane wo n’t carry camping gear .
When to go
The water is calmest during the summer , which make for the clear water and good snorkeling / diving . It ’s also when the ocean turtle issue forth on land and lay their bollock , so if you do n’t mind warmth ( ordinary high hover around 90 degrees from June through September ) and a big chance of rainfall , this is the good time . October brings cooler temperatures but also choppier waters , making for more unpleasant ferry drive and less visibility when snorkeling or diving event .
April to mid - May is the honest fourth dimension for birding , as that is peak migration season .
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