Dry Tortugas National Park

Address:Key West, Florida
Tel: (305) 242-7700

Prepare for a great trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park off the Florida coast. Located roughly 70 miles west of Key West, the Dry Tortugas National Park is a series of seven islets that was once planned to host a fort to defend American shipping in the Caribbean. Today, visitors to the Dry Tortugas National Park can tour the park, as well as partake in activities such as water sports and bird watching.

Originally discovered in 1513 by Ponce de Leon, the Dry Tortugas islands were named such because of the presence of sea turtles and the lack of fresh water. In 1825, Dry Tortugas was inspected as a possible site for a fort intended to suppress piracy. After numerous bureaucratic delays, construction of the fort at Dry Tortugas finally began in 1846. The massive fort was never completed, and the structure on the Dry Tortugas islands served as a prison until it was designated as a national monument in 1935.

Today, visitors to the Dry Tortugas National Park can tour the fort, snorkel, and watch the birds. There are both intermittent ranger-guided and self-guided tours of Fort Jefferson. The clear, warm, shallow waters of the Dry Tortugas National Park make for the ideal setting for snorkeling. Bird-watching, however, is the reason to visit Dry Tortugas, as the cluster of islands serves as a rest stop for more than 200 different types of birds. Bring all the food you'll need for the day with you to the Dry Tortugas National Park—you won't have any trouble finding a pretty spot for a picnic!

To get to the Dry Tortugas National Park, visitors will need to either rent a seaplane from Key West or get there by private boat. Visit the Dry Tortugas National Park and experience the beauty of this small cluster of islands!