The Dry Tortugas National Park - One of the Most Unique National Parks
Beautiful coral rested on the beach.
We wanted a unique experience! I was yearning for a beach, sun, and a tropical location, but it was going to be hard to do a day trip to the Bahamas due to COVID travel restrictions. I hadn’t heard of the Dry Tortugas before and it finally hit my radar.
The Dry Tortugas National Park is made up of 7 islands and is one of the world’s most unique eco-attractions. It’s about 70 miles west of Key West, FL and they give you a discount for your day trip when you have a National Park Pass.
We packed our food, tent, sleeping bags, and bathing suits. It is such a beautiful ride to travel down Route 1. January/February is their busy season, so we barely found a campground north of Key West that had room for a tent site. We set up camp and settled in for the night. I forgot how sound travels easily and it turned out we were next to Mr. Snorer who snored loudly and proudly all night long. We didn’t sleep that well, but still had to get up at 5 am to find parking and to catch the ferry. It isn’t easy to find parking for our big truck.
The first thing I noticed as we approached the island, was an incredible swirl of birds. The Dry Tortugas is a popular migration spot for many species of birds. We explored Fort Jefferson whose most famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel Mudd. It turned out to be such a beautiful, unique place with everything I had been longing for and more. We didn’t need to go all the way to the Bahamas! What I needed was right here in Florida.
The ferry trip back was a little bumpy, so I rode outside in the front to get the freshest air. We quickly grabbed dinner and then back to our campsite. Instead of spending another night with Mr. Snorer, we broke down our camp and threw everything in our truck. We made it back to the Everglades National Park by 10:00 pm and gratefully got a good’s night sleep in our own bed.
As we approached the Dry Tortugas, there was a swirl of birds everywhere. It was fascinating as I had never seen that before.
We immensely enjoyed our day trip and highly recommend it for a unique experience. Read about Dr. Samuel Mudd’s (Fort Jefferson's most famous prisoner) experience during the Civil War.
You aren’t allowed to take anything from the island - only memories. Many people had put seashells on washed-up tree limbs. It makes for beautiful art.
Our home for one night