Dry Tortugas National Park

Dry Tortugas National Park, located 70 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, is one of the most remote and dramatically beautiful national parks in the United States, accessible only by ferry or seaplane. The park encompasses seven small coral islands and the surrounding waters of the Florida Keys marine environment, protecting some of the most pristine coral reef ecosystems in North America. The centerpiece is Fort Jefferson, a massive hexagonal fortress begun in 1846 and never completed, constructed from 16 million bricks on Garden Key in the Gulf. The fort served as a Civil War-era military prison, most famously housing Dr. Samuel Mudd — convicted for treating John Wilkes Booth — and remains extraordinarily well-preserved. Visitors explore the fort's three tiers of gun embrasures, parade grounds, and moat walls, with self-guided tours and ranger programs explaining the site's layered history. The surrounding waters deliver world-class snorkeling within steps of the Garden Key dock — visibility frequently exceeds 80 feet, revealing staghorn and brain coral formations, sea turtles, nurse sharks, and vast schools of tropical fish. The beaches surrounding the fort offer some of the most spectacular picnic settings imaginable, ringed by turquoise water with no development in sight. Overnight camping on Garden Key creates an incomparable experience — after the day-trip ferry departs, the island hosts fewer than 30 campers among a population of nesting frigatebirds and sooty terns numbering in the thousands during spring migration. The Yankee Freedom III is the official concessioner ferry operating from the Key West Historic Seaport, with departures at 8 AM and returns by 5:30 PM for day trips.