National Parks Traveler

Editor's note: The following advertiser-supported article appeared in Traveler's Essential Park Guide, Spring 2016.

Ready for crystal-clear water, white sandy beaches, and vibrantly colored tropical fish? How about a dose of history, complete with prison cells, an historic fort, and stories from one of our most iconic writers? Maybe you’d like to snorkel a coral reef or see hundreds of species of birds all in one place. Well, then, it’s probably time for a day trip out to Dry Tortugas National Park on the Yankee Freedom III.

Just 70 miles west of Key West, Florida, these seven small islands constitute what may be one of our least visited parks in the East, with fewer than 80,000 visitors per year. Named Las Tortugas (for the abundant tortoises) by Ponce de Leon in 1513, the chain of islands is now known as the Dry Tortugas due to the total lack of fresh water. However, at historic Fort Jefferson on Garden Key you’ll see a rainwater catchment system and cisterns dating back to the 1850s. Construction began on this six-sided, three-level fort in 1846. It was designed to hold 1,500 men and more than 400 cannon; however, there was never a shot fired here in anger.

The fort’s brick walls are up to 11 feet thick with a surrounding moat as well. During the Civil War the fort acted as a Union prison and at one time housed the infamous Dr. Samuel Mudd, convicted as a co-conspirator of Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth.

Board the Yankee Freedom III in the morning for a day-trip to the fort. This catamaran is complete with fresh-water showers, bathrooms, air-conditioning, and the trip includes a breakfast and lunch buffet. You’ll be using the boat as your base as you take a tour of the fort, walk the sandy beaches, bird watch, or snorkel the clear waters (snorkeling gear and park admission are included with your ticket). The coral reefs and near-pristine sea grass beds are prime habitats for marine life and snorkelers. While there are sharks in the water, no one has ever had a confrontation with one!

Fort Jefferson, known as the Guardian of the Gulf, is the prime attraction on the Dry Tortugas. You can sign up for a guided tour or explore by yourself. The adventurous can camp on Garden Key, but you’ll need to bring your own water and no campfires or gas stoves are allowed: only charcoal, or Sterno stoves. A night under the stars, on a true desert island, will give you plenty of time to reflect on times past and present. And don’t worry about the mosquitoes; with no water, there aren’t any. But leave the seashells on the beach; it is a national park after all.

During your visit to Dry Tortugas, you can join a guided tour of Fort Jefferson or tour it yourself/Yankee Freedom III

Birders can observe some of the 300 species that migrate through the islands along the main flyway between Cuba and Central America. In fact, in May of 1832 John Jay Audubon spent some time on these islands, watching and painting the nesting birds, such as the Sooty Tern, Brown Booby, and the Brown Noddy. There also are brown pelicans, Black-bellied Plovers, and Magnificent Frigatebirds, with their 85-inch wingspans. Field Guide author Roger Tory Peterson described the Sooty Tern colony on Bush Key, writing that, “The number one ornithological spectacle on the continent. While there are only seven nesting species out here, it’s a must-see for bird fans.”

And, since the Yankee Freedom III runs out of Key West, Ernest Hemingway stories abound, and his trips to the Dry Tortugas are legendary. He and his Mob (writers, painters, fishermen, and saloon keepers) boated, fished, and drank their way to the islands and were even stranded by weather for a week on their last trip. Fortunately, they’d socked away enough canned food, coffee, and gin to survive and at the end they were fishing for their suppers.

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To learn more about the local color and history visit the Dry Tortugas National Park and the historic Key West Bight Museum in town, where you’ll see a model of Fort Jefferson. There’s even a special Kids Exploration Station.

Private boaters and seaplanes also access the national park, but the least expensive and most practical way to visit is aboard the Yankee Freedom III. 2016 tickets are $175 for an adult, $165 for seniors, college students and military, and $125 for children age 4 to 16. Probably the best time to visit Key West is November through Christmas, before the winter crowds arrive. You’ll return to port with memories of dolphins and turtles, prisons and reefs, birds and sandy beaches, and, perhaps, with a bit of the swagger that only Papa Hemingway could truly claim.

During your visit to Dry Tortugas, walk the beaches or head into the water for some snorkeling/Yankee Freedom III