Dry Tortugas Boat Permits & Mooring Buoys
Boats anchored in Garden Key Harbor National Park Service Boat permits are required for all vessels in the park, including the Research Natural Area (RNA). Boating permits apply to all recreational vessels including kayaks and dinghies, vessels operating under a Commercial Use Authorization (CUA), and commercial fishing vessels. The only vessels exempt from this rule are those transiting the area without interruption. Six recreational mooring buoys are available for day use only, on a first come, first serve basis. RNAMB3:/Davis Rock N24° 41.208 W82° 54.450 RNAMB4/Texas Rock: N24° 40.814 W82° 53.120 RNAB5 (Off Ramp) N24°40.166 W082°54.510 LMBSE (Loggerhead SE) N24°37.832 W082°55.188 MBSW (Loggerhead SW) N24°37.802 W082°55.542 Vessels may only anchor overnight within one nautical mile of the Garden Key Harbor Light on sandy bottom. How to get your Boat Permit Boating Permits are FREE and can be obtained in person at the Garden Key Visitor Center or Park Headquarters Office. Visitors will also receive information regarding the Research Natural Area as well as park rules and regulations. If you are boating in the park and have questions the park monitors VHF Radio Channel 16. |
Did You Know?
Despite over 30 years of construction, massive Fort Jefferson was never truly completed on the islands of the Dry Tortugas. Advances in weapon technology would come to render the fort obsolete by 1862.