News Release

Ferry Service Resumes to Dry Tortugas National Park

NPS photo

News Release Date: October 9, 2022

Contact: Allyson Gantt, 786-610-8023

Contact: General Park Information, 305-242-7700

Key West, Fla. – Concession-operated ferry service to Dry Tortugas National Park will resume on Monday, October 10 after engineers inspected the storm-damaged dock on Garden Key and determined it is safe to partially reopen. Visitors should check concessions websites or call for more information on availability.

Fort Jefferson remains closed beyond the fort entrance and visitor center while emergency stabilization of damage from Hurricane Ian continues. However, the beaches on Garden Key are open, and the waters around the fort are accessible for snorkeling.

While marine waters in the park continue to be open, boaters are advised that both Garden and Loggerhead keys remain closed indefinitely to private vessels due to damage to the visitor courtesy slips and docks. Additionally, the park remains closed to camping until further notice.

[UPDATE 10/14/22: The interior of Fort Jefferson is open to visitors and camping on Garden Key has reopened. On Garden Key, docking for private vessels on the eastern half of the main pier, all finger piers and slips and the dinghy beach between the finger piers and the South Coaling Dock as well as the South Coaling Dock Ruin proper. On Loggerhead Key the Loggerhead Key Historic Preservation/Adaptive Use zone is closed.]

Dry Tortugas National Park closed on September 26 in advance of Hurricane Ian, which passed directly over the park on the night of September 27-28 with sustained winds of 120 mph. Garden Key and Fort Jefferson were the first areas in the United States impacted by the storm. The National Park Service’s Eastern Incident Management team is assisting Dry Tortugas National Park staff with storm cleanup and emergency assessments of the fort’s damaged infrastructure.

For more information about Dry Tortugas National Park, visit nps.gov/drto or follow the park on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

NPS
 

Images of storm impacts at Dry Tortugas are available on our Flickr album: www.flickr.com/photos/drytortugasnps/albums/72177720302589013

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.