Garden Key Campground

Garden Key Campground in Dry Tortugas National Park on the same island as Fort Jefferson provides 8 primitive tent camping sites on a first come first served basis. Accessible only by private ferry. According to the National Park Service "If you arrive at the park via ferry we have never turned prepared campers away. It is a small island, but we'll work at finding a place for you to pitch your tent - and you must have a tent to camp." Amazing setting for a night of camping. Advanced reservations for the ferry boat to the islands ARE required and this tends to be the only limiting factor for staying here. Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson hold a very important, strategic and historic place in US and Florida history. The "dry" part of the name is the most important as the island does not have any source of fresh water (campers must bring their own). Located nearly 70 miles west of Key West the island is surrounded by gulf coast waters and sits on the edge of a shelf where the Atlantic meets the Gulf of Mexico. Visitors to the island can tour the historic brick fort, learn about the history of the island, enjoy majestic views of the blue green waters. Bring along swim trunks and snorkeling gear to explore the warm waters, sight tropical style fish, and look for sunk artifacts (we spotted two sunk cannons during our visit!). Campsites have picnic tables and grills. Campers must bring all supplies, including a tent, fresh water, fuel, ice, and food. All trash and garbage must be carried out upon departure.