The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located at the end of the Florida Keys, about 70 miles west of Key West.
These are pictures I borrowed from the internet. If you notice the moat area, that is a wonderful, safe and easy place to snorkel. When we were there we saw lots of beautiful fish, turtles and all sorts of marine life. The water was very clear, calm, and shallow.
Unlike the Florida Keys, you cannot drive there.
There are a several boats and seaplanes that will take you there, for the day or you can even tent camp there if you like. They have a water fountain, bathroom and showers. No electricity.
When we went there several years ago, we noticed the park was pretty run down and in much need of some repairs. It's truly a national treasure and should be maintained. They have rangers living there, for I believe 6 month tours. It's a very remote place, but very beautiful. Hummmm....I wonder if they could use work campers? The people living there were living inside the fort (with electricity, water, and sewer) and I even saw their pet cat looking out the window.
We camped overnight there somewhere around 2002. We were camping in Key Largo at Long Key State Park.
We decided to drive down to Key West and catch the ferry boat over to the Tortuga's. If you haven't driven the Overseas Highway , it's a beautiful drive.
We had a very nice time there, camped right on the beach and slept on the sand. It was hot though until the seabreeze came up. The next afternoon, the ferry came to pick us up. We should have stayed longer. It was an amazing place and we intend to go back again in the near future. The next time we will pay and have our kayaks brought with us. There are several other little islands near this one, but they are bird sanctuaries so you can't go there. We saw several yachts and even regular boats anchored there. It's really not that far from land, so a 25 foot boat could get there, provided it had enough fuel (or sail). I would have loved to have taken our boat there and stayed a week or so.
So any of you that will be in Florida for the winter, take a trip south to the Dry Tortugas!
I love reading about all the parks you've been too. This one definitely looks unique and looked up the LongsState Park too. It may be a couple years before to travel that direction but I've bookmarked a lot of the places you mention. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Florida for 8 years and never realized that was there! Looks like an amazing place to visit - another one for my bucket list.
ReplyDeleteAny idea of a good state park for a 40' MH along I-75 south of Atlanta - just need it for an overnight stop on the way back to FL??
Also, I now see that tiny font on my blog and I have no idea what is causing that.
WOW! Looks beautiful, now I want to go there.
ReplyDeleteKevin and Ruth
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com
Margie,
ReplyDeleteWe stayed in High Falls State Park several years ago (we had a pop-up then) Hard to remember, but I think they could accommodate your size MH.
Also Georgia Veterans SP is south of Atlanta and near I-75. I don't remember what the sites look like though, but I'm thinking they were roomy.
Reed Bingham SP is off 75.
I can tell you, we've seen motorhomes as large or larger than yours at every state park we've been to. Of course not all of the sites are large enough, but not all are large enough for ours either. We just prefer state parks to rv parks.
we wanted to go on our trip to the keys....but decided going with a 2 year old...may not be the best plan.
ReplyDelete