Established October 26, 1992
While not established as a national park until 1992, Dry Tortugas National Park joined the park service as a crown jewel in 1935. The massive Fort Jefferson towers above Garden Key, watching over the reefs teeming with life below. Lying 70 miles west of Key West, the subtle grandeur found on this small group of islands can captivate even the most cynical of hearts.
Visited March 2018
Fun fact: a national parks trip can be incredibly cost effective, but can also be mind blowingly expensive. I’ll always tell you that national parks are one of the cheapest vacations you can take, but….I might be a little bit wrong sometimes. There, I said it. With a little research, a national parks visit can be affordable. There are so many different options for lodging, camping, backpacking, staying in or outside of the park boundaries...you can make a national park whatever price point you want it to be. But we’re here to talk budget-friendly national parks, so let’s be real, just how expensive is a national parks trip?!
This is a fluid post that I will continually update! Each time I visit a new park I’ll add it here, or update parks that I return to. It’s kind of a fusion highlight reel and future bucket list.
We’re going to take a quick break from national park trip reports, since we’ve hit a milestone—Congaree National Park, which I talked in detail about two weeks ago, was my tenth national park! I thought it would be fun to do a quick overview of my first ten national park visits in chronological order all in one place. It’s been an interesting journey thus far, and I’m hoping you lovely readers might enjoy an honest recap.
All the small moments in my life added up to my feet planted in exactly that spot—the grassy rooftop of mighty Fort Jefferson, a 16 million-plus brick fortress situated right in the middle of the bluest waters of the Caribbean. It was one of those “maybe one day I’ll see it” types of places. You know the ones, right? Those places you always say you’ll visit, but somehow seem to be too good to be true? Dry Tortugas was one of those places for me…. except that in that moment, I was standing on it.
Key West is the beach town I never knew I needed in my life. Part of me is actually kind of sad about it, because it’s too far away to visit every weekend! I call it a “beach town,” but I feel like that title actually does it somewhat of a disservice. While the beachy vibes are alive and well, Key West has a quirky culture that extends well beyond its sandy strips.
So, I took my own advice. If you follow me on Instagram, you are well aware by now that I am officially working overnights, and getting used to the new schedule has been nothing short of a struggle. Realizing that I was really craving some sunlight, I planned a semi-last-minute trip to the place known for the one thing I needed: the Sunshine State
