KEY WEST, Fla. – On September 26 at noon, Dry Tortugas National Park temporarily closed in preparation for Hurricane Ian for the safety of visitors and staff. Concession-operated ferry and sea plane services are also temporarily suspended.
Park Rangers completed hurricane preparations at the park this morning. Garden Key, Loggerhead Key and all other islands and facilities in the park are closed, including the campground, main dock and visitor courtesy slips on Garden Key, as well as the main dock at Loggerhead Key.
While the park is closed, vessels may seek safe harbor in the designated areas within the one nautical mile anchoring zone around Garden Key, including Bird Key Harbor.
There will be no visitor services available while the closure is in effect and emergency services will be extremely limited.
All closures will remain in place until the severe weather has passed and the National Park Service decides that employee and visitor facilities are safe. Current status will be posted as an alert on the park’s website.
If the storm track changes, the parks may issue a new advisory with updated status, including any lifting of closures. Please check “Alerts” on the park website for current information. The NPS Hurricane and Severe Weather Response has updates for all National Park Service sites.
