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Little Africa Patch Reef in Dry Tortugas National Park

#7 of 19 sights in Dry Tortugas

Sight · Dry Tortugas National Park

Little Africa Patch Reef

A shallow coral reef with tropical fish off Loggerhead Key.

Type
Sight
Nearest trail
0.1 mi
Audio stories
16 nearby
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Loggerhead Key and Dry Tortugas Light

Overview

About Little Africa Patch Reef

Why stop

  • A shallow reef with colorful coral and tropical fish.

Heads up

  • It takes a Loggerhead Key visit and getting in the water to enjoy it.

Map

Where it is

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SightLittle Africa Patch Reef24.63438, -82.92202
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Plan your stop

Before you go

5 active Dry Tortugas alerts

  • CautionGarden Key Harbor Light extinguishedVessel operators should treat the Garden Key Harbor Light as extinguished while it undergoes repairs. - The NPS says it is unknown when the light will again be illuminated.Official details
  • ClosureBush Key partially closed for nesting seasonVisitors may access only the harborside of Bush Key through Fall 2026 because the island is closed to protect nesting Sooty Terns, Brown Noddies, and Magnificent Frigatebirds.Official details
See all 5 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Dry Tortugas Tour Guide

Your drive to Little Africa Patch Reef, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Dry Tortugas National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

Recorded for this area

Loggerhead Key and Dry Tortugas Light
0:00 / 0:36
“You're approaching Loggerhead Key, the park's largest island, with Dry Tortugas Light rising above the sand.”

Plays on the road 0.1 mi from Little Africa Patch Reef in the Parkwolf Dry Tortugas Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • A Prisoner Treats the Epidemic
  • A Fish That Makes Sand
  • Who Built the Fort
  • An Island Laboratory
  • 16 audio storiesacross Dry Tortugas’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Green Sea Turtle, Great White Heron, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 2 trails, 21 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
★★★★★
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
JMJamesApp Store review
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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about Little Africa Patch Reef

What it isLittle Africa is a shallow coral patch reef a few yards offshore from Loggerhead Key’s…

Little Africa is a shallow coral patch reef a few yards offshore from Loggerhead Key’s northwest swim beach. It’s a snorkeling stop, not a land viewpoint: the draw is the coral heads and tropical fish just below the surface.

What you’ll seeCoral heads, tropical fish, juvenile barracuda and spiny lobster are often seen around the reef.

Coral heads, tropical fish, juvenile barracuda and spiny lobster are often seen around the reef. Its name comes from the outline the formation makes when viewed from above; underwater, you get the close-up rather than the Africa-shaped silhouette.

Plan around Loggerhead KeyThe reef is only a few yards from the designated swim beach, but it sits on Loggerhead Key,…

The reef is only a few yards from the designated swim beach, but it sits on Loggerhead Key, separate from Garden Key and Fort Jefferson. Loggerhead Key is open for day visits only, so leave enough time to be back before dusk.

Give the reef roomThe swim area is shallow and usually calm, but currents can be strong and there’s no lifeguard.

The swim area is shallow and usually calm, but currents can be strong and there’s no lifeguard. Keep off coral and seagrass, and don’t touch the reef life; brushing coral can damage it.

reefcoralsnorkelingmarinelife

Wildlife

Wildlife in Dry Tortugas

All Dry Tortugas wildlife maps
Loggerhead Sea Turtle13 sightingsLoggerhead Sea TurtleMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapGreen Sea Turtle12 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around noonSighting mapGreat White Heron11 sightingsGreat White HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapMasked Booby102 sightingsMasked BoobyMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapBrown Booby65 sightingsBrown BoobyMost seen around 10 AMSighting mapRed-footed Booby12 sightingsRed-footed BoobyMost seen around 5 PMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Dry Tortugas. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Little Africa Patch Reef

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

EasyLoggerhead Key Walk0.3 mi · 30 min · 0.1 mi awayA short, boat-only walk to a historic island lighthouse.EasyBush Key Trail1 mi · 45 min · 3.3 mi awayA mile of shore beside up to 80,000 nesting sooty terns.

More stops nearby

Sight · 0.2 mi awayLoggerhead KeyA remote island visit with lighthouse history and reefs offshore.Sight · 1.5 mi awayWindjammer WreckA shallow sailing ship turned into a fish-filled reef.Sight · 2.5 mi awayThe MazeA boat-reached dive among coral caverns and swim-throughs.Sight · 2.5 mi awayBird Key WreckA shallow wreck with an iron propeller on a coral bank.Sight · 2.6 mi awayOfframpA boat-only reef stop with shallow outcroppings and staghorn coral.Beach · 3.1 mi awaySouth BeachEasy shore entry with nearby reef and Fort Jefferson in view.Sight · 3.1 mi awayFort JeffersonA vast brick fort that became a Civil War prison.Campground · 3.1 mi awayGarden Key CampgroundStay overnight for Garden Key after the day visitors leave.

Parkwolf’s Dry Tortugas ranking

Top sights in Dry Tortugas

All 21 places
  1. 1Fort JeffersonSight
  2. 2South BeachBeach
  3. 3Loggerhead KeySight
  4. 4North BeachBeach
  5. 5Bush KeySight
  6. 6Windjammer WreckSight

Take Parkwolf to Dry Tortugas.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

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