Parking
There is no road access or car parking. Ferry and seaplane visitors arrive at Garden Key; cross to Bush Key on foot only when the sand bridge connects the keys. When it is absent, NPS lists kayak or canoe access.
Overview
About Bush Key Trail
Why go
- A short beach walk beside one of the park’s defining seabird colonies.
- Open-water views and a different angle on Fort Jefferson and Garden Key.
Heads up
- The Garden Key crossing depends on a shifting sand bridge; otherwise access is by kayak or canoe.
- Sand, coral rubble and nesting restrictions limit where you can walk.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Dry Tortugas map
Full mapElevation0–3 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
5 active Dry Tortugas alerts
- ClosureBush Key partially closed for nesting seasonMentions Bush Key, referenced in this guideVisitors 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
- 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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Dry Tortugas Tour Guide
Your drive to Bush Key Trail, 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.
More stories near here in the app
- Life Among the Seagrass
- Too Heavy for the Scrap Dealer
- The Reef Cleaning Station
- Watch the Frigatebird Chase
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Bush Key Trail
What the walk isBush Key Trail is a one-mile round-trip out-and-back along the island’s south shore, just east…
Bush Key Trail is a one-mile round-trip out-and-back along the island’s south shore, just east of Fort Jefferson. It follows the beach from the Garden Key approach for about half a mile, then returns the same way. Sand and coral rubble, open water and a major seabird colony are the appeal. The exact turn point is not marked in the sources, so treat the mapped line as a shoreline guide rather than a surveyed tread. Allow about 45 minutes to an hour if you stop to watch birds; that is a practical estimate, not a published time.
Sand and coral underfootThe shoreline surface changes from sand to coral rubble.
The shoreline surface changes from sand to coral rubble. There is no summit climb; the experience is a walk along the edge of a low island. The beach itself shifts, so the line can sit a little differently from the walkable strip. Wear footwear and keep to the route marked for visitors.
Give the nesting area roomBush Key is a 16-acre island that supports a major colony of sooty terns and brown noddies.
Bush Key is a 16-acre island that supports a major colony of sooty terns and brown noddies. NPS reports up to 80,000 nesting sooty terns and 4,500 brown noddies. Stay on the shoreline trail and out of vegetation. The key closes seasonally for nesting, generally from around February into September, so check current access before building your day around this walk.
A key that keeps movingBush Key is made of carbonate sand and coral rubble over older reef limestone.
Bush Key is made of carbonate sand and coral rubble over older reef limestone. Storms, erosion and newly deposited sediment reshape these low islands; Bush Key has generally shifted west toward Garden Key. That is why the sandy bridge between the two keys appears and disappears, and why this is an approximate shoreline route rather than a fixed path.
Getting there and making it workBoats and seaplanes are the only way to reach Dry Tortugas; ferry and seaplane visitors arrive…
Boats and seaplanes are the only way to reach Dry Tortugas; ferry and seaplane visitors arrive at Garden Key. Walk across the sand bridge only when it connects the keys. When it is absent, NPS lists kayak or canoe access. There are no services in the park, so bring what you need with you. Pets are not allowed on Bush Key. From the shore, frame the curve of sand with Fort Jefferson beyond to show how far out this small island sits.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Dry Tortugas
13 sightingsLoggerhead Sea TurtleMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
12 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around noonSighting map
11 sightingsGreat White HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
102 sightingsMasked BoobyMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
65 sightingsBrown BoobyMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
12 sightingsRed-footed BoobyMost seen around 5 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Dry Tortugas. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
