Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park — Attraction in Key West

We visited on a Monday afternoon in late December 2024. There were a line to get into the park. There were maybe 5 cars in front of us. They were still letting folks into the park. It took it 2 loops before we found a spot. We wanted to park by the fort but there are only a few spots there and ended up getting an amazing spot right by one of the beach entrances.

We wanted to tour the fort first before heading to the beach and getting wet and covered in sand. We hiked back up the hill and it wasn't too bad. We stopped by the bathrooms first and then walk up and through the gates. We've visited dozens of other forts and this one wasn't very different. It was nice to look through some of the cannon windows and get nice pictures. Standing at the top also gave nice views of the water. We probably didn't spend more than 20 mins walking through the fort.

We then venture down to the beach for the rest of the afternoon/evening. There are bathrooms at the beach too. The sand is very rocky and covered in shells. I would suggest wearing water shoes as it will help a lot. The water was fairly clear. We found a spot on the south eastern side of the beach. There were a number of rock structures (4 maybe?) which made great places to snorkel. They were huge but enough to keep you busy for 30 mins or so. The waves were also a factor as it wasn't super sheltered and you can get battered around especially if you go toward the edges or explore the ocean side.

It wasn't very crowded either. We found plenty of space in between folks. There were plenty of spaces that were shaded by trees that you could setup under. While it didn't bother us much, there were many women in thong and string bikinis. If you venture to the concessions area, they have bathrooms there and a small store for merch or beach supplies, we found it pretty underwhelming. There is also food concessions that were overpriced as to be expected. But it was about the water and beach experience here and that I give a 5 out of 5 stars. Very picturesque.

The only negative experience on our visit was one of the rangers at the entrance gate. As we were leaving we wanted to take a picture by the park sign. This is a tradition we do at every park we visit. So we parked by the guard shack and walk out past the front gate and wave purposefully at the ranger and take our picture. On our way back in we wave at him again and point to our car to signal that we parked right there and we already paid our entry fee to get into the park. He was helping another set of pedestrians pay entry fee and when he saw us, he SHOUTED at us and basically said STOP, STAY RIGHT THERE!" We tried to explain quickly that we had just a few moments prior walked past and waved at him. He said "You just wait right there and I'll get to you after I finish with these folks." We stood there for at least 2 minutes with our car running just meters away on the other side of the entrance gate. He gave us no apology or anything and just said you understand why I had to do that. I gave him a confused raised eyebrow and we explained AGAIN what happened and he said okay and let us continue. Not sure why he wouldn't listen to our 5 second statement and let us continue instead making us stand there and wait while the other guests was trying to provide payment and letting the card reader do it's thing. Left a sour taste in our mouth as we were leaving.

Overall we would visit again just for the beach and maybe hike some of the trails around the outside of the fort. We don't need to see the inside of the fort again. I want to give the ranger the benefit of the doubt and maybe he was overwhelmed by the number of guest and having a bad day but shouting at us was a bit rude while we were calmly try to explain what just happened. He could've turned his head 45 degrees and saw our car sitting there running...

My husband and I had a great time visiting this state park and we learned some tips to better prepare for it (especially if you’re visiting out of town).

First, there is a FREE tour daily at 11am by a park ranger. This is a very interesting tour by a passionate ranger so I would recommend. Plan to get to the park 20 minutes beforehand in case there is a line. You can leave the tour whenever you want, but it’s a good time.

We got there around 10:40 and there was a line to get inside. When we left around 3pm there was an even longer line to get in. This was on a Sunday. Plan ahead. There is a small fee

We went here for the sunset on the second night of our trip and we were not disappointed. After going to Mallory Square, which is a must at least once for the experience, this was far more beautiful. I'm pretty sure the rocks are even more southern then the Southernmost Point of Key West, I'm no cartographer but I do have Google maps and the southern most point just like a tourist thing. Even though I was a Florida resident tourist. They just let you climb on the rocks and get as close to the sunset as you'd like. There's a nice little snack stand with foods and drinkies and adult beverages. The people were all very chill. The view was beautiful. There was a wedding going on but it didn't disrupt the experience. My favorite part was the man with his son Papī on the wall in the rocks. Papì kept climbing under all the rocks and finding treasures. It was adorable. I'm pretty sure he found a petrified coconut which was kinda cool. The water isn't as blue as it looks on your way down to key West but it's still nice. I'm not a big fan of the ocean and it's sea creatures even though I'm a native but I was able to swim out far enough where my feet didn't touch the bottom and enjoy the water. The fort was awesome as well, I only wish I was more of a morning person to get there in time for the daily tour at 11am. Unless you're lucky enough to chaperone a field trip. I'm sure there's so much amazing history we didn't know. Also iguanas?!! Like everywhere! Mostly on the way in and out of the fort. We don't have those in Tampa Bay so that was def an experience. Def recommend. Much better sunset than...