Best anchorages and harbours in California
49 documented anchorages and harbours in California, ranked by boaters' ratings: shelter, seabed, services, photos and reviews, ready to open in the BoatMap app.
Top rated
49 places
- 1MouillageUnited States
Glorietta Bay
4.9Managed anchorage in a small bay on the east side of San Diego Bay, off Coronado, southern California.
- Sheltered W, SW
2MouillageUnited StatesAvalon Harbor
4.9Main harbour of Santa Catalina Island, on the south-east shore below the town of Avalon, with a sand bottom.
- Paid
- Sheltered SE, S, SW, W, NW
3MouillageUnited StatesEncinal Basin
4.8Anchorage in Encinal Basin on the Alameda side of the Oakland Estuary, California, on a mud bottom.
- Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE
4MouillageUnited StatesLittle Harbor
4.8Cove on the Pacific side of Santa Catalina Island, California, with a campground and fresh water ashore.
- Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, SE
5MouillageUnited StatesEmerald Bay
4.8Mooring cove on the north-west shore of Santa Catalina Island, California, with a sand beach and a sand bottom.
- Sheltered NW, N, NE, E
6MouillageUnited StatesMonterey Basin General Anchorage
4.7Open anchorage in Monterey Harbour, on the Monterey Peninsula in California, within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
- Sheltered E, SW, S, SE
- 7MouillageUnited States
Port San Luis
4.5Open harbour on the central California coast, about 1.3 miles west of Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County.
- Sheltered N, NE, W, NW
8MouillageUnited StatesA1 ‘La playa’ anchorage
4.5Designated weekend anchorage in the Shelter Island Yacht Basin, San Diego Bay, between San Diego and Southwestern Yacht Clubs.
- Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE
9MouillageUnited StatesDescanso Bay
4.5Mooring field and anchorage on the east end of Santa Catalina Island, California, immediately north-west of Avalon Harbour.
- Paid
- Sheltered W, SW, S
10MouillageUnited StatesMorro Bay
4.5Anchorage in Morro Bay harbour on the central California coast, set behind the 23-million-year-old volcanic plug of Morro Rock, on a sand bottom.
- Paid
- Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW
11MouillageUnited StatesDana Cove
4.5Designated anchorage in the west basin of Dana Point Harbor, on the Orange County coast of California.
- Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE
12MouillageUnited StatesMariners Basin
4.4Anchorage in the south-west corner of Mission Bay, San Diego, with a sand and mud bottom and protection on every side.
- Sheltered N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE
13MouillageUnited StatesMoonstone Cove
4.3Anchorage and mooring cove on the north-east shore of Catalina Island, around 20 nm south of Los Angeles Harbour, with a sand bottom.
- Sheltered NW, N, W, SW
- 14MouillageUnited States
Little Scorpion anchorage
4.3Anchorage on the north-east side of Santa Cruz Island, in Channel Islands National Park, California, a short distance east of Scorpion Anchorage, on a sand bottom.
- Sheltered SW, S, SE
- 15MouillageUnited States
Cuyler Harbor
4.2Bight on the north-east shore of San Miguel Island, the westernmost of California's Channel Islands and part of the national park.
- Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S
16MouillageUnited StatesSanta Barbara anchorage (Seasonal)
4.1Seasonal open-roadstead anchorage off Santa Barbara on the southern California coast, on a sand bottom.
- Sheltered NW, N, NE
17MouillageUnited StatesAyala Cove, Angel Island
4.0Mooring field on the north side of Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, off Tiburon, with a mud bottom and shelter from the prevailing westerlies.
- Free
- Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE
18MouillageUnited StatesSchoonmaker Beach
3.7Anchorage in Richardson Bay off Sausalito, California, on the north side of San Francisco Bay. The bottom is soft mud.
- Sheltered SW, W
- 19MouillageUnited States
Scorpion anchorage
3.6Cove with a pier on the north-east side of Santa Cruz Island, in Channel Islands National Park off Ventura, California.
- Sheltered W, SW, S
20MouillageUnited StatesSeaplane Lagoon
3.6Enclosed 110-acre basin on the San Francisco Bay side of Alameda Point, California, on the site of the former Naval Air Station Alameda.
- Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E
21MouillageUnited StatesStillwater Cove
3.5Anchorage on the north shore of Carmel Bay at Pebble Beach, California, in the lee of Pescadero Point.
- Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, SE
- 22MouillageUnited States
Sausalito
3.5Anchorage in Richardson Bay off Sausalito, California, on a mixed rock and mud bottom near the head of San Francisco Bay.
- Sheltered NW, W, SW
- 23MouillageUnited States
Little Fishermans Cove
3.4Open anchorage on the coast of Santa Catalina Island, California, with a sand bottom. It sits about 20 nautical miles south-west of San Pedro.
- Sheltered SE, S, SW, W
24MouillageUnited StatesA9 "Cruiser" Anchorage
3.4Designated cruisers anchorage in San Diego Bay, California, off the eastern tip of Harbor Island, with fresh water available nearby.
- Sheltered NW, N, NE, E
- 25MouillageUnited States
Indian Rock
3.3Open anchorage off Santa Catalina Island, California, on a sand bottom. It lies roughly 19 nautical miles south-west of San Pedro.
- Sheltered S, SW, W
26MouillageUnited StatesCatalina Harbor
3.3Mooring off the West End of Santa Catalina Island, California, near Howland's Landing, set on a sand bottom with all-round shelter.
- Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW
27MouillageUnited StatesHalf Moon Bay Anchorage
3.1General anchorage inside Pillar Point Harbor at Half Moon Bay, California, in San Mateo County, with a sand bottom and shelter from NW through SW winds.
- Sheltered NW, N, W, SW
- 28MouillageUnited States
Quarry Bay
2.8Anchorage south of Quarry Point on the east side of Angel Island, in San Francisco Bay, with sand and mud holding.
- Sheltered NW, W, SW
29MouillageUnited StatesHorseshoe Bay
2.8Small cove on the north shore of the Golden Gate at Fort Baker, Sausalito, California, with a mud bottom.
- Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E
- 30MouillageUnited States
Lanning cove
2.7Small open cove on Santa Cruz Island, off the California coast, with a sand and rock bottom.
- Sheltered NW, W, SW