Best anchorages and harbours in United States

Newport Bay

Mooring and anchorage area in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, around Goat Island near the entrance from Narragansett Bay.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Creek Sanctuary Solomon's

Anchorage in the creeks behind Solomons, off the Patuxent River in Maryland, with a mud bottom and good shelter from the north through to the south-east.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Falmouth Town Marina

Town-run marina inside Falmouth Inner Harbor on the south coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 108 berths on seven floating finger pontoons.

Marathon City Marina

Municipal mooring field of 226 engineered moorings on Boot Key Harbor at Marathon, run by the City of Marathon from 800 35th Street.

Leinster Bay

Mooring field in Leinster Bay on the north shore of St. John, within Virgin Islands National Park, off Waterlemon Cay and below the ruins of the Annaberg sugar plantation.

• Paid
• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Whittaker Pointe Marina

Marina of 53 berths on Whittaker Creek at Oriental, North Carolina, with a fuel berth and 8 transient berths.

Back Landing

Mud-bottom anchorage off the Pungo River near Belhaven, North Carolina, sheltered from the NW, N and W.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Mariners Basin

Anchorage 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

Cape lookout

Large natural anchorage inside Cape Lookout Bight, at the southern end of Cape Lookout National Seashore on the North Carolina Outer Banks.

• Sheltered NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Channel Island Harbor Marina

Marina inside the man-made Channel Islands Harbor at Oxnard, southern California. Around 400 berths from 24 to 60 ft plus end-ties up to 100 ft.

Lewis bay

Anchorage off Lewes, Delaware, near the Delaware Bay entrance to the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal, on a mud bottom.

• Sheltered E, S, SE

Moonstone Cove

Anchorage 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

wrightsville channel

Anchorage in the channel off Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, beside the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Anchorage Marina

Large marina on the Canton waterfront of Baltimore, on the north shore of the Patapsco River.

Cayo Icacos

Anchorage on the lee side of Cayo Icacos, in La Cordillera Reef Natural Reserve, 2.2 NM north-east of Las Croabas and 3.5 NM from the Fajardo marinas.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Villa Parguera

Anchorage off the fishing village of La Parguera, officially Villa Parguera, in the municipality of Lajas on the south-west coast of Puerto Rico, beside Isla Magueyes.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Manhasset Bay

Anchorage and mooring field in Manhasset Bay off Port Washington, on the south shore of Long Island Sound.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW

Town Creek Marina

Full-service marina on Town Creek at Beaufort, North Carolina, with floating docks for vessels up to 55 metres.

Sardinera, Isla de Mona

Anchorage inside the reef off Playa Sardinera on the west coast of Mona, an uninhabited island in the Mona Passage 66 km west of Puerto Rico and about 43 NM from Puerto Real.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Skipjack Cove Marina

Large marina on the Sassafras River about seven miles upriver from its mouth, at Georgetown, Maryland, with 388 berths in open slips and covered sheds.

Bahía de Almodóvar

Reef-enclosed lagoon on the east coast of Culebra, facing Culebrita, 2.7 NM from Dewey.

• Free
• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

IGY American Yacht Harbor

Marina of 123 berths, four of them for superyachts, at Red Hook on the east end of St. Thomas, beside the ferry terminal for St. John.

Indian River

Mooring buoy field on the Eightmile River at Lyme, about eight miles up the Connecticut River from Long Island Sound.

• Sheltered W, SW, S

Liberty Marina

Marina on the South River near Edgewater, Maryland, a short run from the Chesapeake Bay and close to Annapolis.

Long Creek

Tidal creek anchorage off the Atlantic ICW behind Isle of Palms, north-east of Charleston, South Carolina.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Ashley River Anchorage

Anchorage on the Ashley River off downtown Charleston, South Carolina, on the Intracoastal Waterway.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S

Ensenada, Bahía de Guánica

Anchorage off Ensenada, on the western shore of Guánica bay, a natural harbour on the south-west coast of Puerto Rico.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, SW, S

Cayo Aurora

Anchorage off Cayo Aurora, the western of the three Cayos de Caña Gorda off Guánica, nicknamed Gilligan's Island since the 1970s after the television series.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, S, SE

Safe Harbor Burnt Store Marina

Large full-service marina on Charlotte Harbor near Punta Gorda, Florida, with around 500 wet berths and a 400-bay dry stack.

Seward

Full service harbour at the head of Resurrection Bay on the south coast of Alaska, base for the Kenai Fjords fishing and tour fleet and northern cruise terminal for the Alaska Railroad to Anchorage.