Best anchorages and harbours in United States

McMicken Island

Forested 11.5-acre island in Case Inlet, South Puget Sound, on the east side of Harstine Island, Washington. A marine state park reached only by boat.

• Sheltered E, SE, S, SW, W, NW

Newport Harbor Hotel & Marina

Full-service marina on America's Cup Avenue in downtown Newport, Rhode Island, with the hotel of the same name on its quay.

Oceanside Marina

Marina on the Atlantic side of Stock Island near Key West, reopened after a full refit in 2017, part of the Ocean's Edge resort.

Sellman Creek

Anchorage in Sellman Creek, a tidal creek of the Rhode River in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, with a mud bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW

Southwestern Yacht Club

Private members club on Shelter Island, in the Shelter Island Yacht Basin on San Diego Bay, California.

Tices Shoal (Very Popular Anchoring Spot)

Shallow-water anchorage in Barnegat Bay along the back side of Island Beach State Park, New Jersey.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Amelia River

Anchorage on the Amelia River along the Florida ICW near Fernandina Beach, mud bottom.

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

Isla Cardona

Anchorage by Isla Cardona, a 2.4 ha key on the western side of the entrance to Ponce harbour, 1 NM south-west of the Club Náutico de Ponce.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

F3 Marina

Fully automated dry-stack marina at 1335 SE 16th Street in Fort Lauderdale, on the Intracoastal Waterway. Indoor storage for 254 power boats in a 40-metre-high building.

Harbour Towne Marina

Large full-service marina and boatyard on the Dania Cut-off Canal at Dania Beach, about 3 miles inside the Port Everglades inlet.

Mystic Seaport Museum

Working maritime museum on the east bank of the Mystic River in Connecticut, with visitor dockage for boats calling at the museum.

Suntex Marina

Marina on the Intracoastal Waterway at Vero Beach, within the gated Grand Harbor community, now operating under the Loggerhead Marina name.

Encinal Basin

Anchorage in Encinal Basin on the Alameda side of the Oakland Estuary, California, on a mud bottom.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Great Harbor

Mooring field in Great Harbor at Woods Hole, the village at the south-western tip of Cape Cod, in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, SW, S

MACU free dock

Free transient dock on the Pasquotank River at the Mid-Atlantic Christian University campus, less than a mile from downtown Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

Mallard Point Anchorage

Anchorage on the Maryland Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay, near the mouth of the Chester River, set on a sand bottom with all-round shelter.

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

Morehead City Yacht Basin

Marina of 75 berths on the Intracoastal Waterway at Morehead City, North Carolina, on the north side of the high-rise bridge.

Thunderbolt Marina

Yacht repair, refit and transient marina on the Wilmington River at Thunderbolt, Georgia, on the Atlantic ICW at mile 583.

Zimmerman Marine

Full-service boatyard on the East River off Mobjack Bay, at Mathews County, Virginia.

Inner Worton Creek

Anchorage in the inner basin of Worton Creek on Maryland's Eastern Shore, about 1.5 miles inside the Chesapeake Bay north of Rock Hall.

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

Monhegan

Mooring buoys in Monhegan Harbour, off Monhegan Island in the Gulf of Maine, about 12 nautical miles from the mainland. Mixed rock, weed and mud bottom.

• Sheltered NW, E, SW, S, SE

Pokai Bay

Sand-bottom anchorage on the west coast of Oahu, Hawaii, beside Waianae Small Boat Harbor and sheltered by a jetty.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Carousel Marina

Full-service marina and the only fuel berth in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, on Atlantic Avenue at the east side of the harbour.

Donovans Pier

Anchorage off the Donovans Pier shore on the South River, at Edgewater in Maryland, within the wider Chesapeake Bay.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, W, NW

Krum Bay

Bay west of Crown Bay on St. Thomas, opening south onto Gregerie Channel opposite Water Island.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, SE

Sandy Neck Lighthouse

Anchorage off Beach Point at the tip of Sandy Neck, the barrier beach at the entrance to Barnstable Harbour, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Tarpon Basin

Anchorage in Florida Bay on the bayside of Key Largo, Florida, west of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Sand bottom.

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

Waterson State Park

Boat-only state park on Wellesley Island in the Saint Lawrence River, in the Thousand Islands of New York.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Bristol Harbour

Mooring and anchorage off the town of Bristol on the east side of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, with fresh water available ashore.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E

Homer Smith Docks and Marina

Marina on Town Creek at Beaufort, North Carolina, taking vessels up to about 45 metres.