Best anchorages and harbours in United States

Little Harbor

Cove on the Pacific side of Santa Catalina Island, California, with a campground and fresh water ashore.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, SE

Live Oak Bay

Anchorage on the lower Neuse River near New Bern, on the North Carolina coast.

• Sheltered E

Whitehall

Anchorage in Whitehall Bay, on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay about 7.5 miles east of Annapolis, Maryland.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SE

Worton Creek

Anchorage in Worton Creek, a sheltered tributary on the eastern shore of the upper Chesapeake Bay in Kent County, Maryland.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Lauderdale Marina

Full-service marina on the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale, just north of the Port Everglades inlet, home to the 15th Street Fisheries restaurant.

Golden Isles Lake

Sheltered urban anchorage off the Intracoastal Waterway at Hallandale Beach, Florida, ringed by condominiums.

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

Hope Island Mooring Buoys

Mooring buoys off Hope Island, a 200-acre marine state park at the north end of Skagit Bay, Washington, between La Conner and Whidbey Island.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Port Orchard Yacht Club

Member yacht club on the south shore of Sinclair Inlet at Port Orchard, in Puget Sound, Washington, across the inlet from the Bremerton Naval Shipyard.

Safe Harbor Bahia Bleu

Marina on the Wilmington River at Thunderbolt, on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway just east of Savannah, Georgia.

Sandy Hook

Anchorage in Sandy Hook Bay behind the barrier spit of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, at the southern entrance to New York Harbour.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

St Augustine

Anchorage in the Matanzas River at St Augustine, Florida, off the historic downtown. Sand bottom, protected from NW through SW winds.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Trippe Creek

Anchorage in Trippe Creek off the Tred Avon River near Oxford, on Maryland's Eastern Shore, on a mud bottom.

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

Ashtabula River

Sheltered anchorage on the Ashtabula River in Ashtabula, Ohio, with a mud bottom and protection from all quarters.

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

Bahía Tortuga

Bay on the north side of Culebrita, the cay off the east coast of Culebra, 4.2 NM from Dewey.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Barcom’s

Full-service marina at the north end of Lake Champlain in Rouses Point, the closest marina to the Canadian border.

Brewers Bay

Bay with a beach on the south-west coast of St. Thomas, west of the airport runway, below the St. Thomas campus of the University of the Virgin Islands.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Claiborne

Open anchorage off the village of Claiborne, on the point dividing Eastern Bay from the Miles River in Talbot County, Maryland.

• Sheltered E, SE, S, SW, W

Dockside Marina

Small marina on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway at Wilmington, North Carolina, beside the Wrightsville Beach bridge on Airlie Road.

Lloyd Harbor

Sheltered harbour branching west off Huntington Bay on the north shore of Long Island, New York. Mud bottom, well protected from all directions.

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

Magens Bay

Long bay on the north coast of St. Thomas with a public beach park of about 56 acres behind it, run by the Magens Bay Authority.

• Sheltered N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

North Pomeroy Rock

Anchorage off the Fore River near Back Cove, north of the Portland peninsula, Maine. Mud bottom, all-round shelter.

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

Redondo Beach Marina

Marina within King Harbor at Redondo Beach, on the Santa Monica Bay coast of California.

Sunset Marina

Full-service marina at 231 Front Street in South Portland, on the western shore of Portland Harbour, Maine.

Zimmerman Mooring Ball

Mooring buoy on the East River off Mobjack Bay at Cardinal, Virginia, alongside the Zimmerman Marine yard.

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

Apostle Islands Yacht Club AIYC

Member-owned sailing club with a small harbour at Bayfield, on the Lake Superior shore of northern Wisconsin and the gateway to the Apostle Islands.

Faro Blanco Marina

Full-service marina on the gulf side of Marathon in the Florida Keys, with 74 berths taking vessels from 18 to 185 feet.

Princess Bay

Bay in Hurricane Hole, on the east side of St. John, within the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, S, SE

Spragues Cove

Anchorage in Sippican Harbour off Marion, Massachusetts, at the head of Buzzards Bay, with a mud and weed bottom and shelter from NW through SW winds.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, SW

Calf Islands

Day anchorage off the Calf Islands in Captain Harbor, fronting the Byram shore of Greenwich, Connecticut, in western Long Island Sound.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Carry Bay

Anchorage in Carry Bay off North Hero on Lake Champlain, Vermont, with a mud bottom and shelter from NW through SE winds.

• Sheltered NW, W, E, SW, S, SE