Best anchorages and harbours in Florida

Sea Love Boatyard & Marina

Working boatyard and marina on the south side of Ponce Inlet, at 4877 Front Street on the Halifax River.

San Marco Island

Mooring and anchoring area off Watson Island in Biscayne Bay, Miami, on the north side of the MacArthur Causeway, with sand holding and shelter from all directions.

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

Live Oak Point

Anchorage off Live Oak Point on the Halifax River, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, near Ponce Inlet, south of Daytona Beach, Florida.

• Sheltered N, NE, W, E, S

Vero Beach anchorage

Free anchorage in the Indian River Lagoon at Vero Beach, on Florida's east coast. Sand and mud bottom, sheltered from every direction, fresh water available ashore.

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

Cayo Hueso

Cruising anchorage off the north-west side of Key West, in the lee of Fleming Key and the Naval Air Station shoreline, Florida.

Buddy's Boatyard and Marina

Working boatyard on Stock Island, just east of Key West, on the south side of Safe Harbor channel.

Matanzas River

Anchorage on the Matanzas River off downtown St Augustine, Florida, on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, mud bottom.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Sailfish Point Marina

Private deep-water marina at the southern tip of Hutchinson Island in Stuart, Florida, with direct ocean access through the St Lucie Inlet.

Tropic Isle Anchorage

Anchorage on the Intracoastal Waterway at Delray Beach, Florida, with mud bottom and good all-round shelter.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE, SW, W, NW

Peacock Park

Members' yacht club marina at Brickyard Cove in Richmond, California, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Caesar Creek

Anchorage in the channel separating Elliott Key and Old Rhodes Key, within Biscayne National Park south of Miami, Florida.

• Sheltered N, NE, W, E, SW, SE

Halifax River

Anchorage on the Halifax River off Daytona Beach, on the Intracoastal Waterway near ICW mile 830, in Florida.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW

Cape Florida Channel

Channel anchorage along the south-west shore of Key Biscayne, Florida, inside Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, on a mud bottom.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Gulfport Municipal Marina

City-run marina with direct access to Boca Ciega Bay, at Gulfport near St Petersburg, Florida.

Ponce de Leon Inlet

Anchorage at Ponce de Leon Inlet, where the Halifax River and Intracoastal Waterway meet the Atlantic on Florida's east coast, on a mud bottom.

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

Rickenbacker Marina

Full-service marina on Virginia Key, on Biscayne Bay along the Rickenbacker Causeway between downtown Miami and Key Biscayne.

Marina Jack Mooring Fields

Mooring buoy field off downtown Sarasota on Florida's Gulf coast, with around 60 numbered moorings on a sand bottom.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Cable marine west

Full-service boatyard on the New River, Fort Lauderdale, on the south bank just west of the Andrews Avenue bridge.

Flamingo

Everglades National Park's only marina, at the southern tip of mainland Florida where Florida Bay meets the freshwater backcountry, administratively in Homestead.

Englewood

Anchorage in Lemon Bay near Englewood, Florida, in the southern reach of the bay close to Stump Pass.

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

Hobe Sound R38

Anchorage off red daymark 38 on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway at Hobe Sound, in Martin County on the Florida Treasure Coast.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

West Tiger Point Anchorage

Anchorage on the west side of the Intracoastal channel at the north end of Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach, Florida.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE

Westland Boatyard & Marina

Working boatyard and marina on the Indian River at Titusville, Florida, along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Doctors Lake Marina

Full-service marina on Doctors Lake near Orange Park, off the St Johns River south of Jacksonville, in Florida.

Vero Beach Anchorage

Anchorage in the Indian River Lagoon at Vero Beach, Florida, behind Fritz Island just south of the city mooring field.

• Sheltered W

Tolomato River anchorage

Anchorage on the Tolomato River north of the St Augustine Inlet, Florida, near ICW Mile 776. Mud bottom, sheltered from N through E winds.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Bay Pines

Anchorage on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway off Madeira Beach, on Florida's Pinellas County coast.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Lake Worth South

Anchorage in the Lake Worth Lagoon off downtown West Palm Beach, Florida, between the Flagler Memorial and Royal Park bridges.

• Sheltered NW, NE, W, E, SW, SE

Andoni's island

Anchorage in Biscayne Bay off Virginia Key, near the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami, with a mud bottom.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Crandon Park Marina

County-run marina in Crandon Park on the north side of Key Biscayne, on Biscayne Bay south of Miami.