Best anchorages and harbours in Chesapeake Bay

Bruffs Island Anchorage

Anchorage off Bruffs Island where the Wye River splits around Wye Island, on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

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

Price Cove

Anchorage in a cove off Smith Creek on the lower Potomac River, Maryland, with sand and mud holding.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SE

Howell Pt

Anchorage off Howell Point at the wide mouth of the Sassafras River, on the upper Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

James Creek Marina

Marina at the confluence of the Potomac, the Anacostia and the Washington Channel, east of Fort McNair in Washington, DC. 297 berths from 16 to over 160 feet.

Rod N Reel Marina

Resort marina at Chesapeake Beach on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, 25 nm south of Annapolis.

North Point State Park

Anchorage off North Point State Park, a peninsula between the Patapsco and Back rivers near the head of the Chesapeake Bay, at Edgemere in Baltimore County.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Chisam Creek

Tidal creek off the Poquoson River near Seaford, Virginia, on the lower Chesapeake Bay.

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

Free Town Dock Chesapeake City

Free transient floating dock at the entrance to Back Creek, on the north bank of the C&D Canal in Maryland.

Hospital Point

Anchorage on the Elizabeth River at the start of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, between Norfolk and Portsmouth in Virginia, at mile marker 0.2.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Salt Pond

Sheltered inlet on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay at Hampton, Virginia, about 4 miles north-east of the city.

York Town

Anchorage off the historic town of Yorktown on the York River in Virginia, with mud holding and fresh water available ashore.

• Sheltered W, SW, S

York River Yacht Haven

Full-service marina of 280 berths at the mouth of Sarah Creek, on the lower York River opposite Yorktown in Gloucester Point, Virginia.

Back Creek, Solomons Island

Anchorage further up Back Creek at Solomons Island, Maryland, set among the working marinas off the Patuxent River.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, SW, W, NW

Chesapeake bay

Anchorage in a cove off the Sassafras River near Georgetown, in the upper Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Annapolis Town Dock

Alongside transient dockage on Ego Alley off Spa Creek, in downtown Annapolis, Maryland.

Pier 7 Resort Marina

Large marina with a deep-water basin on the South River at Edgewater, Maryland, near Annapolis on Chesapeake Bay.

Young's Boat Yard

Family-run boatyard on Jones Creek at the mouth of the Patapsco River, Sparrows Point, Maryland.

Timber point

Anchorage off Timber Point on Elk Neck, in the upper Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Bohemia River, Maryland.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

Town Creek

Anchorage in Town Creek at Oxford, a tributary of the Tred Avon River on Maryland's Eastern Shore, with a mud bottom.

• Sheltered NW, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Salt Ponds Marina Resort

Large marina at the Salt Ponds inlet in Hampton, Virginia, with direct access to Chesapeake Bay.

Kiptopeke

Anchorage at Kiptopeke on the lower Eastern Shore of Virginia, near Cape Charles, mud bottom, sheltered behind a line of sunken concrete ships.

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

James Parks Marine

Marina on Tangier Island, a watermen's community in the Chesapeake Bay roughly 12 miles offshore in Virginia.

Slaughter Creek Marina

Marina on Slaughter Creek off the Little Choptank River, 4 miles from the main Chesapeake Bay, at Taylors Island, Maryland. Formerly Taylors Island Marina.

Mill Creek

Anchorage on Mill Creek, a tributary of the Magothy River off Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

• Sheltered N, NE, W, E, SW, S

Yankee Point Marina

Full-service marina on Myer Creek off the Corrotoman River, in Lancaster County, Virginia, about 12 NM up from the mouth of the Rappahannock and the Chesapeake Bay.

Cambridge Yacht Basin

Municipal marina on the Choptank River near the mouth of Cambridge Creek, in downtown Cambridge, Maryland.

DANDY HAVEN MARINA

Family-run marina on the Back River in the Fox Hill area of Hampton, Virginia, about half a mile from Chesapeake Bay.

High Street Landing

Free city dock on the Elizabeth River at Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia, at the foot of High Street and at ICW Mile Marker Zero.

Leason cove

Sheltered cove off Back Creek near Solomons, on the lower Patuxent River in Calvert County, Maryland.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, SW, S, SE

Flag Harbor Yacht Haven

Condominium marina on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay at St Leonard, Maryland, with 168 berths for boats from 30 to 50 feet.