Best anchorages and harbours in United States

Belwood

Anchorage on Dog River off the western shore of Mobile Bay, Alabama, just inside the river mouth.

Seaplane Basin

Anchorage in the Seaplane Basin at the south end of Davis Islands, Tampa, Florida, with a mud bottom.

• Sheltered NE

Coconut Grove Anchorage

Anchorage on the western side of Biscayne Bay off Coconut Grove, Miami, just outside the Dinner Key mooring field.

Anchorage Alligator River marina

Anchorage on the western shore of the Alligator River near the mouth of the river on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, North Carolina, on a mud bottom.

• Sheltered W

Canaveral Lock approach

Anchorage near the Canaveral Lock on the Canaveral Barge Canal, Brevard County, Florida, with a sand and mud bottom.

• Sheltered E, SE

Clearwater Beach South

Anchorage off Clearwater Beach on the Florida Gulf coast, on a mixed mud and weed bottom.

• Sheltered NW, NE, W, E, SW, SE

Isthmus Cove, Two Harbors

Anchorage and mooring field at Isthmus Cove, Two Harbors, on the north shore of Santa Catalina Island, California.

• Paid
• Sheltered NW, W

Boothbay harbor

Large, well-sheltered harbour on the mid-coast of Maine, one of the main cruising destinations of the region, easy to enter in all conditions.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, NW

4th of July Cove

Small mooring cove on Catalina Island, just west of Isthmus Cove and Two Harbors, with a sand bottom.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S

Anchorage outside St John’s Marina

Anchorage on the Stono River off St Johns Yacht Harbor, near Charleston, South Carolina. Mixed sand and mud bottom.

• Sheltered W

Astoria Boatyard

Anchorage near the Port of Astoria boatyard at Pier 3, on the Columbia River at Astoria, Oregon.

• Sheltered N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Back River

Estuarine inlet of Chesapeake Bay between Hampton and Poquoson, Virginia. Mud bottom anchorage with good holding.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S

Bal Harbour Anchorage

Anchorage off Bal Harbour at the north end of Biscayne Bay, near Baker's Haulover Inlet, Florida, sand bottom.

• Sheltered E, SE

Barred Islands

Anchorage in Penobscot Bay near Islesboro, Maine, on a mud bottom giving good holding.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Belhaven, North Carolina

Anchorage off the town of Belhaven, North Carolina, on Pantego Creek just off the Pungo River reach of the ICW.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SE

Bird Key (E)

Anchorage in the Manatee River off Snead Island, near the entrance to Tampa Bay in Florida. Sand and mud bottom, shelter from all directions.

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

Bird Key Harbor

Anchorage in Dry Tortugas National Park, about 68 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida.

Biscayne Bay

Daytime anchorage in Biscayne Bay near the Venetian Islands, off Miami, with the city skyline to the west.

• Sheltered E, SE, S, SW, W

Boca Chita Key

Anchorage off Boca Chita Key in Biscayne National Park, Florida, 22 miles south of Miami, with a mud and sand bottom.

• Sheltered NE, E, S, SE

Black Creek anchorage

Anchorage in the protected lagoon off Black Creek, on the north side of Lake St. Clair near Harrison Township, Michigan.

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

Blanchard Bay

Privately owned marina at the mouth of Westpoint Slough in Redwood City, California, on the southern reaches of San Francisco Bay.

• Sheltered NE, W, E, SW, S

Bokeelia

Anchorage off Bokeelia, the village at the northern tip of Pine Island, looking onto Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound on the Florida Gulf coast.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Browns Cove

Anchorage in a cove off Mill Creek on the Magothy River, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, south of the Patapsco.

• Sheltered NW, W, E, SW, S, SE

Cabbage Creek

Mangrove creek anchorage off Little Harbor near Ruskin, on the east shore of Tampa Bay, Florida, on a mud bottom with all-round protection.

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

Cabrillo State Marine Reserve

Anchorage along the Cabrillo State Marine Reserve off Point Loma, San Diego, on California's south coast.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Cat Island

Anchorage in the Tongass Narrows near Ketchikan, southeast Alaska, on a rocky bottom and sheltered from W, SW and S winds.

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

Cherry Cove

Mooring cove on the west end of Catalina Island, west of Two Harbors, with a sand bottom.

• Paid
• Sheltered W, SW, S

Connecticut

Anchorage on the Connecticut River near Gildersleeve Island, between Cromwell and Portland in Connecticut, sand bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, SW, S, SE

Converse Bay Sud

Anchorage in Converse Bay on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, near Charlotte, Vermont, with a bottom of mud and weed.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Newfound Harbor anchorage

Anchorage in the lower Florida Keys off Big Pine Key, near the Newfound Harbor Keys and Coupon Bight.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE