Best anchorages and harbours in United States

Matia Island State Park

Marine state park anchorage in the San Juan Islands, Washington, off Rolfe Cove on the northwest side of Matia Island.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Point Roberts Marina Resort

Large marina on the south shore of Point Roberts, the US exclave at the tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula reachable from the rest of Washington only by sea, air, or by driving through Canada.

Compo Beach

Anchorage off Compo Beach in Long Island Sound, near the mouth of the Saugatuck River at Westport, Connecticut.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Queen Mary Island

All-round sheltered anchorage in Kilkenny Creek off the Bear River, just off the Intracoastal Waterway in coastal Georgia, on a mud bottom.

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

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

Bear Island

Anchorage off Bear Island, a 21-acre Maine Coast Heritage Trust conservation island on the eastern edge of Eggemoggin Reach near Deer Isle.

• Sheltered NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Nantucket

240-berth marina inside Nantucket Harbour, on the north shore of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.

Safe Harbor Ballena Isle

Full-service marina on the bayfront of Alameda, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in California, with a view of the San Francisco skyline and the Bay Bridge.

Stillwater Cove

Anchorage on the north shore of Carmel Bay at Pebble Beach, California, in the lee of Pescadero Point.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, SE

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.

Apostle Islands Sandscapes

Anchorage among the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior, Wisconsin, within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S

Hornbarn Cove

Quiet cove on the lower St. George River in mid-coast Maine, with a mud bottom and shelter from every quarter.

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

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

Pickering cove

Anchorage off Pickering Island in East Penobscot Bay, Maine, near the western end of Eggemoggin Reach. Mud bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW

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

Bon Secour South Fork

Anchorage on the South Fork of the Bon Secour River, near Gulf Shores, Alabama, on a mud bottom with all-round shelter.

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

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

Chesapeake bay

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

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Nichol's Point

Anchorage near The Gut, the narrow passage between North Hero and South Hero islands on Lake Champlain, Vermont.

• Sheltered E, SW, S, SE

Cape May anchorage

Anchorage in Cape May Harbour at the southern tip of New Jersey, on a mud bottom, at the southern end of the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Ellis Island

Free anchorage in Upper New York Bay off Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, on the New Jersey side, with a mud bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S

Sausalito

Anchorage in Richardson Bay off Sausalito, California, on a mixed rock and mud bottom near the head of San Francisco Bay.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW

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

Juneau

Anchorage on Gastineau Channel off downtown Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Rock and mud bottom.

• Sheltered NE, W, SW, S

Point Judith Harbor Refuge

Anchorage inside the Point Judith Harbor of Refuge at Narragansett, Rhode Island, at the south-western tip of Narragansett Bay, on sand and mud.

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

Great Bridge Free Dock

Municipal free dock on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway at Great Bridge, Chesapeake, Virginia, at ICW Mile 12 of the Virginia Cut route.

Quamino rock bay

Anchorage in Cohasset Harbour, Massachusetts, beside Big Quamino Rock, a barren islet off the inner harbour.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE

Acushnet River Safe Boating

Members' marina of the Acushnet River Safe Boating Club at 80 Middle Street, Fairhaven, Massachusetts, on the east bank of the Acushnet River opposite New Bedford.