Best anchorages and harbours in United States

Belfast Anchorage

Anchorage at Belfast Harbour, at the north end of Penobscot Bay where the Passagassawakeag River meets the bay, in Maine. Sand bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, W

Little Fishermans Cove

Open anchorage on the coast of Santa Catalina Island, California, with a sand bottom. It sits about 20 nautical miles south-west of San Pedro.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW, W

Wacca Wache Marina

Marina on the Waccamaw River at Intracoastal Waterway marker 383, near Murrells Inlet in South Carolina, with about 100 berths.

Billings Diesel & Marine

Full-service boatyard founded in 1967 at Moose Island, Stonington, on the southern tip of Deer Isle in Penobscot Bay.

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

Gravesend Bay

Designated anchorage in south-west Brooklyn, north of Coney Island, off Lower New York Bay.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Gulfport Municipal Marina

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

Annapolis Town Dock

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

Bay Harbor Marina

408-berth full-service marina on the Saginaw River in Bay City, Michigan, less than two miles from Saginaw Bay.

Burton Chase Park Dooking

Public guest dock attached to Burton W. Chace Park in the middle of Marina del Rey, the large man-made harbour on the coast of Los Angeles County.

A9 "Cruiser" Anchorage

Designated cruisers anchorage in San Diego Bay, California, off the eastern tip of Harbor Island, with fresh water available nearby.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor Offices

Municipal harbour on Sandy Hook Bay, the largest in the area, with a long breakwater and a fuel berth.

Burbank Point

Marsh anchorage off the Intracoastal Waterway in Cumberland Sound, on Georgia's southernmost stretch of coast near St Marys.

• Sheltered E, S, SE

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.

Andrew’s Bay

Cove on the west side of Seward Park on Lake Washington, Seattle, and the busiest anchorage on the lake.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

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

Safe Harbor Kittery Point

Marina in the Back Channel of the Piscataqua River, on the Maine side of the river opposite Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with direct open access to the Gulf of Maine.

Wharfinger Building and Eureka Public Marina

Municipal marina on the Eureka waterfront in Humboldt Bay, north-west California, with the Wharfinger Building housing the marina office at the west end of the complex.

Fort Flagert State Park Dock

Seasonal moorage dock at Fort Flagler Historical State Park, on the north tip of Marrowstone Island at the entrance to Admiralty Inlet, 1.9 NM south-east of Port Townsend.

Goddard Memorial State Park

Anchorage off Goddard Memorial State Park, on the shore of Greenwich Cove and Greenwich Bay at Warwick, Rhode Island.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Neuse River

Anchorage on the Neuse River off New Bern, North Carolina, where the Neuse meets the Trent River, on a mud bottom.

• Sheltered NW, NE, W, E, SW

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.

Annisquam Yacht Club

Private sailing club on the Annisquam River at Annisquam village, Gloucester, Massachusetts, founded in 1896.

Offatts Bayou

Anchorage in a bayou on the south side of Galveston Island, Texas, with sand and mud bottom and protection from the S and SW.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

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

Pleasant Harbor Marina Resort

Full-service marina in a cove on the western shore of Hood Canal at Brinnon, backed by the Olympic National Forest.

Pontchartrain Landing Marina

Marina and RV resort in the Seabrook district of New Orleans, at the junction of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal and Lake Pontchartrain.