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The Atlantic ICW offers hundreds of anchorages and free docks along its route, but a few stand out for their consistent praise from the Waterway Guide community. Based on reviews and firsthand feedback from the Waterway Guide community, here are some of the most trusted and top-rated stops along the ICW.
Virginia
Great Bridge Dock #2
N 36° 43.247' / W 076° 14.267' | Chesapeake, VA | MM 12.1
"Great well constructed easy in/off dock for waiting overnight on the lock. 48 hour limit. Nice walking paths. Town of Chesapeake is walking distance with various restaurants and stores. There's a Dairy Queen!! That's reason enough to stop!"
North Landing River - Blackwater Creek
N 36° 35.783' / W 076° 03.783' | MM 30.2
"Great spot for an overnight if Coinjock is full. The holding is pretty good and there is a little sliver of shoreline for our dog. Just make sure you are out of the channel as barges do go by at night."
North Carolina
Dismal Swamp Welcome Center
N 36° 30.400' / W 076° 21.350' | South Mills, NC | MM 28
"Although amenities are limited here, the friendliness of the rest area staff is unbounded. Be sure to stop in the rest area center and register your boat, as you'll receive a special "I was here in 20XX Dismal Swam Canal" sticker that is only available to boaters who visit. Plus, it's cool to say you stopped at the only rest area in the US that serves automotive and marine vessels!"
Mid-Atlantic Christian University
N 36° 18.191' / W 076° 12.975' | MM 50.6
"Dan Smith was very welcoming. We had a very good stay here. Well protected. Very nice facilities. No electric hook up."
Mariner's Wharf, Elizabeth City
N 36° 17.917' / W 076° 13.059' | MM 50.9
"Free dock just South of the bridge in town. Local boating enthusiasts work to greet boaters upon entry and help them tie up. Yes, short finger piers but they are new and rock solid. Beam widths are in varying sizes and noted at the head of each slip. Restrooms and showers reasonable. Showers $5. Albemarle museum across the street is a must see. Also, there's a superb butcher shop ~1/2 mile away called "My corner Butcher". Several restaurants and pubs in the vicinity. We would definitely return."
North River - Broad Creek
N 36° 12.000' / W 075° 56.961' | MM 61.2
"Our kind of anchorage. We anchored just west of all the crab pots and outside of channel. Anchor held well all night during the S/SW "wind event" and we had nice protection. Would have been even calmer inside the roomy creek, which also offered comfortable depths and swing room. We dinghied pup up the creek and found a point under big pines where we could access the shore. We were very careful as possibly poison ivy was present. (LOA42, draft 3.5)"
Alligator River - Newport News Point
N 35° 39.233' / W 076° 01.983' | MM 101
"Reasonably good protection except from north. 9 ft depth. Watch for crab traps."
Alligator River - Tuckahoe Point
N 35° 40.333' / W 076° 05.767' | MM 104
"This is a wonderful Anchorage. Very protected from every direction. We had a wonderful night sleep here anchor held very good and came up clean. There's room for at least 10 to 15 boats to anchor here around 10 feet deep for us. Download anything you want to watch first, unless you have starlink, as we had no signal.."
Pungo River G23
N 35° 33.517' / W 076° 28.067' | MM 127.3
"Good bottom of heavy clay mud. Good wind protection from north and east and fair from west. If holed up for the day awaiting a weather window you can experience modest rocking from distant wake from boats transiting the Alligator Pungo canal. Keep an eye out for crab pot floats when entering and choosing your spot."
Wrightsville Beach
N 34° 12.483' / W 077° 47.883' | MM 283.2
"LOVED this anchorage! We anchored in 10 feet of water and had great holding and no issues. The dinghy dock does get busy but for small dinghys there's usually room. Easy access to restaurants and groceries. There's plenty of islands to explore. Great wildlife and good visibility in the water! We were able to dive on the boat here."
South Carolina
The Dock at Barefoot Landing
N 33° 48.076' / W 078° 44.766' | MM 354
"We stopped here for the restaurants and shopping and ended up staying the night. There were signs in from of the Greg Norman restaurant about no overnight docking but just down the same dock in front of Lulu's restaurant, there were no such signs. We asked in the restaurant about staying the night and nobody objected. There are no services here but the docks are very nice. Beware of the strong currents here when docking/undocking."
Waccamaw River Oxbow G29
N 33° 39.900' / W 079° 04.283' | MM 375.5
"Nice overnight anchorage. Some boat traffic but that stopped around dusk. No bugs when we were there. Cell service through Verizon was down to 1 or 2 bars but using Starlink solved that problem."
Minim Creek (East Side)
N 33° 11.400' / W 079° 16.367' | MM 415.5
"Very comfortable here. Plenty of room with nice depth. Strong but gentle tidal currents. Steady breeze kept nasty horse flies at bay, while we sat outside on bow for fresh air and sunset. Boat all closed up to keep bugs out. Anchor held nicely and came up almost clean. No shore access that we could find. (Draft 3.5ft, LOA 42')"
South Santee River-West
N 33° 09.217' / W 079° 19.633' | MM 420.1
"Great spot to get in quick with lots of room.
Anchored in the dark on our way north after not feeling comfortable with previous spots that we checked out. We didn't go as for as the pin on the map maybe 300 yards off the ICW and anchored in 12 feet of water an hour after low tide.
Pretty spot to watch the sunrise over the marsh."
Awendaw Creek
N 33° 02.050' / W 079° 32.333' | MM 435.6
"There were 4 other boats here - plenty of room. Anchored at the marker and had about 11 feet at high tide. No wind protection, but it wasn't bad. The night was peaceful and quiet."
Church Creek - New Cut Landing
N 32° 42.532' / W 080° 10.858' | MM 488.2
"Fantastic choice for our first night anchoring out! We anchored adjacent to the first house on the starboard side, right of mid channel. We were 1 of 4 boats at anchor with plenty of room. Let out 100' feet of chain and line. Strong current and powerful storm around midnight. We held firm. Lights from the big marine facility down the creek illuminated the waters just enough that we could see dolphins playing at 2:00 AM. Protected spot for kayaking or fishing. Cell service great. No place close for our dog to go ashore."
Steamboat Creek
N 32° 36.625' / W 080° 16.759' | MM 496.7
"Such a beautiful and remote location, we were the only ones anchored here and we really enjoyed the calm. The entrance was deceiving on the charts and we needed to hug the south bank and oyster traps more than felt right but even though the creek was narrow there was plenty of depth"
Georgia
Redbird Creek
N 31° 51.150' / W 081° 09.733' | MM 606.8
"Anchored just before the Waterway Guide icon in 11' of water, at a 1.82' tide going up to 7.0'. Mud bottom with good holding. No shore access. We stayed inside the boat with the air-conditioning due to bugs. A good place to wait to time your arrival at Hell Gate."
North Newport River - Walburg Creek
N 31° 40.217' / W 081° 09.633' | MM 620
"Great quiet, anchorage wall protected from all sides, except a strong north wind. Great holding."
South Newport River - Wahoo River
N 31° 36.033' / W 081° 13.083' | MM 630
"Good holding in 15 feet in sand, clean anchor. Good wind protection from all sides and little traffic so no wakes. Beautiful Georgia river with little traffic or lights. Fast reversing current during 7 foot tide changes. Primitive beach allows dog access, but very muddy. Watch for deer, snakes, and wild boars on land. Limited cell service."
Duplin River
N 31° 25.168' / W 081° 17.780' | MM 649
"Chose this anchorage primarily for the ferry dock access to take our dog to the bathroom. Had no problem with that. 3 boats anchored while we were there & could fit more. Current is strong but that's about anywhere in GA and our anchor held strong. Mud bottom."
Jekyll Island R24
N 31° 02.345' / W 081° 25.477' | MM 685
"This was a surprisingly good anchorage. Being so close to the channel and bridge, we expected to have wake and noise issues. We had neither. We didn't have a single boat pass by after we arrived at 1700. We rowed ashore to Jekyll Island beach about 75 yd from our anchoring spot to do a little exploring but didn't do anything else."
Florida
Jim King Park at Sisters Creek Marina
N 30° 23.883' / W 081° 27.507' | MM 739
"This is a beautiful dock and in really good shape for a free dock! Current was dicy when we came in but during the day and night the water is quite calm. We stayed here 3 nights. Saw lots of boats go by which was entertaining. In the distance we could also see large cruise ships and huge cargo ships headed to/from the Atlantic. Quite impressive. The surrounding grass lands are abundant with shore birds, turtles, etc. A very relaxing and scenic spot. Dock can easily accommodate 8-10 boats as evidently both sides can be used but only one side has cleats. And yes, the seemingly abandoned sailboat is still here."
Bethune Park
N 29° 11.977' / W 081° 00.377' | MM 831
"Considering that this is one of the last anchorages heading north to St. Augustine, and the unfavorable anchorage's south through the Daytona area, this anchorage was a welcome reprieve. Several other boats there that look like they may call it home, but there is plenty of room. Good holding with little swing. We did not experience a lot of boat/wake activity. Nice breeze through the area and gorgeous sunset. Just follow the red line in from the channnel to keep you in plenty of depth heading in. Good depth while anchored. Visited by dolphins, big birds and fish activity."
Griffis Park- Merritt Island
N 28° 21.503' / W 080° 42.828' | MM 897.3
Hole in the Wall Island R112
N 27° 43.283' / W 080° 23.900' | MM 946.2
"This is a staple for us over the last 7 years or so but it is steadily getting more shallow as the years go by. Couple that with a couple of other boats at anchor and there is little room for anyone drafting over four feet. The upper end used to be usable but now we can only access safely from the lower end. Very scenic and beautiful homes on the east side."
Peck Lake
N 27° 06.872' / W 080° 08.600' | MM 992.2
"Beautiful and calm anchorage, there were plenty of others anchored here but plenty of room. Depths were 4-5 feet near the channel marker and may not be the best way in/out of this anchorage. We dropped just East of the marker and had 8-10 feet"
Lake Boca Raton
N 26° 20.783' / W 080° 04.350' | MM 1047.5
"North Anchorage very crowded with sailboats some have been there for a while. I anchored on the south end across from The Boca Raton resort. Good holding. Very busy on weekends dinghy dock next to the bridge to the north."
Lake Sylvia
N 26° 06.315' / W 080° 06.720' | MM 1064.5
"Was a bit crowded but we were able to find a spot. Nice sunrise."
No Name Harbor
N 25° 40.600' / W 080° 09.771' | MM 1096
"The anchorage actually inside the harbor is very well protected. There were about a dozen boats here on a weekday, many (including us) >50'. Just outside the harbor is a separate anchorage which is not well protected except maybe from west winds. Restaurant and separate beachside bart open until he park closes at sunset, good food. $20/day. We didn't find any bathrooms other than in the restaurants (no showers), and nothing posted about them. Pumpout was not working. Long wall for daytime use only. Nice place to watch the sunset over the bay from Cleats, the bar there.
The night we were there, the winds died to nothing. There must have been some swirling tidal currents because boats were facing all which way. We actually pulled anchor and moved over to the edge of the harbor because with the random 360's going on and not knowing how much scope others had out. But with just the light breeze of earlier we were all kept spaced out nicely -- just beware of the potential if it's a calm night nd make sure you have 360 deg of swing room."
Outside No Name Harbor
N 25° 40.526' / W 080° 10.022' | MM 1096
"Great overnight. Read tens of reviews about motor boats speeding past but there was not ONE! Quiet and ready to take on a overnight sail."
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