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Pet
Friendly Anchorages Along the East Coast and Bahamas
With two Golden Retrievers aboard, our major
concern for each anchorage area is whether or not we will have a place
to take the dogs ashore. We
use our cruising guides extensively to get recommendations on dinghy
docks and other landings where we can take the dinghy ashore.
For this information, we highly recommend “Skipper Bob’s
Anchorages along the Intracoastal Waterway” which can be found at SkipperBob.home.att.net
and the Waterway Guides (Northern, Mid-Atlantic and Southern) which can
be found at www.waterwayguide.com;
these guides will give you more detailed information about entering the
anchorages that I mention below. For the Florida Keys, we recommend the Cruising Guide to the
Florida Keys by Capt. Frank Papy. We
try our best to plan our nightly stops at a place we have a recommended
dinghy dock/landing from one of these guides.
After leaving each anchorage, we document in our log book where we
landed our dogs, so we will remember for our next trip there.
Following is a listing of the majority of anchorages and free
docks that we have used along with the information about landing dogs.
This list also includes areas that we found difficult or
impossible to land the dogs and areas where we have found many
restrictions on walking the dogs, such as Fort Lauderdale.
Some pet-friendly marinas are included as well. We travel offshore as often as we can, so there are some states
that we have not stopped in (such as Georgia) and therefore do not have
any information on dog landings in those states.
We hope those of you that are cruising with dogs will find this
list helpful and ask that you always clean up after your dogs (plastic
grocery bags are wonderful for this task).
Click
Here to download the entire document as a PDF File
Browse
through the entire listing or click on the links below to go directly to
that listing:
Note: We
welcome updates to our page. If you know of other dog landings
that we do not have on our list, please send them to us and we'll add
them to the list.
BAHAMAS:
Note:
For the Bahamas, I have included all anchorages as well as all
marinas that we visited. West
End, Abacos: We stayed at the Old Bahama Bay Marina.
They have long finger piers which make the dog landing easier.
There is a nice beach to let the dogs run. Double-Breasted
Cays, Abacos: We anchored off the south side of the cays near Sandy
Cay. Nice beach on Sandy Cay to land dogs. Hawksbill
Cay, Abacos: We anchored off the southwest side of Hawksbill
Cay. During high tide we were able to go to the northwest side of
Hawksbill (in between numerous islands on west side) and landed the dogs
on the beach which was a decent landing. During low tide, we took
the dogs onto the rocky island just off the southwest point of Hawksbill
which was not a great landing, but possible. At extreme low tide a
beach appeared between couple of the islands on west side. We were
able to navigate to the beach and let the dogs play on it (this area is
underwater at all times except for extreme low tide). Moraine
Cay, Abacos: We anchored off the southwest side of the Cay and
landed the dogs on the beach there. Nice beach to play on. Allans-Pensacola
Cays, Abacos: There is a nice beach to land the dogs at the
anchorage on the southwest side of Allans Cay. Powell
Cay, Abacos: We anchored off the bluffs on the northwest side of
Powell Cay (off the charted wreck on land). There was a great
beach to land the dogs with plenty of room to let them play. Manjack
Cay, Abacos: We anchored in the northern most anchorage off Manjack
Cay (off the Abaco end of Manjack (aka Nunjack) Channel). There
was a great beach to land the dogs. Also on the northeast side of
the beach is an entrance to the nature walk area. It is a nice
wide grassy walkway through the island. A wonderful place to
exercise the dogs! Green
Turtle Cay, Abacos: We stayed in the Green Turtle Club Marina in
White Sound. Request a slip with finger piers to land dogs.
We took the dinghy over to the settlement in Settlement Harbour.
The public dock there has a landing at dinghy height with stairs going
up to the dock. This can be found on the land side of the
dock. Easily usable to land dogs and there is a dumpster at the
landing which you can use to dispose of your doggy pickup bag. Baker's
Bay, Great Guana Cay, Abacos: We anchored on the northeast end of
Baker's Bay and there is a great beach for the dogs to play on. Fisher's
Bay, Great Guana Cay, Abacos: We took a mooring in this
harbor, but it is also possible to anchor here. There is a small
beach on the south side of the Guana Beach Resort dock where you can
land the dogs. Marsh
Harbour, Abacos:
We anchored in Marsh Harbour and were able to land the dogs at the
Union Jack public dock. At the southwest end of the dock there are
concrete steps. These can be used to land the dogs at all times
except for extreme low tide where it becomes too shallow to take the
dinghy to the steps.
Little
Harbour, Abacos: We anchored in Little Harbour (had to wait
for high tide to enter channel into harbour). There is a dock next
to the Gallery that has steps all the way down to the water. It
was a good dock to land the dogs. Took the dogs down dirt roadways
to reach wooded areas. Lynyard
Cay, Abacos: This is not a good dog landing area. All
beaches appear to have houses next to them, so there didn't seem to be a
public landing area. Harbour
Island, Eleuthera: We joined friends on their boat when they took a
pilot to guide their boat around the Devil's Backbone over to Harbour
Island. They anchored south of the ferry dock and landed their
dinghy on the beach just south of the ferry dock. They also walked
their dog over to the beach on the eastern side of the island for lots
of exercise and swimming. Royal
Harbour, Eleuthera: We anchored in Royal Harbour and took
the dogs to land near the ruins. There are concrete steps down to
the water where you can land the dogs. Then follow steep concrete
steps up to ruins and lots of wooded areas for dogs. Spanish
Wells, Eleuthera: We took a day trip here...anchored off
Russell Island and dinghied into the town. We landed the dinghy at
green grocery store where there are steps to land. This appeared
to be a good dog landing. There is also a sandy island off the
town that looked like it would be a good dog landing as well. Meeks
Patch, Eleuthera: We anchored on the northwest side of the
island near the beach. Nice beach to land dogs. Current
Island, Eleuthera: We anchored on the northwest side of the
Current Cut. Nice beach to land dogs, but have to watch out for
rocks. Land on far right side of beach to land in sand. Lower
Bogue, Eleuthera: We anchored off of Lower Bogue and there is
a nice beach to land dogs. Glass
Window, Eleuthera: We anchored at N25 degrees 25.8, W76
degrees 36.08 near the Glass Window. There is a nice beach to land
where we anchored that had a nice flat pinestraw area to play with the
dogs. Alabaster
Bay, Eleuthera: We anchored on the southwest end of the
bay. There is a nice beach to land and walk the dogs.
Difficult landing at low tide since it almost dries in areas. Governor's
Harbor, Eleuthera: We anchored at the south end of the
bay. There is a decent beach to land the dogs. Difficult
landing at low tide since it almost dries. There are a couple of
concrete steps on the right side that will allow you to get to the
street and walk the dogs through town. Rock
Sound, Eleuthera: We anchored off the town and landed dinghy
between small row of pilings (which will be a future dinghy dock).
It was easier to land at higher tide than lower because it was
rocky. Great
Stirrup Cay, Berry Islands: We anchored in Panton Cove.
There is a nice beach to land the dogs. Also there is a trail to
the lighthouse from the dock which makes a good dog walking area. White
Cay, Berry Islands: We anchored in the White Cay area between
Devil's Cay and Hoffman's Cay. There are plenty of great beaches
on White Cay, Hoffman's Cay, Devil's Cay and Big Gaulding Cay to land
the dogs and let them run on the beach. Chub
Cay, Berry Islands: We stayed at the Chub Cay Marina.
Not all slips have finger piers, so request one with a finger pier or
slip on T-dock to land dogs. Marina requests dogs be kept on
leash. Salt
Cay, New Providence: We anchored on the south side of Salt
Cay. There is no place on Salt Cay to land the dogs, so we
dinghied over to the northwest side of Athol Island to land the dogs on
a small beach. Long dinghy ride! Atlantis,
Nassua: We splurged and stayed at the Marina at
Atlantis. They have long finger piers that make dog landings
easier. Lots of marina area to walk dogs. Take them to
grassy areas near dockmaster's office to do their business. Norman's
Cay, Exumas: We anchored on the southwest side off beach,
north of colorful cottages. Nice beach to land dogs. Cambridge
Cay (aka Little Bell Cay), Exumas: We anchored on the west
side of Cambridge Cay. There are plenty of beaches in the area to
land dogs. Beaches on Cambridge Cay are hard to access at low
tide, so we landed dogs on the small sandy island to the west of
Cambridge Cay at low tide. This island is small at high tide, but
at low tide there is much more sand and it dries between the two small
islands to make a great area to exercise the dogs. Black
Point, Exumas: We anchored in the cove just north of the
settlement. There are concrete steps at the government pier.
A dock has been built in front of the steps, but you can take the dinghy
under the dock (plenty of head-room to clear dock) and bring the dinghy
up to the concrete steps for landing the dogs. At high tide, you
can go to the northeast side of the government dock and land dogs at the
concrete boat ramp. Little
Farmer's Cay, Exumas: We anchored on the west side of
the Cay. There is a decent beach to land the dogs. Cave
Cay, Exumas: We anchored on the southwest side of Cave
Cay. There is a small beach there to easily land the dogs. Rat
Cay, Exumas: We anchored off of Rat Cay and took the dogs to a
couple different beaches on nearby cays. Beaches were nice for
landing dogs. George
Town, Exumas: We anchored off of Sand Dollar Beach. Our
favorite beach to land the dogs was the small beach to the left of
(northwest of) Sand Dollar beach. It was small and usually empty
so the dogs could run free. There are plenty of beaches to land
the dogs at any anchorage off of Stocking Island. Salt
Pond, Long Island: We anchored off the town and also in
Thompson Bay. Off the town you can take the dogs to Evas Cay or
Flat Cay. Evas Cay is rocky, but you can land on beach if you are
careful to stay away from rocks. Flat Cay has a great beach to run
the dogs, but has a shallow approach at low tide. When approaching
Flat Cay from the anchorage off the town, make sure to give the very
shallow southeast side a wide berth and approach from northeast side of
cay. Thompson Bay has a nice beach where you can easily land the
dogs. Water
Cay, Jumento Cays: We anchored in the Fishermans Anchorage which is
the cove on the northwest side of the island. There was a nice
beach to land the dogs. For more westerly protection, we also
anchored at the southern end of the island between Water Cay and the
very small islands to the west of it. At that end of the island,
we had to search for beach areas to land the dogs. Using the
Explorer Charts, look at the southern anchorages and there are tiny
beach landings at two of those anchorages...better landings at lower
tides...not the ideal landings...just enough space for the dogs to do
their business, but not enough to get much exercise. Flamingo
Cay, Jumento Cays: We anchored off the Two Palms Beach. There
is a nice beach there to land the dogs. There are also nice
beaches off the anchorage south of Two Palms Beach and in the horseshoe
shaped anchorage on the north side of the island. Buenavista
Cay, Jumento Cays: We anchored on the western side of the
island. There is a wonderful, long beach where you can land dogs
and give them lots of exercise. Raccoon
Cay, Jumento Cays: We anchored at the southern end of House Bay just
north of Pimlico Cay. There is a great beach there to land dogs
and give them exercise. We also anchored in Man O' War Bay on the
southeast side of the island for a weather front. We landed the
dogs on the beach on the southeast side of Raccoon Cay (the northwest
side of Man O' War Bay). It was a small beach, but the dogs were
still able to walk around for exercise. Johnson
Cay, Jumento Cays: We did not anchor here, but it would be a great
anchorage in the right winds. We did take the dogs over there in
the dinghy and there was a great beach to land the dogs. Nice long
beach to walk for exercise with rocks to climb at one end of the beach
and nice shade trees to relax under at the other end of the beach. Hog
Cay, Jumento Cays: We anchored on the western side of the island in
the cove south of Lobster Hole Point. Nice beach there to land and
exercise the dogs. Also took the dogs in the dinghy to other
beaches on the western side of the island to explore. Long
Cay, Bight of Acklins: We anchored on the eastern side of Long Cay
as close to the dock as depth allowed (which wasn't very close since it
was so shallow). We took the dogs to the dock at low to mid tide
and to the beach area (about 1/2 mile north of the dock) at mid to high
tide. The water leading to the beach was too shallow at low tide
to walk the dinghy up to shore, so we could only go at higher
tides. It was a decent beach to land the dogs for exercise. Delectable
Bay, Bight of Acklins: This bay had tough dog landings and was
anything but "Delectable". We anchored in the far
northeast part of the bay. We took the dogs to three different
areas for landing. We landed at the small beach inside the tiny
cove to the right of the dock at the point. We also took them to
the "tan beach" marked on the Explorer chart to the far right
from where we anchored, but it was a very long dinghy ride. For
quick trips, we also landed at the rocks where we were anchored.
We'd dinghy up to the rocks, land dogs and one person would stay and
hold the dinghy, since there wasn't a place to actually "land"
the dinghy. Conception
Island: We anchored off the northwest side of the
island. There is a wonderful beach to land the dogs and lots of
room to walk them on the beach. Hawk's
Nest, Cat Island: We anchored on the northern side of Hawk's
Nest near the resort. There are a couple of beaches near this
anchorage where you can land the dogs. New
Bight, Cat Island: We anchored off the government dock in New
Bight. There is a nice beach near the dock where you can land and
exercise the dogs.
FLORIDA
– West Coast
Bellaire
Causeway: We anchored
in the cove north of the Bellaire Causeway bridge.
There is a public boat launch where you can land the dogs.
Madiera
Beach: We anchored in
the cove north of the American Legion which is north of the Welch
Causeway bridge. There is a
floating dock at the McDonald’s north of the bridge where you can land
the dinghy to take the dogs ashore.
Please visit the McDonald’s while you are there.
There is outdoor seating, so you and your dog can enjoy your
take-out order.
St.
Petersburg: We anchored
in the Vinoy Basin north of The Pier.
In the southeast corner of the basin, there is a sand area (still
inside the concrete wall of the harbor) that you can land the dinghy.
It is a 4 foot climb onto the concrete wall that we had to lift
the dogs up onto it. It is
a nice walk up to The Pier and there are doggy cleanup bags provided on
the walkways.
Manatee
River: We anchored off
DeSoto Point. This is a
state park. You can dinghy
to the beach and there are nice walking trails in the park.
The park provides doggy cleanup bags and waste receptacles.
Longboat
Pass: We anchored in
the 13 foot cove near the restaurants. On the left side of the restaurants, there is a beach and
public dock where you can land your dogs.
Sarasota:
We anchored on the south side of Island Park and landed the
dinghy at O’Leary’s (southeast side of Island Park).
There is a $1.00 per day dinghy fee payable at the restaurant.
There is a great park here to walk or play with your dogs.
Venice:
There was no room to anchor and also no room at the free dock
at the park. We stayed at
the Crow’s Nest Marina at the inlet entrance.
We walked to the free dock and found out that dogs are not
allowed in this park.
Pelican Bay
off Coya Costa: We anchored in Pelican Bay between Punta Blanca Island
and Coya Costa. We landed
the dogs at the floating dinghy landing at the state park.
The dogs are not allowed in some parts of the park, but there is
still plenty of room to let them get their exercise.
Captiva
Pass: We anchored off
the southeast point of Coya Costa inside Captiva Pass.
You can land the dogs on the beach.
Estero
Island: We anchored
just past the bridge. You
can land the dinghy at the dock at Mr. Wallace’s house. After you pass under bridge when entering, his house is on
the right. It is a white
house with a beach and a T-dock with a bench on it.
There is a nice green lawn at the house next door.
To use this dock, all Mr. Wallace asks is that you sign his
guestbook…knock on back door and he will answer. You can land your dogs here, but please take them off his
property for their business. Mr.
Wallace provides a wonderful service, please do not abuse it.
Naples:
There is no anchorage here, but you can get a mooring ball
next to Naples City Dock. There
is a floating dinghy dock at the marina that you can use.
There is a high climb up a steel ladder to get off the floating
dinghy dock. We always
found a vacant slip to use to load and unload the dogs to the dock and
then tied up the dinghy at the dinghy dock.
Marco:
We anchored in Factory Bay.
We used the dinghy dock at the Marco River Marina to land the
dogs. The dinghy dock is
free for 30 minutes or less and $5.00 for all day.
Indian Key:
We anchored on north side of Indian Key and landed the dogs
on the beach.
Middle Cape,
Cape Sable: If the
winds and seas are favorable, then you can anchor either north or south
of the tip of Middle Cape. There
is a great beach to land the dogs and a nice open patch of sand on the
tip to play fetch.
FLORIDA
– East Coast
Garden Key,
Dry Tortugas: We anchored off Garden Key and landed the dinghy on the
beach on the left of the docks. Dogs
are allowed on the Key if they are on a leash.
You MUST clean up after your dogs here.
There are no trash facilities here.
There are restroom facilities here, so we used a plastic grocery
bag to clean up after the dogs and disposed of the waste in the toilet.
Then reused the plastic bags as much as possible and then kept
used bags in a Ziploc in the dinghy until we got back to the mainland
and could dispose of our trash. PLEASE
DO NOT ABUSE THE PRIVILEGE OF LANDING DOGS HERE!!
(It’s one of our favorite spots!)
Marquesas
Keys: We anchored on
the west side of the keys. At
low tide it is VERY difficult to land the dogs.
The water within 50 feet of the beach gets very shallow at that
time, so you cannot get the dinghy in close to the beach and you cannot
walk to shore easily because you sink into the mud way past your ankles.
Wait for high tide and you can get the dinghy all the way up to
the beach to land the dogs.
Key West:
We anchored off the west side of Fleming Key and landed the
dinghy at the floating dinghy dock at the Key West Bight Marina in front
of Turtle Kraals restaurant. I
believe it was $5.00 per day for the dinghy fee.
Newfound
Harbor: We anchored up
near the bridge. We tied
the dinghy to the concrete wall at the bridge and boosted the dogs up
onto the concrete wall. Steep
incline up to the road. We
would definitely NOT recommend this anchorage if you have dogs!!
Very hard to land the dogs here!
Bahia Honda
Key: We anchored off
the state park between the two bridges. You can dinghy into the inner harbor area and tie up to the
dock inside to land the dogs. Great
trails and beaches to walk the dogs!
A wonderful anchorage!!
Marathon:
We anchored inside Boot Key Harbor and landed the dogs at the
dinghy dock at the Florida Keys Marina….3/4 the way into the harbor
from the bridge on the left side when coming from the bridge.
The dinghy fee was $3 per day and $15 per week.
Long Key:
Anchored on the Atlantic side of Long Key at the southeast
end. You can dinghy to the
beach to walk the dogs.
Islamorada:
Anchored on the Florida Bay side of Islamorada in the 7 foot bay
section. In the section of
water to the northeast of Little Basin, you can dinghy to the left of
the pink building on the mangroves/beach to the left of the public
launch (sand ramp). A
better landing is in the mangrove/beach to the left of Lorelei’s
restaurant . If you are a
patron of the restaurant/bar, you can land at the dock at the
restaurant. Lorelei’s is
one of our favorite stops! You
can take your dogs with you to the outside bar/restaurant, including
beach cabanas, and can enjoy the sunset celebration with your pup.
Great live music nightly, wonderful food at a reasonable price
and a beautiful sunset view! Ask
the waiter/waitress to bring a bowl of water for your dog.
Rodriguez
Key - Hawk Channel: Anchor by Rodriguez Key and dinghy towards
the mainland, the south end of Key Largo. You can land near the
dive flag at tiki bar called Mandalay. There is a dinghy dock
right at bar and the establishment is very dog friendly. (S/V
Procyon)
Steamboat
Creek: Because of north
winds we had to anchor at the south end of Steamboat Creek (north end of
Key Largo). There were
mangroves everywhere, so we took the dinghy all the way up Steamboat
Creek and landed on the small patch of dirt on the north side of the
bridge that crosses Steamboat Creek (at the far north end of Steamboat
Creek). If winds are favorable, anchor off Jew Point and the bridge
is much closer.
Pumpkin Key:
This key had “Private Property” signs all over it, so we
did not stop because we could not land the dogs there.
Sands Key:
We anchored on the Florida Bay side of Sands Key of the northwest
side. You can dinghy into
the “keyhole” (dinghy near shore until you find the entrance to
canal that will take you into inner bay of keyhole) and land dogs on
beach inside.
Rodriguez
Key: This island is all
mangrove, so we could not land the dogs here.
No Name
Harbor: A really well protected anchorage with good walking
trails. The area is a state park, which charges $11.25 per night
to anchor. (S/V Procyon)
Ft.
Lauderdale: We stayed
at a marina here, but there are restrictions on where you can walk your
dogs. Dogs are not allowed
on the beach there and they are also not allowed to walk on the same
side of the street of the beach. They
must be walked on the opposite side of the street from the beach.
Go figure! And, of
course, that side of the street was filled with construction on the side
walks.
Vero Beach:
Anchoring is not permitted so you have to use a mooring ball here
which are only $8.56 per night. There
is a dinghy dock in small cove to north of marina.
There is also a “Canine Exercise” area in park near bridge.
Your dog can run freely there without a leash and they have doggy
pickup bags available. You can access it via land near public boat launch or by
water via canal on north side of bridge to get to boat ramp area.
The exercise area is between the boat launch and the bridge.
This is a nice exercise area!
Island
Anchorage (mile 925.5): We exited the ICW north of marker #20 and anchored behind
one of the islands. Nice
beaches to land your dogs.
Cocoa:
We anchored on the south side of Cocoa bridge on west side of
ICW. You can land dogs at
the free dock here.
Addison
Point: We anchored on
the south side of the NASA Causeway bridge on west side of ICW.
We took the dinghy to the concrete seawall to land the dogs.
Titusville:
We anchored on the south side of Titusville bridge on east side
of ICW near small island. There
is a great sand beach on island to land dinghy and is a great island to
let the dogs run.
Daytona
Beach: We anchored in
the 11 foot section of water on south side of Memorial Bridge on the
east side of ICW. We took
the dogs to the floating dock near Pavilion on north side of Memorial
Bridge on west side of ICW. This
is a nice park and walking area for your dog.
St.
Augustine: We anchored
on north side of Bridge of Lions (anchorage available both north and
south of bridge. You can
dinghy to St. Augustine Municipal Marina and land at floating dinghy
dock for $7 per day (noon to noon).
There is a nice grass area at top of dock ramp to let the dogs
exercise.
GEORGIA:
Cumberland
Island: We anchored between Drum Island and Cumberland
Island. Land your dinghy at the Sea Camp dock, the second dock
from the south. There is a $4 per person landing fee, good for a
full week. Dogs are welcome on the island. You are required
to have them on leashes and clean up their waste. Wonderful trails
and beaches.
St. Mary's: Anchor
just past the town and land your dinghy at the free, floating, public
dock. There is a great park adjacent to the public dock.
Dogs are welcome throughout the town as long as they are on a
leash.
SOUTH
CAROLINA:
Ashpoo
River: We did not
anchor here, but traveled the Ashpoo River from St. Helena Sound to the
Fenwick Cut which leads to South Edisto River.
There were some great anchorages along this river with excellent
sand beaches to land the dogs.
South Edisto
River: We anchored near
mile 505 between markers “145” and “147”.
We landed the dogs in the black mud on shore.
Took a bowl of water per paw to get mud out of paws.
We do not recommend landing your dogs here!
North Edisto
River: We anchored in
Steamboat Creek off the North Edisto River.
You can anchor on southwest side of octagonal building and dinghy
dogs to the floating dock at the public boat launch.
Charleston:
You can anchor or get a mooring ball in front of Charleston
City Marina. There is a
free dinghy dock near land inside marina, but it is dry at low tide.
City marina has a dinghy dock near their office that you can pay
to land and it is not dry at low tide.
City marina provides a grass area for dogs.
You can also dinghy up Ashley River to north of bridge and there
is a park on the right side of river with a floating dock to land dogs. Nice park to let dogs run.
NORTH
CAROLINA:
Wrightsville
Beach: Anchored in 10
foot section south of fixed bridge near Wrightsville Beach.
Accessed it via Motts Channel from ICW.
There is a public dock on the south side of bridge on east side
of channel. It was under
construction at the time we landed, but were still able to use the
floating dock to land the dogs and walk around construction area.
Oriental:
Anchored near fixed bridge on northeast side. There is a dinghy dock on shore on north side with grass area
nearby. Nice town to walk
your dog. There is also a
free dock in town (go inside breakwater and follow channel north past
marina and straight to free dock) if draft permits.
South River:
Anchored on north side of river near Luckens (town which no
longer exists) in 9-11 foot of water.
Can land dinghy at bulkhead (near cemetery) to land dogs.
Broad Creek:
We anchored off Dowdy Point between Pittman Creek and Green
Creek. Took dogs to sand
area on Pittman side of Dowdy Point.
Washington:
There are free town docks plus a long bulkhead where you can
dock your boat. Electricity
and water included for 3 day stay maximum.
There is a nice walkway along the water with grass patches, so it
is a nice place to walk your dog.
Bath:
There is a free state dock on Bath Creek south of the fixed
bridge on east side of creek (it is a T-dock with a sign stating it is a
free state dock). 3 day
maximum stay. Nice grass
area to play with your dogs and a nice town to walk through with your
dog. Wonderful stop!
Slade Creek:
Anchored just inside the entrance in 10 feet of water. Good dog
access due east in the woods south of Makleyville. Very steep
bank...were able to step off the dinghy to the shore of large wooded
area. (S/V Procyon)
Upper Pungo
River: We headed into
the Upper Pungo River near green marker “23”. Anchored in first cove
to the right. We landed the
dogs in a sand area near woods. Nice
anchorage.
Broad Creek
(Virginia Cut Route): Not a good dog landing area. Shore
is swampy. Only found landing on private property quite a ways
back in the creek. (S/V Procyon)
Elizabeth
City: We always use the
free town docks that this city provides for 48 hours per stay.
Small finger piers, so we always use our carpeted board to get
the dogs on and off the boat. Nice
grass areas near slips. Rose
Buddies will host wine and cheese party if more than 4 boats staying in
docks.
South Mills,
Dismal Swamp Canal: Able to tie up to seawall just south of South
Mills bridge. (S/V Horizon)
NC Welcome
Center, Dismal Swamp Canal: We
always stop at the NC Visitor’s Center free dock either for a couple
of hours or overnight. Great
walking areas and there is a pet exercise area with lots of grass to
play with your pup.
Deep Creek
Lock, Dismal Swamp Canal:
We have tied to
the dock on the east side of canal south of Deep Creek bridge.
Hard to find enough grass for dogs to use.
Immediately
south of Deep Creek lock (north of bridge) there is a public dock
adjacent to a city park. Only room for 2-3 boats unless they are
rafted up. Great park for dogs. (S/V
Horizon)
VIRGINIA
(INCLUDING WEST SIDE OF CHESAPEAKE BAY):
Deep Creek
Lock Bridge, Dismal Swamp Canal: We’ve
tied up to the bulkhead on south side of bridge, east side of canal.
There are some grassy areas near the road that you can walk your
dog.
Norfolk:
We love Waterside Marina, but have also anchored to the west
of the channel off Hospital Point.
There is the “Mile Zero Dinghy Dock” in small harbor in front
of gray Nauticus museum. Great
park between Nauticus and Waterside to walk and play with your dog.
East River,
Mobjack Bay: Anchored
in the East River of Mobjack Bay near marker #15 south of Long Point
near Hicks Wharf. We took
the dogs to a boat ramp just inside Put-In Creek. There is a dinghy dock at the boat ramp and there is a nice
walking area to take your dogs.
Jackson
Creek: Anchored just inside northern arm and took dogs to
shore at dinghy dock on left side of Deltaville Marina.
Public dock on
southern arm of creek, but it is high off the water. Neighbor gave
us permission to use their dock at low tide. At high tide dinghy
can land at low bulkhead at shore by dock. (S/V Horizon)
Rappahannock
River: Windmill Point Marina - Nice marina for dogs with
full-side tie finger piers for easy on/off access and nice area to let
dogs run. (S/V Fe Ciega)
Mill Creek
off Great Wicomico River: Found small strip of land, but not real
dog friendly. (S/V Horizon)
Reedville:
There are many anchorages here, but we anchored on the east
fork past the tank and boatyard in 8 foot of water.
We were greeted by a man named Spud Parker who gave us a map of
the town and offered his dock to land our dinghy and take the dogs to
shore. There was a grass
field nearby to play with the dogs.
Cockrell creek,
north of smokestack, NE arm by large water tank - Landed dinghy at
dock by marine railway (asked permission first). (S/V Horizon)
MARYLAND –
WEST SIDE OF CHESAPEAKE BAY:
Coan River,
south side of Potomac River: Just around Walnut Point is a very
nice anchorage with a small sandy beach. There was also a marina
on the other side that did not mind them taking the dog to shore.
(S/V Procyon)
Smith Creek
off Potomac River (NW arm above R6, 1st cove to starboard) - One of
our favorite 'deep water doggy ports'. Sandy spit of land with
water deep enough to drive dinghy all the way to shore (inside C shaped
spit). (S/V Horizon)
St Mary's
River off Potomac River - Horseshoe Bend: Not great landing
area with lots of bugs at dusk. At low tide have to walk or pull dinghy
to shore. College has dinghy dock that could probably be used.
(S/V Horizon)
St. Leonards Creek off Patuxent
River: Rollins Cove has nice sandy beach but ticks & cow pies
abound. (S/V Horizon)
Mill Creek
off Patuxent River (north of Patuxent bridge): Great beach for dogs
to walk along. (S/V Horizon)
Back Creek
off Patuxent River: Calvert Marina is a dog friendly marina
with many resident dogs. It includes a convenient water level dock
for dinghies with easy steps up to open land where there is room to run
and frolic. (S/V Fe Ciega)
Solomons:
We have anchored in Back Creek and Mill Creek.
Follow Back Creek to the Holiday Inn for a dinghy dock and they
have pet walk areas.
Zahniser's
marina has a dinghy dock ($2 /shower, $1/trash,landing is free). They
have a designated dog walk area. Holding ground there is suspect,
so be sure & get your anchor well set. (S/V Horizon)
West River -
Galesville: Great public dinghy dock that is at a small park. (S/V
Horizon)
Rhode River: High Island is a long, low sandy beach - good
landing. (S/V
Horizon) We also landed dogs on the beach on Flat Island.
Selby Bay off South River (S of
Annapolis): Private community park with dock, but we landed dogs
there & went for a long walk. No one asked us to leave even
though several families were using the park area - not sure it's meant
for public use. (S/V Horizon)
Harness
Creek off South River (S of Annapolis): We spent a week
here & used the Quiet Waters Park dock, but making sure we didn't
interfere with their boat rentals. No charge to enter park from water
& lots of hiking trails. Great dog area. (S/V Horizon)
Annapolis:
We use the mooring balls a lot.
They are currently $20 per night (increased July 2001).
We have also anchored off the Naval Academy to the northeast of
the mooring field. There is
a dinghy landing at the end of the finger of water shown on the chart as
Market Slip. Walk south
towards the Marriott and there is a park across from Fawcett’s and the
Marriott where you can walk your dog.
There is also a nice park up on Spa Creek.
Follow Spa Creek up past the bridge and go to the second finger
of water on the left. On a
chart, you will see “ramp” in that second finger of water.
There is a dock there where you can land the dinghy and follow
the paths up to a nice patch of grass to play with your pup. Many
stores also have bowls of water along the street for your dog to take a
break.
Back Creek
Nature Park dinghy dock (between Port Annapolis & Bert Jabins
marinas). Easy landing & nature trails for walks.
Burnside landing on Spa creek across from mooring field inside bridge
(small park area adjacent, but tough to get out of dinghy in very low
tides). Truxton Park dinghy dock. Long hiking trail, lots of street
landings, but some with almost no grass. (S/V Horizon)
Baltimore:
There is very little anchorage area in Baltimore.
We chose to get a slip at the Anchorage Marina where they have
excellent prices on slips. There
is a nice walkway along the water with grass spots for the dogs.
MARYLAND –
EAST SIDE OF CHESAPEAKE BAY:
Crisfield: Somers Cove
Marina is a modern and dog friendly marina. (S/V
Fe Ciega)
Hudson Creek
off Little Choptank River: Pretty anchorage with a nice sandy beach
just inside the southwest point with a large field. Shoreline was
not steep, so they had to pull dinghy in the last bit, but not too
difficult. (S/V Procyon)
Fishing
Creek off Little Choptank River: We anchored in first cove to
right. Shoreline more developed than cruising guides stated.
Had to take dinghy further up creek to find a sandy shoreline to land
dogs.
Harris Creek off Choptank River:
Dun Cove - beach with deep water doggy port. (S/V
Horizon)
Broad Creek
off Choptank River:
Grace Cove - Not good. At low tide, the only landing spot required
walking the last 50ft. Fine at high tide. (S/V Horizon)
Caulk Cove - Don't use sandy area (owner asked us to use other parts of
farm). OK landing area further back in cove but some overhanging
branches & short but steep bank. (S/V Horizon)
San Domingo
Creek off Broad Creek: Follow creek to back door to St.
Michael's. Public dock available for landing (work boats tied to
this dock). At the dock is a great park where we were able to let
the dogs run.
Oxford:
We have anchored in the Tred Avon River and took the dinghy
to the beach area. Also anchored
in Town Creek and landed dogs at dinghy dock to the left of Crockett
Brothers Boatyard. On our last
visit we found that Oxford is now 'pet friendly'. They've
removed all the 'NO DOG' signs and even provide bag dispensers and trash
cans throughout the town to clean
up after your pet. The grocery store even has a pet water bowl and
a cleat to tie your pet while you visit the store.
LaTrappe Creek off Choptank River: (1st cove to port) -
Long (70ft) sand spit with deep approaches on both sides. Great
place to let them run & swim. Also well protected anchorage. (S/V
Horizon)
St.
Michael’s: We
anchored in the harbor inside Parrott Point and took the dinghy to the
floating dinghy dock west of the Crab Claw Restaurant.
There is a nice grass park to the left and a grass field across
the road from the park. Nice
spot to play with your pup. There are many stores in town that have
'doggy bars' along the street with water for your pet.
Dividing
Creek off the Wye River: All the way at the end of the short creek
is a small dinghy dock with a small state park. Great dog
stop! Has a nice fire ring, so you and Fido can enjoy some roasted
marshmellows. (S/V Procyon)
Cacaway
Island off Chester River: This
is one of our favorite anchorages even though it is harder to get our
dogs to a landable shore. Cacaway
Island is a wildlife refuge and they prohibit landing.
Please do not land on this island with your dog!
We anchor off Cacaway on the East Fork and then dinghy across the
East Fork to sand landings on Hawbush Point.
Corsica
River off Chester River: There
are many nice anchorages on this river.
We anchored between Town Point and Middle Quarter Cove.
We took the dogs to shore on the small beach on the shore
opposite Town Point.
Chestertown:
Anchor southwest of the bridge and there is a public landing
at the end of High Street. Go
to first street, take a left and follow it to the park.
Nice park to play with your pup.
Swan Creek
north of Rock Hall: We saw no shoreline to land, but were on a
Swan Creek mooring & used their dinghy dock. (S/V Horizon)
NEW
JERSEY:
Sandy Hook:
We anchored within the breakwater in Atlantic Highlands
northeast of mooring field. We
took the dogs to the sand beach east-southeast of the anchorage area.
You can also land dinghy near marina at floating dock next to
launch ramp.
NEW YORK:
New York
City: We stayed on a
mooring ball at the 79th Street Boat Basin for $15 a night.
There is a floating dinghy dock to land the dogs.
Great park in front of Boat Basin to walk and exercise your dogs.
The Boat Basin Restaurant in front of the marina will allows
dogs. They will even bring
a dog bowl of water for your dogs.
Oyster Bay:
We anchored in Oyster Bay Harbor to the east of Cove Neck in 7-9
foot of water. You can land
the dogs at Oyster Bay Marine Center’s dinghy dock.
If it is too shallow at low tide, ask the dock staff where you
can tie up.
Sag Harbor:
We anchored outside of the breakwater on the east side of it
in 8-11 section of harbor. There
is a split in the breakwater, so you can dinghy through it and not have
to go all the way around it. The
dinghy landing is west of the town wharf (just to the east of the
bridge). There are floating
docks to the west of the wharf and you can land dinghies in the first
slip next to shore. There
is a grass area near the windmill to walk your dogs.
CONNECTICUT:
The
Thimbles: We anchored
between High Island, Pot Island and West Crib.
We took the dogs to Stony Creek (a short dinghy ride away) and
landed at the floating dinghy landing.
Nice town to walk through. The
anchorage was very peaceful during the weekdays.
Mystic
Seaport: We docked at
the Mystic Seaport Museum docks. It
was expensive, but worth the money.
Ask about memberships…it was cheaper for us to get a membership
with discounted dockage. The
dogs are happily allowed throughout the Seaport grounds as long as you
clean up after them. Wonderful
stop!!
RHODE
ISLAND:
Block
Island: We anchored on
the left side of the channel as you enter New Harbor.
There is a free floating dinghy dock at the Boat Basin Marina.
We also landed the dogs at the east side of the anchorage on the
beach.
Newport:
We got a mooring with Brenton Cove Moorings near Fort Adams.
The anchorage area is close to these moorings (go straight into
harbor and anchor right of center where there are no moorings.)
You can land the dogs at the state docks at Fort Adams.
Go to the left side at the inner most floating dock to land
dinghy.
MASSACHUSETTS:
Cuttyhunk:
We anchored to the north of the mooring field.
There is a floating dinghy dock at the southwest side of the
mooring field.
Mattapoisett:
We stayed at a mooring ball with Mattapoisett Boatyard (in
front of Texaco sign on building) for $20 a night (orange mooring balls
are guest moorings). The
launch service was included in this mooring fee, so we used the launch
service to get the dogs to shore. Nice
area.
Edgartown,
Martha’s Vineyard: We anchored south of the mooring field at the mouth of
the Katama Bay. There is
also a nice anchorage in the outer harbor near Sturgeon Flats if the
winds and seas are cooperating and this anchorage is closer to the
dinghy docks. There is a
floating dinghy dock in front of the Navigator restaurant to the left of
the Edgartown Yacht Club. There
is a 2-3 foot step to get off the floating dinghy dock.
If the dinghy dock is too full to get the dogs off the dinghy,
there is a loading zone just before the dinghy dock that you can use
temporarily to unload dogs and then use dinghy dock to tie off dinghy.
There is a second floating dinghy dock at North Wharf (Edgartown
Marina). We also landed the
dogs at the deserted beach area west of where we anchored.
The launch drivers said that the beaches are public to the high
tide line. Dogs are also
allowed on the launches.
Do not take the
dogs to the beach at the south end of Katama Bay.
Dogs are restricted from the beach there from April 1 – August
31.
Nantucket:
There are two floating dinghy docks near the harbormaster’s
office. They are to the
left of the marina and fuel dock. There
is one on each side of the New Town Pier (you may see working boats at
the end of this pier). This
landing is close to the mooring field.
We also anchored behind First Point and landed the dogs on the
beach there.
MAINE:
Kittery: We picked
up a mooring in Pepperrell Cove ($25 - paid for it at the grocery
store). Can also anchor in the area. Took dogs to town dinghy float. At
low tide, this is a steep ramp from the floating dock to the stationery
dock. There was a grass field across from the grocery for the dogs.
Falmouth Foreside:
We picked up a mooring for $25 from Handy Boat Service. The launch is
included in the mooring fee and is very dog-friendly! Can also dinghy to
Handy Boat's float. Plenty of room to walk the dogs.
Rockland: We
anchored out in southern section (south of Coast Guard station) and
dinghyed into dinghy dock at marina.
Seal Bay: We
anchored NE of Hay Island and took dogs to shore on Burnt Island. Lots
of neat areas to explore here, but some more difficult than others
because of the step boulders. Many seals can be seen in the area,
especially around exposed rocks at low tide in the Turning Rock area.
This is one of our favorite anchorages!!
Bucks Harbor: We
entered west of Harbor Island and anchored near moorings. Took dinghy to
dinghy float at marina. Walk up road from marina and turn left on main
road to walk to market. Can buy dog biscuits at market (sold by weight).
Good walk for dogs to market and then can sit outside with them
Belfast: We picked
up city mooring ball for $20/night. Land dinghy at city dinghy float.
Lots of grass areas for the dogs.
Searsport: We
anchored for a couple of hours here to visit the Penobscot Marine
Museum, which was worth a visit. The public dock was so restrictive that
we decided to go to Turtlehead Cove to anchor for the evening.
Turtle Head Cove: We
anchored in Turtle Head Cove and dinghyed to the beach with the dogs.
Nice beach to walk on with the dogs.
Castine: We stayed
on a yacht club guest mooring for $25/night (no amenities included) and
also anchored on the other side of the river past Hospital Island. Took
dogs to shore on small island to the left of (south of) Hospital Island.
Also took dogs to town float to walk dogs through the town which is very
dog-friendly.
Broad Cove: We anchored in
Broad Cove and took dinghy to public float near ferry landing. Nice walk
for the dogs.
Burnt Coat Harbor: It was
so foggy when we came in that we couldn't see the shore, so we took a
mooring for $20/night. The next time we would anchor on the east side of
the mooring field off the Boat House Restaurant. We took the dogs to the
float at the Boat House Restaurant.
Frenchboro: We anchored on
bar east of Harbor Island. Took dogs to dinghy float in town and also
took them to shore east of anchorage.
Southwest Harbor: We
stayed on a town mooring for $15/night. Paid $5/day at Great Harbor
Marina for dinghy landing and showers. Marina was very dog-friendly.
NOVA
SCOTIA:
Shelburne: We docked at
the Shelburne Yacht Club floating docks for $25/night CA + tax. You can
also get a mooring for $10/night CA. You can also anchor out and dinghy
to the dock near Fisherman's Memorial.
Brooklyn: We stayed at the
Brooklyn Marina and all they ask for was a donation. We donated $20 for
the night. Can use electric and club house facilities.
Lunenburg: We anchored
near golf course and landed dogs at beach area to left of golf course.
Can also dinghy into landing in front of Bluenose schooner.
Deep Cove: We anchored in
Deep Cove and landed dogs at the boat ramp and also on the peninsula
across from the ramp.
Chester: We anchored out
and took dinghy to public landing.
Little Tancook: We
anchored out north of the wharf and took dinghy to the wharf to land
dogs. Lots of land to exercise dogs with a nice community.
Halifax: We stayed at the
Alderney Marina at a guest slip for first night free and second night
$20. Moorings are $10. We also stayed at the Armdale Yacht Club for
$26/night….very friendly.
Sheet Harbour: We anchored
behind the Fairwinds motel at the end of the northwest arm. No easy way
to get to shore…we ended up climbing up two concrete slabs behind the
motel. We would not recommend this anchorage.
Webbs Cove, Isaacs Harbour:
We anchored in Webbs Cove and took dogs to the island you have to go
around to enter Webbs Cove. Nice dog landing.
Canso: We stayed on a
mooring ball for $5 per night. We took the dinghy to the marina floating
docks behind breakwall.
St. Peter's Marina: We
stayed at the marina for $.80 per foot per night with no electric (add
$.10 per foot per night for electric). Nice floating docks. Nice grass
areas to play with the dogs.
Cape George Harbour: We
anchored behind the sandy spit to starboard as you enter the harbour.
Great anchorage to land and run dogs on spit.
Great George Harbour: We
anchored behind the fishhook sandy spit to the north of the MacDonald's
Point. Great dog landing to walk on spit. We also landed dinghy at the
public landing and walked up to Marble Mountain.
River Cove, Malagawatch
Harbour: We anchored out and found easy spot to land dogs.
Maskells Harbour: We
anchored out and found easy landing for dogs.
Baddeck: We took a mooring
ball for $16/night with Baddeck Marina. We took the dogs to the beach
near lighthouse to walk.
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