Oregon Anchorages
7 anchorages — depth, holding, shelter and shore access.
Sunset Bay State Park
Oregon Coast
The finest anchorage on the southern Oregon coast — a small cove completely enclosed by sandstone headlands just south of Cape Arago. Protection from Pacific swell is nearly total in westerly conditions, the sand bottom holds well, and the cliffs glow spectacular shades of orange and gold at sunset. A state park beach is accessible by dinghy.
Depoe Bay
Oregon Coast
Depoe Bay bills itself as the world's smallest navigable harbor — a natural rock basin 6 acres in size, entered through a slot in the basalt cliff barely 50 feet wide. The entrance requires precise timing with tidal current and minimal sea state; in anything above a moderate swell the entrance is impassable and standing off is the only option. Inside: complete protection, a public moorage dock, fuel, and a town of 1,500 on the bluffs overhead. Whale watching from shore here is among the best on the Oregon coast — gray whales feed in the kelp beds 100 yards offshore year-round. The experience of threading through that basalt slot is something most cruising sailors remember for years.
Port Orford — Outer Cove
Oregon Coast
Port Orford has the most unusual harbor operation on the Pacific Coast: there is no protected basin. Boats are hauled out of the water by a crane when not in use, and the 'harbor' is a semicircular cove that provides moderate protection from the northwest in calm conditions. The boat hoist is the oldest operating marine hoist in the US. For passage-making sailboats that can anchor in settled conditions, Port Orford's cove provides a stop between Coos Bay and Brookings with a genuinely interesting fishing community ashore. It is an exposed anchorage — use only in settled forecast, northwest-only conditions, and plan to be underway before morning winds build.
Tillamook Bay — Garibaldi Harbor
North Oregon Coast
Tillamook Bay is the first significant harbor on the Oregon coast south of the Columbia River — 30 nm south of the Columbia bar and 50 nm north of Newport. The town of Garibaldi at the northern end of the bay offers a public dock and anchorage. Tillamook Bay is broad and shallow; the inner anchorage near Garibaldi offers the best depths for cruising boats. The bay is renowned for Dungeness crab and oysters.
Tongue Point, Columbia River
Columbia River
A well-protected anchorage 8 nm upriver from Astoria, behind the wooded point that shelters the eastern side of Youngs Bay. Good holding in mud, protected from river swell, and far enough from the main shipping channel to be quiet overnight. The best anchorage near Astoria for boats that have just crossed the bar or are preparing to.
Winchester Bay — Umpqua River Anchorage
Umpqua River, Southern Oregon Coast
Winchester Bay is the harbor at the mouth of the Umpqua River — a small fishing town with a well-protected anchorage behind the south jetty. The bay sits 50 nm south of Newport and 40 nm north of Coos Bay, making it a useful stop on an Oregon coast passage. Sportfishing fleet dominates the harbor. Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area surrounds the bay — 40-foot sand dunes visible from the anchorage.
Yaquina Bay, Newport
Oregon Coast
A protected anchorage inside Yaquina Bay, east of the South Beach Marina. Reasonably well-sheltered from Pacific swell once past the bar, with good holding in mud and sand. Newport's Bayfront is a short dinghy ride away — the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Hatfield Marine Science Center, and some of the coast's best fish tacos are all within walking distance.