Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge Sports & Outdoors Tips by grandmaR

MM 84.5 Alligator River Marina

34 transient slips, fixed docks with finger piers. Accepts reservations, VISA/MC, Discover and Texaco. Pets welcome - dog walking area. Dockage is $1/ft/day with $4.00/day for 30 amp electric. There is free cable, but very few channels.

Equipment: The boaters lounge has 4 toilets and showers (watch out the lights are on a timer - if you don't give yourself enough time the lights will go out when you are in the shower and there are NO WINDOWS in there).

There are also washers and dryers - cold water only. Pay phones are available and you can hook a laptop up to the internet provided you have an 800# you can use as there are no local numbers.

Ice and propane are also for sale, and there is trash disposal, a launch ramp, grills, picnic area. It is one of the cheapest fuel stations on the ICW. The truck stop has food, and if there are enough people at the marina that want dinner, they will open the dining room.

Address: 13435 US Highway 64E, 13 miles east of Columbia NC

Directions: Northwest end of the Alligator River Swing Bridge. Follow private channel markers

Other Contact: VHF channel 16

Phone: 919-796-0333

Theme: Boating/Sailing

MM 105 Anchorage at head of Canal

We have not anchored here, but there is another anchorage a bit farther along off Bear Point inside R46, and off Tuckahoe Point. This is where several of the other boats that traveled down from Elizabeth City anchored. One of them had a dog that had to go ashore to pee, and there isn't really any shore here. He was very unhappy.

I preferred the mm 102 anchorage because I was uncomfortable anchoring so close to the head of the canal where barges would have to readjust their loads and turn the corner.

Both of these anchorages would be in or contiguous to the Alligator Swamp Refuge.

Equipment: Snags have been reported - use a trip line.

Theme: Boating/Sailing

MM 102 - Anchorage by a Mooring Ball

On our first trip down, we anchored at mile marker 102 NE of Deep Point G43 in 7-8' of water. We came in late, and did not realize that the symbol on the chart was a mooring ball. We were anchored VERY close to the mooring. There was a bright full moon which shown down the companionway into my face.

On a subsequent trip (when they closed the canal to take down the old Fairfield Swing bridge) we saw a tug and tow on the mooring.

This time, Hurricane Isabel had apparently taken the mooring ball and washed it up on Deep Point.

Equipment: This is a fairly protected anchorage and holding is good. There is nothing here and no place to land.

Theme: Boating/Sailing