CC0, Eoghanacht, Wikimedia Commons

Anchorage· St John· Virgin Islands (BVI, USVI and Spanish Virgins)

Little Lameshur Bay Moorings

18° 19.1′ N · 64° 43.6′ W

The middle Lameshur bay: a sandy beach with picnic tables, ruins and reef on both sides, the base for the Yawzi Point, Lameshur and Reef Bay trails.

British Virgin IslandsUS Virgin IslandsSpanish Virgins

Practical

Position is the GNIS point for Little Lameshur Bay. Coast Pilot 5 calls the middle bay a good anchorage generally used by sailboats, with a sand beach, but anchoring is no longer permitted along the park's south side, so use an NPS mooring if one is free. NPS vessel-trash bins at Little Lameshur. Ashore: picnic tables, a grill and a restroom (island guide). Best snorkeling early; turtles and eagle rays; the Lameshur Bay Trail links west to the Reef Bay Trail. Open to the south. Park mooring rules (NPS marine page and 2026 Superintendent's Compendium): no anchoring while on a mooring; never secure to a mooring with stern cleats; catamarans run a bridle with one line from each bow cleat through the pennant thimble; no fishing from moorings; 5 mph / no wake in and near mooring fields; vacate park moorings when tropical-storm conditions (winds of 40 mph or more) are forecast. Overnight fee US$26/night (US$13 with Senior/Access pass; NPS fee table labelled 2024, page updated Sept 2026; a 2024 proposal would raise it to US$40 for boats up to 60 ft and charge 24 hours a day, so verify locally), payable before spending the night (5 pm to 7 am) via the Recreation.gov app (scan the QR code on the pay station, site 10214380) or envelope; limit 7 consecutive nights per bay and 30 nights per year. First come, first served; no reservations.

Best for

A hiking-and-snorkel base on the wild south shore

Season

Best in northeast trades; avoid in southerly swell

Nearby