Florida Anchorages: Peck Lake

One of my favorite anchorages in Florida.

I anchored twice here in December 2023 and once in January 2024 — for a total of five nights — and as I head north to continue my Loop, I’m sad to know that I probably won’t be here again.

Checking My Boxes

This anchorage checks pretty much all of my boxes:

• Plenty of room to anchor without worrying about being too close to others or where the boat might swing.
• Relatively shallow water. I prefer anchoring in depths less than 10 feet at low tide; my usual spot here is five feet deep.
• Excellent holding in mud, sand, and shells. Yes, I usually do have to dip the anchor a few times to get the muck off, but I’d rather have good holding than a clean anchor.
• Sheltered from north through east to south. Not bad from west, either.
• Short dinghy ride to shore for pet relief.

• 
  There are piles of shells — many of them in perfect condition — on the ocean beach.

  Short walk across the island to a deserted Atlantic beach with plenty of beachcombing opportunities.

• Quiet at night — except the sound of ocean waves. Yes, weekends can be loud until after sunset, especially in the southern part of this anchorage, but I stick to more northern end.
• Relatively dark skies. (Let’s face it: really dark skies aren’t a feature of Florida.)

More

This is a very large anchorage that can fit a lot of boats. The most I’ve seen there are about 30, but there’s plenty of room for more who aren’t afraid to get closer to the island. To enter, you must turn east just south of Marker G19 and then head 60° into the cove. (This is per Waterway Guide and it’s spot on.) Drop anchor north of the big wooden platform but no further north than the exposed beach on the east side of the anchorage. Then north and south ends of the anchorage are in shallow water; there’s currently an abandoned boat stuck on a sandbar on the north end. The water stays pretty deep very close to shore; I never saw less than 5 feet at low tide. The closer to the island you get, the more protected you’ll be from winds from north, east, and south. Unfortunately, ICW wake will always be an issue during the day; large boats sure do move through this stretch, which is between two No Wake zones.

A lot of island beach is exposed at low tide, making it very easy to dinghy pups ashore or visit the ocean side of the island. The main path to the ocean is clearly marked NO DOGS on a large sign but another path with a smaller sign simply says NO PETS. I have seen boaters take their dogs to the ocean side, but the “lake” side is big enough for my small dogs. (Please clean up after your dogs, folks!)

Here’s the beach east of the anchorage at low tide. Even at high tide there’s enough space to land a dinghy and get your pup some relief.

The ocean beach is a quick walk across the island. It’s mainly used by boaters, at least during the week, probably because it’s so far from any road access. Good beachcombing opportunities, with lots of shells. If you care as much about the environment as I do, bring along a plastic grocery bag and fill it with the small bits of trash you find along your walk. (I don’t understand how so many plastic bottle caps can be in the ocean.) It only takes a moment, is good exercise for your back, and will really make a difference if we all do it.

Morning view of the ocean just a short walk from the beach at Peck Lake.

There is a web camera on a tall pole that scans the area; it’s high enough to see into the anchorage and the ocean beach. I had a link to the camera but have since lost it.

A lot of the larger boats seem to be here for a long term stay; I saw many of the same boats during both of my stays. I also saw one boat getting a pumpout at anchor from a Martin County pumpout boat. (I don’t know how to arrange for that.) There are a handful of what are probably abandoned boats, but they’re still floating and they aren’t taking up much space.

I had good holding in sandy mud. On all of my visits, my boat’s swing was determined more by wind than current. (It doesn’t take much to get a Ranger Tug swinging.) There’s a good cell signal on Verizon and Google Fi.

I like this anchorage despite the crowd. It’s very quiet and nice to hear the ocean from my boat and to visit it for long solitary walks on the sand.

If you like long walks on an empty beach, Peck Lake anchorage is for you.