San Domingo Creek - St. Michaels, MD

Most recent visit: October 10-12, 2024

This anchorage is located at the "back door" to St. Michaels and is a wonderful spot if you are looking to avoid the busy activity associated with the St. Michaels harbor. Coming from the northern sections of the Bay, you will need to go down to the Choptank River entrance and make the turn to the east as if you are heading to Oxford or Cambridge. Coming from the south, you avoid the trip up to the Eastern Bay and into the Miles River. After passing Tilgman Island, make a turn up Broad Creek. After entering Edge Creek, you make a hairpin turn at Green 3 to head up San Domingo. After passing Red 6, there are a number of good spots to anchor. The whole trip up the creek winds around a bit and you do have to be on constant lookout for crab trap markers. The watermen are very active in this area tending their lines that stretch for some very long distances. Depths are generally 8 to 10 feet and the holding is pretty solid in some very sticky mud. Depending on the spot you choose and the direction of the winds, you should be well-protected. Our 77lb Ultra anchor with 68' of chain worked fine in these ideal conditions. There are many nice homes along the shoreline, so you will hear a few barking dogs and the occasional lawn mower. You will also experience a little boat traffic from the locals and a few watermen minding their crab lines.

Fortunately, there is room for quite a few boats. This is a popular anchorage  for those that know about it and don't need to be in the bustling harbor area. There were 8 to 10 boats anchored in the creek on our last visit.

There is a very nice floating dinghy dock, albeit a little short on cleats, about one-half mile from the anchorage area. We felt very safe leaving the dinghy there. It is a park area with kayak storage for the locals and a small dock for some of the watermen. It is a long block walk up Chew Avenue to Talbot Street, the main drag in St. Michaels. If you walk three blocks north, you will be in the heart of the shops and restaurants. There are number of small stores where you can pick up items for modest provisioning.

There is also a nice paved trail if you are looking for a quiet walk off of the main street with all of the stores and restaurants..

On our most recent visit, we had beautiful weather and very calm conditions. The water was as still as we have ever experienced and resulted in very little swing. No problems with bugs of any sort, but we did notice many jellyfish in the water. ATT cell reception was 2 to 3 bars and worked fine for our needs.

This is a very convenient intermediate stop if you are looking to take in a visit to Oxford and or Cambridge. Both towns are just a little further up the Choptank and well worth a visit.