The North Newport River is a continuation of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) where it picks up after crossing St. Catherines Sound from the Bear River near Intracoastal Waterway Mile 620. Like many of Gerogia’s sounds, this is a remote area and you will have to plan for fuel stops before or after transiting the area. Southbound, the next major marinas are at St. Simons Island, which is about 35 miles to the south.

The image above is a view from the southwest looking northeast over the entrance to the North Newport River where it empties into St. Catherines Sound. Across St. Catherines Sound to the north (top of the image) the Bear River can be seen emptying into St. Catherines Sound and the southern tip of Ossabaw Island is just to its right (east).

Use NOAA Charts 11507 and 11511.

Once you have made your way south from Bear Creek after clearing Medway Spit at flashing red “114A,” set a course for flashing red “116,” which is just east of Cedar Point at the mouth of the North Newport River. The North Newport River is deep and wide, so you will only find navigation marks at its outer edges until you approach Walburg Creek where a large sand bar splits the channel off to the east. Red daybeacons “122,” “124,” and “124A” mark the eastern edge of the shoal before the Intracoastal Waterway Route turns east into Johnson Creek.

Local Notices to Mariners are now exclusively available online from the U.S. Coast Guard.