Keansburg Harbor Inlet

About

Local Notices to Mariners:

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

Introduction:

Keansburg Harbor (actually part of Waackaack and Thorns creeks) is located off Raritan Bay west of Point Comfort about two miles east of Keyport Harbor. Keansburg Harbor is eight miles east of Sandy Hook and the same distance southeast of Perth Amboy and Staten Island.

Two of the marinas inside offer transient slips and one has a repair facilities with haul-outs and other services. Anchoring is not permitted either in the inlet area or in either branch of the two creeks here, as the channels are too narrow to allow for any swing room.

Navigating the Water:

Use NOAA Chart 12327.

The only aids to navigation into the harbor and creek areas are privately maintained and not marked. While most of the depths here are charted at one foot or less, boats drawing less than three feet can make the passage on a high tide. However, as you can see from the image above, the majority of boats here are small shallow-draft power boats. If you draw more than three feet; forget it. If you draw less than that, proceed slowly and try to grab some local knowledge by radioing one of the marinas ahead of time. An old railroad bascule bridge that is no longer used crosses the narrow inlet into the creeks, but has been permanently locked in the open position.

Inside Keansburg Harbor are three marinas that line the west branch of the creek that feeds into the harbor and at least two of them accept transient guests at their slips (you may be able to arrange a slip fro the third if the others are full; call ahead).