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Anchorage

Bradenton Beach

The city's floating day dock at the Historic Bradenton Beach City Pier, at the north end of Sarasota Bay, with a temporary anchorage and a dinghy dock on the south side of the pier.

Anna Maria Island · north Sarasota BayLast checked 22 Oct 2026
Open in buoya
Day dock
public, first come first serve
Anchorage
south side of the pier
Dinghy dock
at the anchorage
NESW
  • Sheltered
  • Partly
  • Exposed
  • No reliable report
Shelter by wind direction

One report names the west as the covered side, and the fetch comes up from south-south-east

Every colour on this rose is cruiser report rather than an operator's word – the city's own pier page says nothing about wind. Waterway Guide's summary for the anchorage calls it somewhat exposed from south through south-east, and a 2022 report names south-south-east as the one direction it does not cover, with a fetch of nearly eleven miles down the bay to Sarasota. A 2020 report has the wind protection coming from the west on the Bradenton Beach side, which is the side this page describes, and from the east over on the Cortez side; another report says to choose your side by the wind. The east is left blank for that reason: the report gives it to the other side of the waterway, not to this one. North, north-east, south-west and north-west are blank as well – the 2022 report calls the protection decent from everything but south-south-east, and a general impression is not a named direction.

Overview

The Historic Bradenton Beach City Pier stands at the north end of Sarasota Bay, on the bay side of Anna Maria Island. The city runs a floating day dock at it, open to boaters on a first come, first serve basis, for crews that want to tie up for a while and walk to the pier and the businesses on Bridge Street.

The pier itself was last rebuilt in a job completed in January 2015. Public restrooms, a retail shop and a restaurant run by the Anna Maria Oyster Bar are on it, live bait, supplies and tackle are sold there, and the Richard P Suhre Pavilion sits at the bay end.

The anchorage

The city also keeps what it calls a temporary anchorage area on the south side of the pier, for vessels too big for the day dock, with a dinghy dock at it.

Neither a depth nor a fee nor a time limit stands on this page: everything above comes from the city's own pier page, and what it does not state, this guide does not add.

Facilities

  • Day dockfloating
  • Restroomspublic, on the pier
  • Shopretail shop on the pier
  • Restauranton the pier

Good to know

  • The day dock: floating, public, and first come first serve – there is no booking to make.
  • Too big for the dock: the anchorage on the south side of the pier is the city's answer for larger vessels, and the dinghy dock belongs to it.
  • On the pier: public restrooms, a retail shop, a restaurant, live bait and tackle, and the Richard P Suhre Pavilion at the bay end.

Questions

Can I tie up at the Bradenton Beach City Pier?

Yes, at the city's floating day dock, which is public and first come first serve. It is meant for boats docking temporarily to visit the pier and the businesses on Bridge Street.

Can I anchor off the pier?

The city has a temporary anchorage area on the south side of the pier, for vessels too big for the day dock, with a dinghy dock at it.

What is ashore?

On the pier: public restrooms, a retail shop, a restaurant run by the Anna Maria Oyster Bar, live bait, supplies and tackle, and the Richard P Suhre Pavilion at the bay end.

Sources & checks

Written by buoya editorial from the sources above. Every figure was checked against its source on 22 Oct 2026. Anything marked “reported” comes from cruiser reports, not from an official source. Found something wrong? Report a correction.