One of the things we love about the ICW is how much of it is undeveloped wilderness. Coming from South Florida, the ICW meant concrete canals lined with high-rise condo buildings to us. When we lived there, we longed to get away and explore places like the Keys or the Everglades, where the coast still looked like coastline. Where there was room to spread out.
Our first trip up the ICW was a real eye-opener — miles and miles of wetlands, swamps, rivers, and forests. In many places, there were no homes at all, and in others, there were reasonable houses and not the ugly Florida McMansions we’d come to loathe.
Nature Lovers Take Note — The ICW Could Be the Trip of a Lifetime
Over the last ten years, we’ve done every mile of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway between Norfolk, Virginia, and Key West, Florida, at least once.
While many boaters chug along the ICW with the mission of getting to their destination before the weather turns cold/hot (pick your season), we tend to take a slower pace and enjoy the cruise. But we always skip some places if we can. That stretch between West Palm Beach and Miami? You can keep it.
Here are some of our favorite spots for slowing down and spending a little time in nature. So boaters, be sure to slow down and savor the dolphins in your wake, cormorants swimming along, and ospreys circling overhead before they build another McMansion.
Dismal Swamp Canal and Pasquotank River, VA/NC
It’s hard not to rave about this part of the ICW, especially as I write these words from a quiet anchorage off the Pasquotank River. Every year, we ponder taking the Dismal Swamp Canal or the regular ICW route, and we are rewarded every year we choose the Swamp. In 2024, both north and southbound, we were treated to having the entire canal to ourselves during some of the busiest weeks on the ICW. Imagine being the only boat locking through in late October! What a treat!
The Swamp Route is not for every boater, but it’s a blissful change of place if you can enjoy chugging along at 3.5 knots while watching for tree stumps and listening for birds. Southbound, it’s the perfect cure for the frayed nerves that Hampton Roads always causes.
My favorite stretch is the narrow and winding upper reaches of the Pasquotank, immediately after the Turner Cut as you head southbound. The cypress swamp is just an amazing place to navigate an ocean-going sailboat through.
Cape Lookout and the Outer Banks, NC
Cape Lookout is not on the ICW: You must go out the Beaufort (North Carolina) Inlet and travel about eight miles to enter Lookout Bight. That means it’s a good-weather side trip, but it’s still well worth your time. If you are interested in taking an offshore hop between Beaufort and Wrightsville Beach, Lookout Bight makes a good place to stage for the overnight or long day it will take you traveling through Onslow Bay. The entrance to Lookout Bight is well-marked, well-charted, and easy to navigate.
The large Bight is surrounded on nearly all sides by classic Outer Banks dunes and windswept scenery. Wild horses roam the island to the north, Shackleford Banks. The fishhook-shaped island that protects the anchorage from the sea is part of Cape Lookout National Seashore and is home to one of the prettiest OBX lighthouses.
You can land your dinghy on the sand and walk miles and miles of beach along the anchorage and the ocean. We always see dolphins here, and the shelling and wildlife spotting on the beach is amazing.
Lookout Bight is one of our favorite places and the only place where you can experience the Outer Banks from a deep-draft cruising vessel. Ocracoke is an amazing stop, too, but the experience is more about being in the village than being on the Banks.
Waccamaw River and the Lowcountry, SC
Headed south, the next section of the ICW nature lovers will love starts south of Myrtle Beach (which is sadly dreadful, second only to South Florida). The Waccamaw River is one of the prettiest sections of ICW, with a few winding river twists and turns and tall trees all around.
After passing Georgetown, SC, you enter the South Carolina Lowcountry. This stretch has some tricky, shallow spots, but it’s beautiful and full of dolphins and wildlife. Wide open spaces continue south into Georgia, with the area around Beaufort, SC, and Hilton Head offering beautiful views of expansive salt marshes.
Cumberland Island, GA (The Entire Georgia Section of the ICW, really…)
We were very surprised by how much we liked Georgia’s ICW the first time we traveled it. We avoided it for years because it gets so much hate from other cruisers. Big tides, some shallow spots, and a lack of restaurants and coffee shops puts some people off. We, however, love it.
The entire ICW in the state of Georgia winds through salt marshes. The major offshore islands have beautiful, sandy beaches. There are plenty of anchorages in the tidal rivers. It’s a nature lover’s dream.
The crown jewel is Cumberland Island National Seashore, the largest of the Georgia barrier islands. From the anchorage near the park docks, it’s an easy walk along park roads and hiking trails to the beach. Wild horses roam the island, which is also filled with history. Walking around the ruins of Dungeness mansion is not to be missed.
New Smyrna Beach to Titusville, FL
Florida is our home state, and so we generally give it a pass these days. There are far nicer beaches, friendlier locals, and better boating in The Bahamas. But, when we do travel the ICW down the Sunshine State, we always enjoy the stretch that passes through Cape Canaveral National Seashore. One night, while anchored on perfectly calm water right off the ICW, we lost count of how many manatees swam by.
It’s a beautiful spot that reminds one of the Everglades. It’s far enough away from other towns to feel like you’re not in Florida.
The Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are our home turf. Our hailing port is Islamorada, and we started our various boating adventures in the Upper Keys many years ago. Key West might get all the tourist glory and fanfare, but we still love the Upper Keys best.
Boating along the ICW here means being half in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and half in Everglades National Park. The winding creeks and mangrove islands are gorgeous, and exploring the seagrass flats by kayak or paddleboard never gets old. Dolphins, manatees, egrets, herons, and cormorants will get boring after a while. Just kidding, that never happens.
The Keys are also the place if you love fishing or diving. I grew up scuba diving the reefs and wrecks off Key Largo, and it’s something every nature lover should do. If you don’t dive or snorkel, consider at least taking the glass-bottom boat out of Pennekamp State Park.
Did we miss your favorite spots for nature? Let’s keep the list going — add your favorites in the comments below.
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