Exuma Land and Sea Park Moorings: What To Know
Exuma Land and Sea Park History and Boundaries
The Exuma Land and Sea Park was established in 1958, the first land and sea park in the world, and covers 176 square miles of land and sea in the beautiful Exuma Cays. While only accessible by private boat or charter, it is the most visited national park in the Bahamas, often by use of the Exuma Land and Sea Park moorings. It is the first and one of 33 national parks within the Bahamas National Trust (BNT). The park also offers great research opportunities for scientists throughout the world.
There are several mooring fields scattered throughout the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park where you can moor your private, charter or research boat to explore these amazing waters and cays.
The park boundaries extend four nautical miles from the cays, including the deep waters of the Exuma Sound to the east and shallow waters in the Exuma Bank to the west.
The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park starts at Wax Cay cut to the north and goes down to Conch Cut at the south. It includes the following cays, from north to south (bold indicates the cays with mooring fields):
- Little Wax Cay
- Shroud Cay
- Little Pigeon Cay
- Hawksbill Cay
- Little Hawksbill Cay
- Little Cistern Cay
- Cistern Cay
- Little Bitty Cistern Cay
- Saddle Cay
- Warderick Wells Cay
- Narrow Water Cay
- Hog Cay
- Halls Pond Cay
- Sandy Cay
- Little Halls Pond Cay
- Soldier Cay (Private)
- O’Briens Cay
- Bell Island
- Cambridge Cay
This article will focus primarily on the Exuma Land and Sea Park moorings:
- Where the Exuma Land and Sea Park mooring fields are located
- How many mooring balls are in each field
- The cost of the mooring balls
- How to secure a mooring ball (do you need a reservation?)
In addition to Exuma Land and Sea Park moorings, I will also include information on:
- Anchoring in the Exuma Land and Sea Park
- Park rules
- Office hours, and last but not least,
- Things to do in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park
Exuma Land and Sea Park Moorings
The Exuma Land and Sea Park Moorings includes eight separate mooring fields at four cays within the park boundary, having approximately 115 mooring balls combined when all in operation.
Location and Number of Mooring Balls at each Location
The eight mooring fields are located on following cays within the park.
Note: The wind protection and swell information provided was obtained from the Waterway Guide overlay on AquaMaps, a great resource for information on anchorages, moorings and more, for those areas we did not visit personally.
Shroud Cay
One mooring field with approximately 14 mooring balls:
- Shroud Cay mooring field with approximately 14 mooring balls is located on the western shore of the cay
- Wind Protection: Protected from north and east winds
Hawksbill Cay
Three mooring fields with approximately 24 mooring balls:
- North mooring field with approximately 10 mooring balls is located on the western shore at the north end of the cay
- Wind Protection: Protected from northeast to southeast winds with little swell
- South mooring field with approximately 10 mooring balls is located on the western shore of the cay in a line paralleling the shoreline
- Wind Protection: Protected from northeast to southeast winds with swells building as winds approach southeast at 20 knots.
- South mooring field between Hawksbill Cay and Little Hawksbill Cay with approximately 4 mooring balls is located at the southern end of Hawksbill Cay.
- Wind Protection: Protected from northwest to northeast winds
Warderick Wells Cay
Three mooring fields with approximately 54 mooring balls:
- North mooring field with approximately 22 mooring balls is located just north of the park headquarters office
- Wind Protection: Protected from north northeast to west northwest winds. There are strong reversing currents in this mooring field.
- Emerald Rock mooring field with approximately 26 balls is located south of the park office in a small cove in front of Rendezvous Beach on the western shore
- Wind Protection: Protected from the north to the southeast, with no effects from the current. We were moored here during 25+ knot winds out of the east and it was very comfortable.
- Warderick Wells Hogs Cay mooring field with approximately 3 balls is located on the southeast end of Warderick Wells Cay near Hogs Cay
- Wind Protection: Good all-around protection with strong reversing currents. No room for anchoring near this mooring field
Cambridge Cay
1 mooring field with approximately 6 mooring balls:
- Cambridge Cay mooring field with approximately 6 balls is located on the western shore of the cay.
- Wind Protection: Good protection from all directions (there are small various islands just west of the anchorage).
Exuma Land and Sea Park Moorings Cost
The mooring fees are based on the length of your vessel. VAT (value added tax) will be included in the cost at time of checkout, or when you pay in person at the park office (if you are at the Warderick Wells). For current pricing, and to pay online with a credit card, go to https://bnt.bs/payexumapark/.
Mooring Fee Prices per day as of January 2024:
| Boats up to 39’ 11” | $27.27 + 10% VAT = $30 |
| Boats 40’ to 49’ 11” | $36.36 + 10% VAT = $40 |
| Boats 50’ to 59’11” | $45.45 + 10% VAT = $50 |
| Boats 60’ to 69’11” | $72.73 + 10% VAT = $80 |
| Boats 70’ to 89’ 11” | $109.09 + 10% VAT = $120 |
| Boats 90’ to 119’ | $136.36 + 10% VAT = $150 |
| Boats 120’ to 150’ | $172.73 + 10% VAT = $190 |
How to Secure a Mooring Ball
All mooring balls, except for those located at Warderick Wells Cay, are first come, first served. When we picked up a mooring ball at Shroud Cay, we simply paid for it online at https://bnt.bs/payexumapark/ for the duration of our stay.
For Warderick Wells, it is required to radio the Exuma Land and Sea Park office on Channel 9 as you get close to the mooring field before picking up a mooring ball, if one is available. Once you select an available ball and are moored, radio them again on Channel 9 to let them know which ball you are on and how you plan to pay. This is what we did when we arrived to Warderick Wells, and it was a smooth process.
If there are no available balls at Warderick Wells, you can radio the Park Office on Channel 09 and be put on a waiting list. They do not take reservations for mooring balls.
We stayed on our mooring ball for several days to get protection from some strong easterly winds. Each time we paid online (we weren’t sure exactly how long we would stay, so we only paid for 1-2 nights at a time), we also radioed the Park Office, per their request, to let them know of our updated plans and payments.
Exuma Land and Sea Park Anchoring
Anchoring is permitted almost anywhere within the boundaries of the park, however, there is a fee associated with anchoring. Anchoring is not permitted in the mooring fields, on coral reefs and certain other designated areas within Exuma Park
As of January 2024, the anchoring fees are:
| Vessels less than 90’ | $0.45 per foot per day + 10% VAT |
| Vessels greater than 90’ | $0.91 per foot per day + 10% VAT |
If you wish to anchor, remain at least 100 yds away from the mooring field to allow adequate room for swing.
Exuma Land and Sea Park Rules
The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park has a few rules in place to protect the healthy ecosystems and wildlife present in the park.
One of the most important rules is that the park is a NO TAKE ZONE. This means that we are not allowed to fish, collect conch, lobster, sea sells, or anything from the park. Leave only footprints (or bubbles in the sea) and take only memories.
Another important rule to us, traveling with a dog, is that dogs are allowed on the beaches. YEAH!! However, they are not allowed on the numerous trails on the cays. This works out great for us, as Mangaux’s favorite place is the beach!
There are no grocery stores (apart from the park office that offers a few drinks and snacks for sale) and no place to take your trash while visiting the park. Provision well before your trip to the park.
For the complete list of Exuma Land and Sea Park rules, check them out here: https://bnt.bs/storage/2020/01/Exuma-Cays-Land-and-Sea-Park-Rules.pdf
Exuma Land and Sea Park Office Hours
The Exuma Land and Sea Park’s office is located on Warderick Wells. Their office hours are:
- Monday – Saturday 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
- Sunday 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
If you are near Warderick Wells, they can also be reached on Channel 09 (or Channel 16 for emergencies).
Things To Do in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park
Now for the fun part! You’ve secured your mooring (or anchorage) and it’s time to start exploring this beautiful park.
Each cay within the park offers its own beauty and areas to explore. Some of the top things we loved to do while in the park include the following:
Shroud Cay
If you stay at Shroud Cay, you need to check out mangrove rivers, especially the ones that lead to the “Washing Machine.”
We checked for high tide using Navionics and our favorite weather apps and started up the mangrove rivers in our dinghy approximately 2 hours before high tide. We drifted with the current in crystal clear waters on our floaties, spotting lemon sharks, sting rays, and plenty of sea turtles.
The mangrove river eventually leads to the other side of the cay, were the “washing machine” is located. This is a beachy area on one side of the river and rocky area (that you can jump from) on the other side of the river that drains out into the Atlantic Ocean. The current runs strong in here, which allows for tons of fun to swim into the current, and get carried into the ocean where it drops you off at a shallow sandy beach.
Warderick Wells Cay
We ended up at Warderick Wells for a week waiting for some strong easterly winds to pass through. It was a great spot to sit tight in easterly winds, as well as finding plenty of things to explore while we were here.
The most famous thing to do is hike up Boo-Boo Hill where there is a pile of drift wood offerings left by cruisers. These offerings are to King Neptune to be blessed with fair winds and smooth seas. While it is still undetermined if these offerings actually help with the weather, it’s a lot of fun to check out and see all of the artistic signs and offerings.
Just north of Boo-Boo Hill are blowholes on the Atlantic side. When we finished checking out Boo-Boo Hill we continued up the cay to the blowholes and views of the beautiful Atlantic Ocean.
Down closer to where we moored at Emerald Rock, there are several more trails to explore. Once the winds picked up, we wanted to see the Atlantic Ocean (from land!). We hiked from Rendezvous Beach up to the Davis Ruins, rumored to belong to American Loyalists of the Davis Family after the American Revolution. From there we hiked to the wall (literally a rock wall that is approximately 3 feet tall and runs east and west across the cay) near Beryl’s Beach that led us over the Cay to the Atlantic side.
From Beryl’s Beach, also near the Emerald Rock mooring field, are more trails that lead to Loyalist Beach, and down the cay and over to the Pirate’s Lair. There is a natural fresh water well here and is the area that pirates were known to camp in the past.
Note: The terrain is very rocky with sharp edges. I recommend good hiking shoes like these for hikes.
Color: Blue Heaven
There is also a ton of rocky shoreline to explore by sea, so be sure to have your snorkel gear!
From Sea to Summit: Concluding our Exuma Land and Sea Park Moorings
The Exuma Land and Sea Park moorings are spread well out over the length of the park, allowing for safe protection from easterly winds as we sail within the park’s boundaries.
The balls themselves that we have seen are well maintained with heavy chain and heavy thimble-eyed mooring line, offering a good night’s sleep in heavy winds. They are also well spread out allowing plenty of room between boats.
As far as the park itself, it is definitely worth a slow sail through to see and do all that it has to offer.
Live your dream,
