Boating on Wrightsville Beach's ICW Side: Marinas, Depths, and the Drawbridge
This is a cruising-guide-level look at the marina row along Banks Channel and Motts Channel: four named facilities, real slip counts and depths, the drawbridge that governs access to all of them, and the public ramp that serves anyone without a private dock or a slip.
Where This Stretch Sits on the Waterway
The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway passes Wrightsville Beach at roughly statute mile 283 on the small-craft charts North Carolina boaters use -- distances on this stretch are given in statute miles specifically to match those charts, per NCpedia's history of the waterway. The Heide Trask Drawbridge, carrying US 74/76 across the main channel, sits at approximately mile 283.1 per NOAA's U.S. Coast Pilot 4, with a bascule span and a 20-foot closed vertical clearance at center -- a real, load-bearing number for any sailboat or flybridge cruiser deciding whether to request an opening or wait for one. Seapath Yacht Club sits on Motts Channel about half a mile east of the main channel, near mile 283.3; Wrightsville Beach Marina & Dock sits directly on the ICW's east bank near mile marker 283.2, about a tenth of a mile south of the drawbridge; and Bridge Tender Marina sits on the mainland (west) side of the drawbridge, with one source placing it near green marker #127 north of mile 285 and another citing mile 283.3 -- this page notes that discrepancy honestly rather than picking one figure to state as definitively confirmed; call the marina directly to confirm its exact position relative to a specific waypoint before a first-time approach.
Seapath Yacht Club & Transient Dock: The Largest Facility
Seapath Yacht Club & Transient Dock, at 328 Causeway Drive on Motts Channel, runs 190 total slips including 10 reserved for transient use, with 600 feet of face dock, floating-dock construction, an 8-foot approach depth and 10-foot dockside depth, and capacity for vessels up to 150 feet. Slips carry power up to 100 amps, water, cable television, and wireless internet. The published transient rate is $3.00 per foot per night, reservations are by phone only (no online booking), liveaboards are not permitted, and moorings are not offered. Seapath sits adjacent to both the ICW and the Masonboro all-weather inlet, making it a genuine gateway slip for anyone splitting time between inland-waterway cruising and offshore Atlantic access.
Wrightsville Beach Marina & Dock: Deep Water on the Main Channel
Wrightsville Beach Marina & Dock sits directly on the ICW's east bank, roughly a tenth of a mile south of the drawbridge, and advertises capacity for yachts up to 200 feet -- meaningfully larger vessel capacity than a facility set back on a tributary channel can typically offer, since it sits on the maintained main channel itself rather than a side waterway. Reservations run by phone at (910) 256-6666 or by hailing VHF channel 16, with the marina operating 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. This page did not confirm current slip counts, transient rates, or amenity details beyond vessel capacity for this facility -- call directly for current availability.
Bridge Tender Marina: The Mainland-Side Option, Beside a Wilmington Landmark
Bridge Tender Marina, at 1414 Airlie Road on the mainland side of the drawbridge, runs 65 total slips (15 transient) with floating-dock construction and an 18-foot approach and dockside depth -- notably deeper than Seapath's published 8-10 foot depths, making it a real option for a deeper-draft vessel. It sits beside the Bridge Tender restaurant, operating on the same site since 1976, giving it a genuinely long-standing dining option directly adjacent to the dock, unusual among the marinas in this cluster.
Bradley Creek Marina: A Different Waterway, Structured Differently
Bradley Creek Marina, at 6338 Oleander Drive, sits on Bradley Creek -- a separate tidal creek reaching the ICW a short run up the mainland shoreline from Wrightsville Beach proper, described in its own materials as offering both Intracoastal and ocean access. It's structured differently from the other three facilities: 300 dry slips (to 28 feet) alongside 165 wet slips (22 to 65 feet), with wet slips let on one-year leases running April 1 through the following March 31 rather than open transient or month-to-month terms, no liveaboards permitted, and a clubhouse on site. A boater looking for dry-stack or long-term storage rather than a wet slip near the town's central marina row has a real option here, distinct in both waterway and structure from the Banks Channel/Motts Channel cluster.
The Public Boat Ramp: Access Without a Slip or a Dock
The public boat ramp at 109 Causeway Drive, managed by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, offers roughly 70 parking spaces across multiple launch lanes with direct ICW access, and sits about 3 miles by water from Masonboro Inlet -- a real, no-cost (beyond any standard NCWRC access requirements) option for anyone with a trailerable boat and no private dock or marina slip. Spaces fill quickly on summer weekends, per general boating-guide commentary on the area, so a trailered-boat owner planning a weekend launch here should expect real competition for parking during peak season.
Masonboro Inlet and Access to the Open Atlantic
Masonboro Inlet, immediately south of Wrightsville Beach, provides the direct connection between this ICW/Banks Channel cluster and the open Atlantic, and also serves as the Corps of Engineers' primary sand-borrow source for Wrightsville Beach's own beach nourishment program, under an authorization described as running through fiscal year 2036. Boats based at any of the four marinas named on this page, or launched from the public ramp, can reach open water via this inlet without a long inland run, and it's also the access point to Masonboro Island Reserve -- the undeveloped, boat-only-access barrier island immediately south, covered in more depth on this site's Fishing Guide.
What This Page Doesn't Cover
This page names the real, sourced marinas, the public ramp, and the drawbridge that governs access to all of them on Wrightsville Beach's ICW side. It does not state current long-term wet-slip lease rates at any facility beyond Bradley Creek's confirmed one-year lease structure, current no-wake zone boundaries for the residential stretch of Banks Channel, or the Heide Trask Drawbridge's current opening schedule or frequency. Private dock and pier construction rules for a specific parcel are covered in depth on this site's Dock & Pier Guide, not here. Confirm current slip availability, pricing, and bridge-opening protocols directly with the marinas named above and the bridge operator before planning a transit or a slip rental. Nothing on this page is navigational, legal, or safety advice.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from: Waterway Guide's marina directory for Seapath Yacht Club & Transient Dock's slip count, face-dock footage, depths, capacity, and transient rate, and for Bridge Tender Marina's slip count and depths; the marinas' own sites (seapathyachtclub.com, wrightsvillebeachmarina.com, bridgetendermarina.com, bradleycreekmarina.com) for addresses, contact information, and lease/rental terms; NOAA's U.S. Coast Pilot 4 for the Heide Trask Drawbridge's bascule-span type, 20-foot closed vertical clearance, and mile-marker location; Marinalife and Denison Yacht Sales' marina-search data for Bridge Tender Marina's mile-marker references, explicitly flagged here as differing between sources; NCpedia's Intracoastal Waterway history for the statute-mile convention used on NC charts; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District for Masonboro Inlet's role as the beach-nourishment sand-borrow source; and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission's public boat ramp data for the Causeway Drive facility. Facts not independently confirmed and not invented here include: current long-term wet-slip lease rates at Seapath, Wrightsville Beach Marina & Dock, or Bridge Tender Marina; current slip counts or amenities at Wrightsville Beach Marina & Dock beyond its 200-foot vessel capacity; current no-wake zone boundaries; and the Heide Trask Drawbridge's current opening schedule. Confirm current marina slip availability, bridge-opening schedules, and no-wake zone rules directly with the marinas, the bridge operator, and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission before planning a trip. Nothing on this page is navigational, legal, or safety advice.