Morgan Island Anchorage (aka: Monkey Island) (Beaufort, SC)

Location: Morgan Island Anchorage (aka: Monkey Island) (Beaufort, SC)

Duration: Friday Afternoon, 12/12/25 – Sunday Morning, 12/14/25

Reason: Planned Overnight Anchorage Stop (N32°27.417′ W80°30.868′)

Pros: Anchor Hold, Anchorage Isolation, Calm Waters, Clean Chain Retrieval, Coves to Explore by Tender, Dolphin Population & Sightings, Easy to Clean Anchor, Hold, Little Boat Traffic, Near Channel, Peaceful, Protection (Varies by Wind Direction), Quietness, Scenic, Sunset, View, Water Depth, & Wildlife

Cons: Nearby Shoaling

Stay Again: Yes

Did You Know (Morgan Island, aka: Monkey Island)…

Came from Caribbean Primate Research Center (Puerto Rico)

Estimated with 4,000/+ Rhesus Macaque Monkey Residents

Feed on Acorns, Berries, Chow (Human Delivery), Chopped Fruit (Human Delivery), Corn Kernels (Human Delivery), Insects, Plants, Shellfish, & Vegetable (Human Delivery)

Home to a Colony of Rhesus Macaque Monkeys

Island is Strictly Monitored, Only Visible by Boat

Island Consists of 470 Acres

Managed by Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)

Only North America Free Roaming Colony of Monkeys

Research Purposes from 1970

Rhesus Macaque Monkeys are Good Swimmers

Boating Community, Tips Based on Our Experience…

After sunset before dark is when you can her monkey noises in the woods.

Good quality binoculars, it’s really cool to pass by tender and see the wood interior. Fallen trees and trails.

Morning hours between 7AM – 10AM they tend to be beach bound providing there’s no foreign sounds to them.

No Rhesus Macaque monkey mating sounds lured them out of the woods.

Sightings were on the south side of Morgan Island.

Stay for at least 2 – 3 nights.

They seem very skittish, so be very quiet. That means no Nordy door slams (LOL). Also, means no generator and/or revved tender sounds.