Waterfront Park's New Pavilion Gives the Intracoastal Trail a Finished North End

On Friday, October 23, at 9 a.m., the City of Palm Coast will hold a ribbon cutting for the new pavilion at Waterfront Park, 150 Waterfront Park Road. The ceremony is open to the public. On paper it's a 60-by-60-foot shade structure with picnic tables and grills. In practice it's the last piece of a multi-year rebuild. That rebuild turns the park into a proper north end for the Intracoastal Waterway Trail, a stretch of shoreline whose south end sits under the Hammock Dunes Bridge, across from European Village.

For anyone in Marina Del Palm who uses the Intracoastal side of Palm Coast as a backyard, that stretch is where the season happens. The new pavilion opens there in October, the official holiday boat parade viewing spots are there in December, and a newer restaurant sits at the bridge end in European Village.

Phase 2 Was Built for People Who Bring Something

The pavilion gets the ceremony, but most of Phase 2 went into access. The city finished design in 2022. The work added a new parking lot with spaces for towed boat and kayak trailers, better roadway access, and sidewalk connections into the surrounding neighborhoods. The June 2026 progress update put the new lot at 100 spaces. It also added a crosswalk and drop-off point near the kayak launch. By September, the city said work was nearly done, with the pavilion underway and landscaping going in across the property.

That design choice matters more this fall than it would have a year ago. Waterfront Park's PADL self-service kayak and paddleboard rental kiosk has been removed for future upgrades. The city has no estimated reinstall date. The general amenities text on the park's page still lists kayak and paddleboard rentals, so the specific notice is the one to trust. For now, getting on the water here means bringing your own kayak, paddleboard, canoe, or rowboat. The parking lot and drop-off are built for exactly that.

The launch point is the park's floating dock, which the Florida Inland Navigation District helped fund. It's meant for non-motorized craft. The district, known as FIND, also helped pay for the new pavilion, alongside City capital improvement funds. American Civil built it.

What's There Once You Park

The park covers 20 acres. Its features include a fishing pier, the floating dock, picnic pavilions, a covered patio, a playground, and restrooms. The city's park page still lists three pavilions, a count that seems to predate the new one. There's also a bike maintenance station donated by PC Bike and the Palm Coast Observer, which is handy for anyone riding the trail rather than driving in. The park is open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Some of its best features are easy to miss:

• QR code stops throughout the park link to short videos on birding, gopher tortoises, manatees, native plants, pollinators, monofilament, the Flight of Life sculpture, and the history of the Intracoastal Waterway.
• The Children's Memorial Garden sits a quarter mile north along the trail, shaded by old oak hammock. Bluestone pavers and memorial benches line its walkway, along with dedications written by families.
• The wildlife is the draw on the city's own page, which says visitors often see manatees and dolphins from the Intracoastal Waterway Trail.

In 2024, the park won the People's Choice award in the Great Places in Florida program.

If you want to host a group, the existing pavilions and covered patio rent for $45 a day plus a $50 refundable deposit. Rentals must end by 6 p.m., and there's no electricity or water. The new pavilion will also be rentable, but the city hasn't set rates or reservation details yet. If you're planning something for late fall, check back after the ribbon cutting.

The Trail Between the Park and European Village

The rebuild matters most because of where Waterfront Park sits on the trail system. The park page calls its trails "the linkage to the City's entire system." Visit Flagler describes the Intracoastal Waterway Trail as running about two miles from Waterfront Park to the Hammock Dunes Bridge. The St. Joe Walkway, roughly a mile long, connects Linear Park to that trail.

The St. Joe Walkway Trailhead is under the Hammock Dunes Bridge, across from European Village. So the trail runs between a park the city just finished rebuilding and a cluster of restaurants and shops at the bridge.

That south end has a newer restaurant. Mile Marker 803 Clubhouse, at 101 Palm Harbor Parkway, Suites A101–A102, is described in its own hiring materials as "an upscale, high-energy sports bar." It's run by Pamopher Hospitality Concepts, whose president is Chris Moore. The restaurant had planned to open July 1. No published report pins down the exact opening day. But a food inspection on August 26 and a customer review dated October 1 show it's open now.

One nearby goodbye is worth knowing about. Thai by Thai, at 250 Palm Coast Parkway NE in Island Walk, closed after service on August 31. Owner Sompong Banchanurat retired after more than 21 years serving Palm Coast.

Getting to either end by car may take a little patience through the fall. The city's resurfacing program covers Palm Coast Parkway, Clubhouse Drive, and Colbert Lane, with nighttime work and a Fall 2026 completion target.

December Puts Both Ends of the Trail to Work

The Holiday Boat Parade turns the whole route into one event. For 2026, the city names exactly two official viewing areas, Waterfront Park and the St. Joe Walkway. Both will have food trucks and port-a-lets. Those are the two ends of the trail described above.

The route follows the same shoreline:

1. Boats stage at 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 5.
2. The parade starts at 6 p.m. at Cochise Waterway, also called the North Cut.
3. Boats head south under the Hammock Dunes Bridge toward Grand Haven.
4. They turn around at the Grand Haven Gazebo and head back north toward their home ports.
5. The event ends at 8 p.m.

Judges score boats during the parade in four categories: Best of Parade, Most Creative, Most Spirited Crew, and Best Theme. Winners are announced at the end. The parade goes on rain or shine and is canceled only for severe weather or lightning. The Flagler County Sheriff's Office Marine Unit, Flagler County Fire Rescue, and Florida Fish & Wildlife will patrol the water. The city will also stream it live on its Facebook page.

If you have a boat and want to enter, registration opened in July. Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Brittany McDermott has invited captains to join. The city said in July that details on giveaways and award prizes would come later. As of now, the event page lists the categories but no prize details.

The Fall Calendar on This Stretch of Water

The club's October tournament is at Bing's Landing North, and its November listing names no venue, but anyone who fishes from the Waterfront Park pier may want to know about both. The two city events bookend the season at the same park. The pavilion opens on October 23, and just over six weeks later the park is one of the two official spots to watch boats come down from the North Cut.

Andy Kalcounos has lived in Palm Coast since 1997 and has watched the Intracoastal side of the city grow. If you're weighing how a home's location relates to the trail, the parks, or the parade route, Andy Kalcounos is happy to walk you through it. Let's Connect.