2024 People's Choice Winner: Palm Coast Waterfront Park
Editor's Note: Due to back to back hurricanes in the fall, the we delayed announcing the winner so community could focus on recovery efforts. This award will be handed out on Feb. 18, 2025 during a Palm Coast City Council session.
The serene beauty of City of Palm Coast’s Waterfront Park delivers a unique experience as visitors enjoy the Intracoastal Waterway. The 20-acre park's numerous amenities include three picnic pavilions, a covered patio, a playground, a fishing pier, a public art sculpture, a floating ADA dock, kayak and paddleboard rentals, and trails that provide the linkage to the City's entire system making it an optimal contender for the Public Space category. Visitors often see manatees, dolphins, and birds while strolling along the Intracoastal Waterway Trail.
The City of Palm Coast’s strategic trail design provides an interconnected system for safe travel away from major roadways and arterial intersections. Waterfront Park encompasses the Intracoastal Waterway trail and connections to other trail systems, including Graham Swamp and Linear Park. All trails are either paved or hard packed providing safe and accessible mobility options for all ages and abilities whether you like to bike, run, walk, or otherwise enjoy the trails. Multi-purpose trails are designed wider to encompass more participants providing safer access. Wayfinding signs along the way serve to provide enhanced navigation. There are also bicycle racks and bicycle maintenance stations available. Every year, the City of Palm Coast hosts a “Pedal in the Park” event which is a leisurely-paced bike ride through both Linear Park and Waterfront Park. Not only is this a great opportunity to get introduced to Waterfront Park and the interconnected trail system, but also learn about trail safety and etiquette. The City of Palm Coast partners with a local bicycle shop and the River-to-Sea Transportation Planning Organization who provide helmet fittings and free helmets.
We continue to educate users on trail safety by partnering with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) utilizing their outreach materials and also participating in their Mobility Week every year.
Furthermore, the City of Palm Coast participated in Celebrate Trails Day for the first time in April 2024. The City of Palm Coast partnered with the Rails to Trails Conservancy, Flagler County government, and Flagler County Tourism Development Council to raise awareness of our trails system. Trails connect us - to our communities, to nature, and to each other.
With a generous grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND), Waterfront Park is now home to an ADA kayak launch into the Intracoastal Waterway and expanded picnic and activity space with scenic water views. A PADL station provides standup paddleboards and kayaks for rent further enhancing opportunities for water-based activity all with the click of your phone.
Waterfront Park devotes an area to a Children's Memorial Garden which is tucked away in the shade of old oak hammocks. Distinctive bluestone pavers and memorial benches dot the walkway as visitors stroll through the garden. Dedications written by families honor the memory of their lost children. This special place is a peaceful sanctuary for rest, reflection, and recollecting cherished memories.
Waterfront Park’s design preserved the area's natural beauty and ecological function. It is unique and ecologically diverse, with a coastal scrub community that transitions into a conifer hardwood. It plays host to a large array of native wildlife species. Lying along the Intracoastal Waterway, the waters have a fascinating history. Visitors can learn more about Waterfront Park by viewing the information and educational signs or scanning the QR Codes scattered throughout the park. Watch videos about birding, the Children's Memorial Garden, the Flight of Life art sculpture, gopher tortoise, Intracoastal Waterway history, manatees, monofilament, plants, and pollinators.
Several partners are responsible for bringing this bountiful park to fruition. The Florida Coastal Management Program funded this project with a grant from the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, awarded under the Coastal Zone Management Act. This was completed in August 2023. Funding for the acquisition of this site was provided by the Florida Communities Trust using Florida Forever funds, acquired in 2005. This project is also partly funded with a grant from the Grand Haven Community Development District.
The City of Palm Coast is consistently seeking public feedback to ensure parks, facilities, and amenities meet the needs of our community. With Waterfront Park being one of our busiest and most popular parks, it was the site of dedicated outreach efforts during the update of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan in 2023. Parks & Recreation staff met the people where they were by setting up an outreach booth to discuss upcoming projects, share the Parks and Recreation Master Plan engagement opportunities, and collect feedback on any parks and trails enhancements. This effort was very successful resulting in a dedicated trails forum throughout the Parks and Recreation Master Plan to capture the voices of many.