As its name implies, Waterfront Park extends along the Intracoastal Waterway. It’s a linear park with a paved path connecting its trailhead with the St. Joe Walkway near Palm Coast Pkwy.
Another paved path parallels the park entrance road out to Colbert Lane to meet the Graham Swamp Trail, enabling a 3.7 mile loop through Palm Coast.
The park’s walkway follows the Intracoastal northAdjoining the trailhead, the paved path loops a recreational space with a picnic area, playground, pier, and kayak launch.
North along the bluffs, a poignant Children’s Memorial Garden ripples through a shady oak hammock. Otherwise, most of the park and its trails are in full sun.
Children’s Memorial GardenResources
Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.
Overview
Location: Palm Coast
Length: 1.9 miles
Trailhead: 29.558801, -81.175885
Address: 150 Waterfront Park Rd, Palm Coast
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the trailhead
Land Manager: City of Palm Coast
Phone: 386-986-2323
Open sunrise to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome; pick up after your pet.
Directions
From Interstate 95 exit 289 drive east on Palm Coast Pkwy 1.1 miles to Colbert Ln. Turn right and continue 1.1 miles to the turn-in on the left for Waterfront Park. A long, snaking drive continues 0.7 miles to the parking area.
Hike
Start at the large sign with its mileages to various points along the trail network of Palm Coast. A kiosk flanks the other side of the paved path.
Enveloped by a corridor of coastal hammock, enjoy dappled shade up to an opening to the recreational waterfront of the park.
TrailheadRental paddleboards adjoin a launch point. A return path to the parking area slips past picnic tables towards the waterfront.
Pass by that turnoff and a bench overlooking a boat basin off the main channel. Interpretive signs show a paddler’s map and the history of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Recreational waterfrontBehind the next mileage sign, cross a bridge over the shallow tannic outflow of a creek from Graham Swamp into the Intracoastal.
Ripples reflect through the clear tea-colored water. Jog through two sharp turns to start north along the bluffs above the Intracoastal Waterway.
Tannic creekBenches are set back in the shade of the sand live oaks edging the grassy ribbon surrounding the paved path.
At 0.2 miles, turn left for a walk through the Children’s Memorial Garden under the sand live oak canopy.
Benches, plaques, and sculptures commemorate family members.
Children’s Memorial GardenEmerge along a green space to continue the northbound walk. Across the Intracoastal, openings between the trees reveal tall scraped bluffs.
They make it plain that this channel was cut and dredged through the limestone by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Scraped bluffsFollow gentle curves with a constant view up the waterway, which has occasional boat traffic.
A bench adjoins an opening into the forest. Unmarked, it’s not a trail but a service road for park maintenance.
The path echoes the curves of the bluffFollow the largely sun-splashed route atop the bluffs past sporadic benches for another half mile. Making a sharp left, the pathway turns its back on the Intracoastal.
Enter a lush hardwood hammock. Emerge along a grassy strip. A sharp right soon after crosses a long bridge over an estuarine channel and the St. Joe Waterway, a historic canal.
Hardwood hammockMeet the St. Joe Walkway at 0.9 miles. This is a decision point. A left leads to Linear Park, where the Magnolia Trail connects to the Graham Swamp Trail.
Eastbound paralleling Colbert Ln, the Graham Swamp Trail then has a junction with the path at the crosswalk for Waterfront Park, enabling a paved loop back to the trailhead.
It’s another 2.8 miles with four road crossings. One is a crosswalk over Palm Coast Pkwy where traffic doesn’t always stop like they should.
St. Joe Walkway junctionTo stay within Waterfront Park, this is your turn-around point. Cross the bridge back into the park and return along the bluffs.
A tenth of a mile south of the Children’s Memorial Garden, the pathway turns to cross the tannic stream.
Stream outflow into the IntracoastalBear left after that bridge to explore the park’s recreational waterfront near the trailhead.
Walk past the ramp down to the launch and past the picnic pavilions to stroll a shaded waterfront towards the park’s fishing and observation pier.
Walkway through activity areaRounding a curve, glide past the fenced-in playground and the restrooms to the pier and walk out it for views up and down the Intracoastal.
Look down, too: manatees are sometimes spotted in winter. Continue along the path to return to the parking lot to finish this 1.9 mile round-trip.
The pier at Waterfront ParkTrail Map
Explore More!
Video
Exploring Waterfront Park
Slideshow
See our photos from Waterfront Park
Nearby Adventures
Palm Coast Linear Park A city park, Linear Park is centrally located yet hidden within an ancient hardwood hammock bounded by the eastbound and westbound sides of Palm Coast Parkway.
Graham Swamp East Hiking Trail A surprisingly rugged hike along a ridgetop threads between two sides of a mountain bike loop on the eastern side of Graham Swamp Preserve.
Graham Swamp West On a mile hike within sand pine scrub and a lush swamp forest, circle two placid blackwater ponds on the western side of Graham Swamp.
Long Creek Nature Preserve Spanning between College Waterway and Long Creek in Palm Coast, this nine acre nature preserve offers paddlers access to both as well as an accessible loop between the two. 
- Hal Scott Yellow Trail - November 3, 2026
- Hal Scott Preserve - October 28, 2026
- Tradewinds Park - October 27, 2026