The Palm Valley Boat Parade comes back to the Intracoastal Waterway on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, at 6 p.m. According to the organizers' posted route, the parade "starts 1 mile south of the Palm Valley Bridge and heads north to the last home in Marsh Landing."
So for anyone in Marsh Landing, the procession doesn't pass by in the middle. It ends here. That one fact sets the timing, the viewing, and the dock contest for this neighborhood, and each works a little differently than it does for the crowd at the bridge.
The boats reach the north end last
The parade's posted rules lay out the order of the evening. Each step adds time before the boats reach the northern end of the route:
- Every participating boat gathers at Marker #3, about one mile south of the Palm Valley Bridge.
- The lead boat sets the pace at no more than 6 knots.
- Boats keep at least 300 feet apart. When the boat ahead stops to "display" at docks, the boats behind hold that spacing. The rules note that judges sit on some of those docks.
- Boat sizes are staggered so the large boats don't run one after another. The rules say this helps spectators and judges get a better view.
- The procession keeps going to the last house in Marsh Landing.
Six knots, 300-foot gaps, and repeated stops to show off for docks along the way all add up. The Ponte Vedra Recorder reported that the boats covered more than seven miles in 2024.
The best published timing for the north end comes from Florida NewsLine's 2022 preview. It estimated the boats would reach Marsh Landing around 8:05 to 8:30 p.m. after the 6 p.m. start. That article also said organizers would post live updates on pacing and arrival times at landmarks along the route. That window is from 2022, and the actual time depends on how many boats enter and how long they spend at each dock. Still, the gap matters. At 6 p.m., the bridge crowd is watching boats go by. Marsh Landing still has two hours to wait.
NewsLine also reported that the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, St. Johns County Fire Rescue and Florida Fish and Wildlife provide water safety support during the event. Boats in the procession talk on VHF Channel 72, according to the parade rules. A Marsh Landing boater heading out to watch from the water can listen on that channel to follow how far along the parade is.
Last year, docks were judged a night early
For years the lighted dock contest was judged on parade night. In 2025 that changed, and the new setup matters most at the end of the route.
Parade coordinator Beacham Still explained it in a Ponte Vedra Recorder interview before last year's event. "While we have held lighted Dock Competitions in the past, we struggled with the logistics of judging both boats and docks on the same night," he said. He added that moving the dock judging to the Friday before the parade would let organizers "more comprehensively photograph and record all docks that chose to participate." In that same interview, he described the competition as open to all private docks along the seven-mile route. That includes the Marsh Landing docks at the north end.
The Recorder's 2025 recap confirmed it happened that way. Docks were judged Friday, Dec. 5, and the boats ran Saturday, Dec. 6.
For a dock at the end of the route, the Friday format helps. When docks were judged during the parade, judging happened in the same evening's procession, and the north end comes last. With docks judged the night before, a Marsh Landing dock gets looked at on its own. The 2026 judging date hasn't been posted. If organizers keep last year's Friday format, it would fall on Friday, Dec. 4, so plan for your lights to be on and working a night before the boats come.
The rules judge the dock, not the house
The contest rules are short, and one of them limits what you need to decorate:
- Prizes and "bragging rights" go to Palm Valley's Top Dock.
- Judges are the parade organizers and the participating boaters.
- Only the dock's decorations and lighting count. Lit trees, homes and anything else not over the water don't factor in.
- To be eligible, a dock must be registered, get a number, and display that number clearly.
- Questions go to Beacham Still.
On a property with a long walk out to the water, that third rule settles a lot. The lights on the house and the lit palm by the pool may look great from the patio, but they don't count toward the contest. The decorating effort belongs on the structure over the water. The organizers give their own advice right in the rules: "creativity always beats extravagance… but more lights never hurt anybody!"
Before the 2022 parade, organizers said cash prizes would go to boat winners in several size categories and to the best decorated docks, according to NewsLine's 2022 coverage.
Registration is open now, and the deadline isn't posted
The parade's registration page says 2026 registration is open. It lists four entry classes: power boats over 30 feet, power boats under 30 feet, sailboats, and the dock competition. No closing date appears on the page. Since the number has to be displayed for a dock to qualify, register early so the number is in hand before the lights go up.
For Marsh Landing owners with a boat as well as a dock, the classes are separate, so you can enter both. A boat entry starts at Marker #3 south of the bridge and makes the full run north, ending in your own neighborhood.
The event runs entirely on volunteers, according to the official site. Its Facebook group had more than 1,700 members as of the 2025 Recorder interview, and Still described it as a place to share photos and updates.
Without a dock, the public spots are all south of you
Since the route ends in Marsh Landing, every public viewing spot is somewhere earlier along the route, closer to Palm Valley. That limited space was the main problem the organizers set out to fix. In the Recorder interview, Still said, "The limited amount of public space on the parade route has always been the primary constraint for wider participation."
The fix came in 2024. After 31 years of running the parade independently, organizers partnered with St. Johns County Parks & Recreation. They added remote parking with shuttles, bleachers, more bathrooms and safety lighting. Moving cars to remote lots also opened up space in the main parking lot under the C.R. 210 bridge for food trucks, kids' games and T-shirt sales. The county and the Palm Valley Community Association are now listed as presenting partners.
Here's how last year's viewing party under the bridge worked, according to the parade's viewing page, which still shows the 2025 date:
- Bleachers were first come, first served, with food trucks, holiday music and kids' games.
- On-site parking was limited and set aside first for ADA and handicap needs.
- Shuttles ran continuously from Landrum Middle School from 5 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.
Check that page again closer to Dec. 5, since the 2026 details haven't been posted yet. The Recorder counted about 300 spectators under the bridge in 2024.
The other option is dinner by the water. In NewsLine's 2022 preview, Still named the restaurants along the route as the best places to watch: Palm Valley Outdoors, Barbara Jean's On the Water, Palm Valley Fish Camp and Valley Smoke. He also mentioned Mickler's Wharf and the area under the bridge. Barbara Jean's has its own history with the parade. The event began in fall 1993 at Ward's Landing, the spot that is now Barbara Jean's, started by Joanne and Clen Ward, Maureen Van Doren and friends. All of these spots see the boats earlier in the evening than Marsh Landing does. A dinner reservation there trades the late finish at home for an earlier look.
The weekend around it
The parade's history says families plan holiday parties around it. If you're filling the calendar around Dec. 5, a few nearby events line up well.
First, the First Coast Cultural Center's Holiday Shoppes comes to 6000B Sawgrass Village Circle on Saturday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A ticketed preview runs Friday, Nov. 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The page describes local and other vendors selling holiday gifts, and the dates land about three weeks before the parade.
The night after the parade, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall hosts Kenny G's "The Miracles Holiday and Hits Tour" on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. If organizers keep the Friday judging, a Marsh Landing dock owner could have three straight nights: judging Friday, the boats Saturday, and the concert Sunday.
If the Friday dock judging and Saturday's late finish have you rethinking how the property looks from the water, Laura Worrell knows Marsh Landing's waterfront homes from both sides of the dock. Request a Consultation, and Laura can talk through what this stretch of the Intracoastal means for a home you own here or one you're considering.
