The 32nd Annual Palm Beach Holiday Boat Parade begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, and it begins in North Palm Beach. Most of the coverage each year looks ahead to the grand finale at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, where the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County expects the boats around 8 p.m. The association's own schedule tells a different story about the Village. Every time downstream of here is a guess built on past parades, while the North Palm Beach departure is fixed on the calendar.
That makes the south end of the route the most dependable seat in the event. A month out, with boat registration closing in two weeks, here is how the first hour works and how the rest of the route grows from it.
Where the Lights Start Moving
The Marine Industries Association's parade page says the parade, led by a Zambelli traveling fireworks display, travels north on the Intracoastal Waterway from North Palm Beach to the lighthouse. Safe Harbor presents it this year, the event runs rain or shine, and it doubles as a toy drive for Toys for Tots and Little Smiles.
The 2026 page does not name an exact staging point. The Village's listing for the 2023 parade did, and it gives a good sense of what the starting stretch looks like:
"Golf course opens for viewing at 5:15 p.m. Please keep dogs leashed at all times and pick up any waste. Parade begins at NPB Marina at 6 p.m. and goes under the Parker Bridge shortly after."
That language comes from the Village of North Palm Beach's 2023 event page, so treat it as a precedent and not as this year's confirmed plan. For 2026, North Palm Beach Country Club is still first on the association's list of waterfront viewing sites open to the public. The club is also marking its centennial this year, which the Village's NPB Country Club Centennial Celebration page dates from 1926 to 2026. For dinner before or after, the club's dining room is The Clubhouse Restaurant.
Five Bridges, and Why Only the First Is Close to Certain
The parade does not move along the Intracoastal on its own timetable. Each drawbridge has to open for it, and the association publishes its best estimates for each opening. It also states plainly that weather, winds, tides and currents keep it from predicting exact times, and that its permits allow a one-hour opening per bridge.
| Bridge | Estimated opening, Dec. 5, 2026 | Minutes after the 6 p.m. start |
|---|---|---|
| Parker Bridge | around 6:00 p.m. | 0 |
| PGA Bridge | around 6:15 p.m. | 15 |
| Donald Ross Bridge | around 7:00 p.m. | 60 |
| Indiantown Road Bridge | sometime around 7:30 p.m. | 90 |
| Jupiter Federal Bridge | around 7:45 p.m. | 105 |
The table shows the logic of the route. The Parker Bridge estimate lands right on the scheduled start, so the first stretch past North Palm Beach is the only part where the timetable and the published plan line up. The quarter hour to PGA is short. After that the gaps widen to 45 minutes, then 30, then 15, and every one of those times depends on how the water behaves that evening. The farther north you watch, the more of the evening you may spend waiting for a parade that is still working its way through bridges to the south.
The boats take roughly two hours to cover the full route, so the rest of the parade is still ahead of anyone who watches it leave North Palm Beach. The association's public viewing list runs north from the Country Club to Waterway Cafe near PGA, then Bert Winters Park and Juno Park, then Jupiter's Sawfish Bay Park, Lighthouse Park, Waterway Park, Riverwalk, Harbourside Place, Charlie and Joe's at Love Street, Square Grouper Tiki Bar, Utiki and Jetty's. For anyone who stays put, WPBF carries the parade live on its app and Facebook page, and the association links a real-time tracker from its parade page.
Watching From the Water Has One Rule Close to Home
Boat owners in the Village who plan to watch rather than enter face one restriction aimed squarely at North Palm Beach. The association says that boats anchored in front of North Palm Beach Marina or North Palm Beach Country Club will be asked by law enforcement officers to move.
The marina was the starting point in 2023 and the Country Club sits on the opening stretch, so the water in front of both belongs to the parade. The association's suggestion for spectator boats is Ski Beach or anywhere else between Donald Ross Road and Indiantown Road where boats will not block the parade. In the bridge table, that stretch falls between the 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. estimates, so a boat leaving from North Palm Beach has time to see the start from shore or the docks and still get into position farther north.
If Your Boat Will Be One of the Lights
Entry is free. Boats registered by November 19 have the refundable $50 deposit waived and go into a drawing for $500 and Palm Beach International Boat Show Winward VIP passes. Every registered boat is entered for a $250 cash prize. Judges score lights, enthusiasm and themed decor. The headline awards are:
- Best of Parade: $500 cash, plus another $500 if the owner is an MIAPBC Boater Member
- Fan Favorite: $500 cash
- Rookie of the Year: $250 cash, open to first-year participants
Last year sets the bar. The association's 2025 performance report describes dozens of boats on the water on December 6, 2025, and a toy drive that collected 16,000 toys for Little Smiles and Toys for Tots. The same report names Nauti Kitty Best of Parade, Pink Pony Pontoon Fan Favorite and Whiz Whit Rookie of the Year. In its December 4, 2025 preview, WPTV reported that more than 80 boats would compete. WPBF's coverage the night of the parade described decorated boats and fireworks along the Intracoastal. Spectators help the toy count as well. The association asks attendees to bring a new, unwrapped toy.
The Week the Parade Closes
In North Palm Beach, the parade comes at the end of a full first week of December on the Village and park calendars. The dates, in order:
- This Saturday, November 7: the Arts & Crafts Fall Festival runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the North Palm Beach Community Center, 1200 Prosperity Farms Road.
- December 1 through 15: Santa's Mailbox stands at the Library, 303 Anchorage Drive; the Anchorage Park Activities Building, 603 Anchorage Drive; and the Community Center. Santa's texts go out December 15 and 16 to children ages 2 to 8.
- Wednesday, December 2: the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony takes place from 7 to 8 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park, 303 Anchorage Drive.
- Thursday, December 3: the Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park hold a Holiday Sip & Shop from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with local and sustainable gifts and a 20 percent discount for Friends members that evening.
- Saturday, December 5: the boat parade leaves North Palm Beach at 6 p.m.
The full Village schedule is on the North Palm Beach events calendar. The parade details, entry form and bridge estimates are on the Marine Industries Association's parade page, which is the place to check in the days before December 5, since bridge times depend on conditions that evening.
Beyond the public sites, the association points to private viewing parties hosted by people who live on the water, and how close a North Palm Beach dock sits to the Parker Bridge, or which side of it, affects that view. If you are wondering what the Intracoastal looks like from a particular address, from the departure point to the stretch past PGA, Steve Rockoff is glad to talk it through. Schedule a Confidential Consultation.
