Hidden Gems in North Palm Beach, Florida

Some of the best discoveries in North Palm Beach are modest public spaces and everyday local programs, not headline attractions. This guide skips the big names (for golf, boating and the main parks, see our things-to-do guide) and focuses on small places and experiences that are easy to overlook: a neighborhood waterside park, a quiet memorial green, a free weekly card game, and a few features inside bigger parks that most visitors never use. Every place below is labeled inside the Village or nearby, with access rules from official sources. We include no private marinas or residential streets, because they are not for visitors.

Hidden Gems at a Glance

Official starting points: Parks & Recreation, the Village calendar and each place's page linked below. Fees and hours change, so we link to current sources instead of printing prices.

Lesser-Known Places Inside the Village

Lakeside Park

Where: on Lakeside Drive. The Village lists it at 680 Lakeside Drive on one page and 805 on its facility page, so confirm in your map app. Access: open to the public, sunrise to sunset. The Village lists a parking-lot gate that is opened manually at 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday. Call the Recreation Office at 561-841-3386 with questions.

What you can do: a roughly 5.7-acre neighborhood park with a children's playground and swings, a basketball hoop, pull-up bars, a sand volleyball court, tiki-style picnic shelter or shelters and a waterside edge the Village calls "beach access". That is a sandy shoreline on the waterway, not an ocean beach. The Village's pages disagree on whether the shelter can be reserved (one says outdoor rentals are not available, the other says the tiki hut does not take group reservations), so do not plan an event around it.

Why it is overlooked, and why go: it is a neighborhood-scale park, so it appears on fewer visitor lists than Anchorage Park. Choose it for a short, low-key waterside stop with a playground and shade. It has no boat ramp, piers or trail, which makes it a different experience from Anchorage Park. Before you go: we found no swimming rules, so ask before you plan to swim, and the Village publishes a parking-pass document for the Lakeside area, so read its parking guidance and do not park on residential streets.

Veterans Memorial Park

Where: 303 Anchorage Drive, just north of the library, per the Village's park page. Access: public, sunrise to sunset. What is there: a half-acre amphitheater, memorial benches, flags for each military branch and a commemorative brick walkway. It is a small civic green, not an attraction, and it is worth a short visit if you are at the library or want a quiet bench. It hosts the Village's Veterans Day ceremony (listed for November 11, 2026 at 9 a.m.) and holiday events such as the Tree Lighting (listed for December 2, 2026). Older planning documents give a different address, so use the Village's current page.

Anchorage Park's quieter corners

Skip the generic "visit Anchorage Park". These are the overlooked features of Anchorage Park (603 Anchorage Drive), all open to the public:

• The fishing piers. The Village lists two. You are standing on the waterway without owning a boat. Florida has saltwater fishing license rules, so check the FWC license page before you cast.
• The dog parks. The Village confirms separate large-breed and small-breed off-leash dog parks.
• The fitness trail and the walk-up kayak and paddleboard launch, which needs no permit but requires your own kayak or board.

Important access note. The park is public, but the trailered boat ramp, trailer parking and boat storage are restricted to eligible Village users (residents and qualifying business owners with a permit decal). Do not treat the ramp as a general public launch, and do not confuse the kayak launch with it (Village decal page). Dated notice (October 10, 2026): the Village has posted a utility force-main project at the park starting October 12 and expected to finish by the end of October. It lists the west-side fishing pier and the large pavilion as closed while the tennis courts and east-side pier stay open, and part of the asphalt path may close temporarily. Check the park page for the current status before you visit.

Waterfront Discoveries That Don't Require a Boat

Public ways to be at the water in the Village are limited, so be specific: the Anchorage Park fishing piers (above), the kayak launch if you own a kayak, and Lakeside Park's waterside edge. We have not verified a public waterfront promenade or overlook elsewhere in the Village, and we do not recommend driving residential canal streets for sightseeing: those are people's homes, and visitors can block driveways and add traffic. Private docks and marinas are not for visitors.

A note on Old Port Cove. It is a residential community with a separate commercial marina (Safe Harbor Old Port Cove is the marina operator). The grounds and the restaurant inside are for residents, not visitors, so we do not list Old Port Cove as a place to explore. If you want to rent a slip, contact the operator and follow its access rules. For what Old Port Cove is as a place to live, see our neighborhoods guide.

Under-the-Radar Parks and Recreation

• Community garden at Osborne Park. The Village lists a volunteer-run community garden at Osborne Park. Check the garden page for how to take part and whether plots are available. (The Village lists Osborne Park at 715 Prosperity Farms Road on some pages and 705 on others, so confirm the address.)
• Free Friday open play. The Village lists free Mah Jongg and Canasta open play at Anchorage Park, Fridays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., open to all ages and skill levels with no instructor, starting October 2, 2026. This is a recurring program, not a permanent fixture, so confirm on the Village calendar or with the Recreation Office (561-841-3386) before you go.
• Movie in the Park and other small events. The Village's special events page lists seasonal events. Treat each as seasonal or one-time, not weekly.

Community Programs Worth Knowing About

The North Palm Beach Library (303 Anchorage Drive) is more than a place to borrow books. The Village lists story times, author lectures and book discussions, and it accepts proposals for author talks and guest speakers. Two things deserve the "gem" label:

• The Friends of the Library book sale (Friends, book sale). The Village's most recent sale listing was in January 2026, with a Friends-only pre-sale day and public days after. Dates repeat but change, so check the library calendar.
• Public computers with genealogy databases. The library's About Us page says its computers include genealogy resources, among other software. We found no scheduled genealogy program, so ask the desk what is available.

Library card eligibility differs for residents and nonresidents, and several children's programs require registration, so check the library's current calendar and call (561) 841-3383.

Nearby Hidden Gems Worth the Short Trip

These are outside the Village and run by other operators. We give no drive times.

• MacArthur Beach State Park: the guided programs. The state park at 10900 Jack Nicklaus Drive has a North Palm Beach mailing address, but it is a state facility, and we could not confirm whether its land lies inside the Village. It is a well-known park, so the discovery is a specific experience: the Friends of MacArthur Beach lists guided nature walks, sunset kayak tours and seasonal programs (see the sunset kayak tour page). Admission is charged per the state's hours and fees page, kayak rental rates differ between sources, and many programs have limits, so check current fees and reservations. We do not promise snorkeling or beach conditions, and the park can be busy.
• Loggerhead Marinelife Center (Juno Beach). A sea-turtle rehabilitation center in the Town of Juno Beach. The county's Juno Beach Pier, which Loggerhead manages, is a separate stop. Check the center's site for current hours and admission, since sources we found were older.

A Local Discovery Route

A relaxed half-day using public places only, in street order. We give no times, since they depend on your day, and we assume you drive between stops. 1. Library and Veterans Memorial Park (303 Anchorage Drive). Browse the library, then sit in the memorial park. 2. Anchorage Park (603 Anchorage Drive). Walk the trail or watch the piers, subject to the construction notice. If it is a Friday morning, look at the open-play program. 3. Lakeside Park. End with a picnic by the water. 4. Optional, nearby: a guided walk at MacArthur Beach State Park on another day.

Stay on public streets and facilities, and do not drive through private neighborhoods or onto private docks.

What Visitors Should Know Before Going

• Check whether a place is open to everyone, requires Village residency or operates by reservation. The park and its piers are open, but the boat ramp is not.
• Hours and closures change. Use the linked official pages and the Village calendar for the current ones.
• Weather and season. Summer afternoons bring heat and storms, and hurricane season runs June through November.
• Parking and water rules. We published none that we could not verify. Ask the Recreation Office (561-841-3386) when in doubt.

For restaurants, see our dining guide. The Country Club and its public golf are covered in the things-to-do guide, and we found no overlooked angle there worth repeating.

Love the local side of North Palm Beach? Explore available homes near the Village's parks, waterways and recreation facilities, and let DO Homes Group help you understand which neighborhoods match your priorities. Explore available homes, compare waterfront properties or ask us. We do not imply any property is walking distance to an amenity without checking the address, and our MLS searches follow the listing's city field, so a North Palm Beach listing is not automatically inside the Village. No sign-up needed.

For more, see what living here is like, our local guide and the neighborhoods guide.