Stuart Riverwalk

The Riverwalk is the reason downtown Stuart works. A boardwalk runs along the river from under the Roosevelt Bridge to the foot of Flagler Avenue, past the Riverwalk Stage, a small amphitheatre where the city puts on free concerts, and a line of floating docks where anyone with a boat can tie up for a few hours and walk into town for lunch. Benches face the water, the pelicans sit on the pilings and the old railroad lift bridge opens and closes beside it all day.

Walk it early for the light on the river and the people fishing from the rail, or at sunset when the bridge goes orange. Osceola Street and Flagler Avenue, the two downtown streets, meet it at the stage, and the shops, the coffee and the restaurants are a minute from any point on it.

On a Sunday afternoon in season there is music; on a weekday morning in summer there is nobody at all. The whole walk is flat, paved and lit, and takes fifteen minutes end to end. Bring bread for nothing; feeding the pelicans is discouraged and the fish do not need it.

Good to know

• Free concerts at the stage most Sunday afternoons in season; check the city’s calendar.
• Docking is free for a few hours; overnight is not allowed.
• Parking is free in the lots along the water and behind the shops.
• The walk is flat, lit and fully accessible.
• The lift bridge opens for trains and boats; the wait is part of the view.