The Coral Springs Holiday Parade Now Has Set Entry Points, and Your Evening Starts With Picking One

Where on Sample Road do you plan to be when the first float rolls past City Hall on Wednesday, December 9?

In past years that was mostly a question of where to stand. This year it's also a question of how you get in. The City of Coral Springs says the 2026 Holiday Parade route "will be fully barricaded with a few designated entry points," and it names those points: NW 104th, NW 101st, NW 99th, Coral Hills Drive and 94th. Because you enter at a set point, the evening runs on a tighter schedule, and a walk along the line until you find a gap won't work the way it used to. The parking deadline matters more, and so does the order you do things in. Downtown also has a new stop worth fitting in before 7 p.m.

What is different on December 9

The parade runs from 7 to 9 p.m. along Sample Road near City Hall at 9500 West Sample Road. The 2026 theme honors the 250th anniversary of the United States "with a festive twist." A lot of it will look familiar. Like the 2024 parade on December 11 and the 2025 parade on December 10, it falls on a Wednesday night, with the same two road closures and free parking in the City Hall garage.

What's new is the edge of the route. Coral Springs Talk's 2024 preview and TAPinto's 2025 preview both described pedestrian-only streets. Neither said the full route would be barricaded or listed specific entry points. The city's 2026 page does both, and it gives one reason: "to enhance safety for all participants and spectators." If you need help finding an entry point or a good place to watch, the city says event staff will help on the night.

Here are the five entry points as the city lists them:

• NW 104th
• NW 101st
• NW 99th
• Coral Hills Drive
• 94th

Rules carried over from last year still apply. The route is for pedestrians only, and golf carts, bicycles, scooters and e-bikes are prohibited. The one exception is micromobility scooters used by people with physical disabilities. If you usually ride a bike over from a nearby neighborhood, you'll need to walk or park this year.

The clock that runs the night

Once the entry points are set, the timing is what decides your evening. Five times on the city's page matter, and two of them come well before the parade starts.

The closed stretches are Sample Road just west of University Drive and east of NW 110th Avenue, and Coral Springs Drive north of Royal Palm Boulevard and south of NW 37th Street. The city says local traffic will be affected, but residents will still be able to reach their communities. If you live on the north or south side of Sample between University and NW 110th, you can get home, though the roads you normally use may not be open between 5 and 10.

Free parking is in the City Hall garage at 9500 West Sample Road, which closes at 6:30 p.m. or sooner if it fills. The 2024 parade had the same deadline. This year, though, you'll walk from the garage to a set entry point and then to your viewing spot. If you arrive around 6:20, you'll be making all of those decisions in a crowd.

Matching an entry point to how you are arriving

The city's details group around City Hall, so it helps to plan from there.

If you're parking in the City Hall garage, the Coral Hills Drive entry is the one the city's page ties most closely to City Hall. Accessible parking is across the street at 9551 West Sample Road and is reached from Wiles Road by turning south on Coral Hills Drive. A handicap parking decal is required. Accessible seating is at Sample Road and Coral Hills Drive and in the City Hall viewing area.

If you're walking from the west, the NW 104th and NW 101st entries come first. Two of the city's portable restroom locations are in this part of the route by street number: near Burger King at 10494 W. Sample Road and near Wendy's at 10050 W. Sample Road. The third set is across from City Hall at 9551 West Sample, and there are indoor restrooms inside City Hall.

If you're bringing young children or older relatives, pick a spot near a restroom and settle there early. The city also notes that "local restaurants and shops may also have seating available" along the route.

If you can't make it, the city streams the parade the day after on CityTV and on the City of Coral Springs YouTube channel. That's an easy way to share it with family out of town.

A reason to get downtown before 6:30

The Coral Springs Museum of Art opened its relocated gallery at 3380 N. University Drive on October 9 and 10, and Coral Springs Talk reported that nearly 700 visitors came during those first two days. The gallery has more than 5,000 square feet of exhibition space and a street-facing design overlooking Sample Road. It also has a retail store and a coffee station. Admission is free.

Tuesday through Thursday the gallery is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., so on parade night it closes just as the parade starts. If you park before the garage closes at 6:30, you'll have a short window inside before you head to your entry point. On December 9 the main exhibition will be Janet Gold's "Cages and Collage," which runs through January 30, 2027.

There's also a new place for coffee or a pastry. Paris Baguette celebrated its grand opening on October 8 at 3326 N. University Drive in the Modera complex and is listed as open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., so it's open for the whole parade. For a full meal before you head to Sample Road, The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill opened September 1 farther south at 2764 N. University Drive. It's the brand's first Coral Springs location. Because the closures start at 5 p.m., you'll want to be back near the garage before driving around City Hall gets difficult.

Saturday, December 5, is the day with two events

The city's tree lighting comes four days before the parade, and this year it shares a date with something else.

Light Up the Lawn runs Saturday, December 5, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the City Hall Lawn, with free parking in the City Hall garage. Planned activities include the tree lighting ceremony, a Snow Zone, a stuffed-animal giveaway by the Coral Springs Police and a limited number of free cookies. Train rides are for Coral Springs residents only and are limited. As of late October, registration and the food truck lineup were both listed as "coming soon," so check the city page again closer to the date. Leashed dogs are welcome, but the city asks people not to bring lawn chairs. If you need a disability accommodation, the city asks you to call Special Events at 954-344-1111 or email [email protected] at least five days before the event.

December 5 is also the last day of "Picasso: A Graphic Journey," the museum's opening exhibition of 57 original prints Picasso made between 1923 and 1972. On Saturdays the gallery is open from noon to 8 p.m., so its hours overlap with the first two and a half hours of Light Up the Lawn. If you haven't seen the Picasso prints yet, you can see them and stay for the tree lighting on the same visit.

The tree on the City Hall Lawn is lit every night from December 1 through 31 under the city's free Downtown in December program, with free parking in the same garage. If the crowds on December 5 and December 9 aren't for you, any other evening that month gets you the lights without the barricades, the 6:30 garage deadline or the waiting.

The city's event pages are live listings and can still change, especially the train registration and food truck details for Light Up the Lawn. Check the parade page before you leave on December 9 to confirm the entry points and parking.

If you're wondering how a December like this one plays out on a particular street near the route, or how close a home would put you to the parade and the new downtown gallery, I'm happy to talk it through. Timothy Byrne is here when you're ready. Let's Connect.