"It's a way for locals and visitors alike to get around town, not in a car, and just enjoy the city… run errands, grab a bite to eat, get out and explore and see the city like you've never seen it before."
Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline was talking about bikes. In the City of St. Augustine's bikeshare announcement, she described Drifters City Bike, a new program from locally owned Drifters, Inc. The City scheduled the program's ribbon-cutting ceremony for Friday, Nov. 6, at 10 a.m. in the Plaza de la Constitución. Drifters' own site already says the first 90 bikes are on the street and at the docks. The timing makes the mayor's comment a fair summary of the whole holiday season. Nights of Lights runs from Nov. 21, 2026, through Jan. 18, 2027. This year, the bayfront walk is partly a work zone. Some of the best views this season are on the Bridge of Lions, at the Plaza and up at Vilano, and they're easiest to reach if you leave the car at home.
The Bayfront Is a Work Zone Until Fall 2027
The Florida Department of Transportation's seawall replacement along State Road A1A, from the Bridge of Lions to Charlotte Street, was scheduled to begin the week of June 15. The City's project notice puts the contract at $19.9 million and names Vecellio and Grogan, Inc. as the contractor. The project includes:
- Replacing the seawall itself
- Rebuilding the bayfront promenade
- Replacing the post-and-chain barrier with a solid 3.5-foot coquina concrete wall
- Taking down and rebuilding the timber pergolas
- Removing the event platform
FDOT, the National Park Service and the City are working on it together. The City says residents should expect construction along the bayfront corridor and temporary limits on pedestrian access in parts of the project area as work moves along. Car traffic gets more protection. The notice bars lane closures from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday, so evening lights traffic on Avenida Menendez keeps its lanes. Completion is expected in fall 2027, weather permitting. That means construction will be on the bayfront for all of this season and into next year's.
The Regatta's Best Seats Move North and Upstairs
The work matters most on the night when watching from the seawall used to be the whole plan. The St. Augustine Yacht Club's Regatta of Lights is Saturday, Dec. 12, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. It's free, and sail, power and paddle boats of every size take part. Visit St. Augustine's Regatta page says plainly that construction on the bayfront and Castillo seawalls means fewer people can watch from the bayfront walk this year. Its recommended viewing spots for 2026 are the Vilano Beach Pier, the Bridge of Lions and the water itself.
The boats' route explains those picks. The fleet gathers near the Vilano Beach Pier, heads south to the Bridge of Lions and turns back toward Vilano. Vilano gives you the start, and the bridge gives you the turn. If you'd rather watch from above the construction, Visit St. Augustine lists second-floor decks over the bayfront at Meehan's Irish Pub and Seafood House, River and Fort, Saint, Harry's Seafood Bar and Grille, and Casa Reina Taqueria & Tequila. Tour boats also take guests out on the water to see the regatta.
The Bikes Fill the Gaps Between Shuttles
A season with the viewing spread across downtown, the bridge and Vilano gives the bikeshare an obvious use. Drifters City Bike has 90 bikes, 80 pedal and 10 pedal-assist, serving downtown, West King Street, Anastasia Boulevard and St. Augustine Beach. Each bike has a basket and an app-based lock and payment system. Drifters lists 14 stations with 170 docks between them. Several station names that line up with this season's busiest stretches:
- City Plaza, for the Light-Up! ceremony
- Visitors Information Center, where the Park & Ride shuttle stops
- Lightner Museum and Flagler College, along the lit King Street corridor
- Downtown Marina, at the south end of the bayfront
- Lincolnville Museum, Hypolita & Cordova, and San Marco & Cincinnati
- Lighthouse Park, on Anastasia Island
On the Drifters City Bike site, pay-as-you-go costs $5.50 for the first hour and $4.50 for each hour after that, and pedal-assist bikes cost the same. The program's terms, effective Nov. 6, list a Local Passport at $99 for six months or $180 for a year. It covers unlimited rides of up to 60 minutes each, and extra time is $4.50 an hour. Riders must be at least 18. Helmets are recommended, rides stay on roads rather than the beach, and a bike can go back to any station.
Here's how the bikes compare with the other ways downtown this season:
| Option | When it runs | Where it leaves you | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Park & Ride | Fridays, Saturdays, most Sundays and school holiday break, Nov. 21 through Jan. 2; 1 to 11 p.m., with an 8 a.m. start on Dec. 5 | Visitor Information Center, 10 S. Castillo Drive | Free |
| Downtown garage | Daily | Downtown | $40 after 1 p.m. on shuttle days, $20 before 1 p.m. or on non-shuttle days; registered ParkStAug county residents exempt |
| STAR circulator | Seasonal, from 5 p.m., no service New Year's Eve | East side of the Bridge of Lions | See Visit St. Augustine |
| Rideshare | Fridays and Saturdays, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. | Five designated downtown pickup and drop-off points | Per ride |
| Drifters City Bike | Unlock in the app | Any of 14 stations | $5.50 first hour, or a Local Passport |
The Park & Ride lots are the St. Johns County Health Department at 200 San Sebastian View, Broudy's Lot at 198 W. King St., and the San Marco Lot at 301 San Marco Ave. According to Visit St. Augustine's parking guide, registering with ParkStAug waives the garage fee but doesn't guarantee you a space. The guide also lists resident-and-guest-only parking from Nov. 21 through Jan. 18 in Flagler Model Land Company, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and in Abbott Tract/Uptown, 1 to 9 p.m. Parking there without the Nights of Lights rear-view tag carries a $100 fine.
Light-Up! Night Starts at the Plaza and Ends at the Bridge
Saturday, Nov. 21, is when everything above gets used at once. The City's Light-Up! announcement has Showtime USA at City Hall at 4 p.m., the All Star Orchestra at the Plaza gazebo at 5:30 p.m. and the official ceremony in the Plaza de la Constitución at 6:30 p.m. Parking is banned all day on Cathedral Place between Avenida Menendez and Cordova, and the street closes to cars from 5 to 8 p.m. Parking is also banned all day on the north side of King Street between Cordova and Avenida Menendez. Police may adjust closures for safety on the night.
Anastasia Island gets service on this night only. From 4 to 11 p.m., free shuttles leave Anastasia Baptist Church at 1650 A1A South and R.B. Hunt Elementary at 125 Magnolia Dr. They drop riders near the east end of the Bridge of Lions, at Gerado Street and Flagler Boulevard in North Davis Shores, and Historic Tours of America runs the service. From the drop-off, you walk across the bridge to the ceremony.
Plan your stops too. The City Hall courtyard public restrooms at 75 King St. closed for renovation on Nov. 2 for an estimated 19 weeks. The City is sending the public to the restrooms near Lobby C instead.
December 5 Fills the Whole Day
The first Saturday in December has events from breakfast to after dark, and the City starts the shuttles early to match:
- 8 a.m. Park & Ride shuttles start instead of the usual 1 p.m.
- 9 to 10:30 a.m. The free 68th Annual Christmas Parade runs from the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche through historic downtown to the Visitor Information Center.
- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free Colonial Night Watch encampment is open at the Oldest House. It's also open Friday, Dec. 4.
- 7 p.m. The Colonial Night Watch torch parade leaves the Visitor Information Center and follows St. George Street to the Governor's House.
Both parades start or end at the Visitor Information Center, the same place the shuttle drops riders and the same place Drifters has a Visitors Information Center station. If you're spending the whole day, you could ride in for the morning parade, head home and come back after dark without moving your car. A week later, the Regatta's boats will be turning at the Bridge of Lions.
When guests ask where to stand for the Regatta or how to get to the Plaza on Light-Up! Night, this is the plan I'd give them. I'm happy to talk through St. Augustine and the beaches this season over coffee. Meredith Rowe is glad to help you plan around the lights. Schedule a Free Consultation.
