Half of Shallotte's New Riverfront Park Is Already Open. Here's Which Half.

Is Price's Landing open yet? If you have asked that question walking past the fencing on Mulberry Street this summer, the honest answer is: some of it, yes. The rest, not for a while.

That answer matters more than it sounds like it should, because Shallotte has been talking about turning its downtown toward the river since 2008, when the town first floated a riverfront revitalization concept. Nearly two decades later, the town finally has something concrete to show for it. Just not all of it, and not on the timeline anyone promised.

What's Actually Finished at Price's Landing

The kayak launch is in. The playground is in. The picnic awning passed inspection months ago. Those three pieces of the 12-acre Price's Landing park, sitting across Mulberry Street from the existing Mulberry Park, are done and usable right now.

What is not done: the parking lot on the north end of the property, along with several other major portions of the build. The contractor, Cinderella Partners, was awarded the job in August 2024 at a value of more than $3 million, with substantial completion originally targeted for June 2025. As of this spring the project sat nearly a year behind that deadline, and Shallotte's mayor, Art Dornfeld, confirmed the town has brought in an outside firm to review the work and decide whether Cinderella Partners should be allowed to finish it.

None of that makes the finished pieces less real. If you have a kayak and want to put in without driving to Bricklanding Road or across to Ocean Isle Beach, Price's Landing already works for that. If you are anywhere with a stroller and need somewhere new for the kids to burn off energy that is not the same three parks you have been rotating through, the playground already works too. What you cannot count on yet is a finished parking lot to pull into, or a completed picnic shelter with the full amenity list the town promised in its 2024-2025 budget message, which included an outdoor classroom, a mobility garden, and a water feature. Those pieces are the ones still hanging on the contractor review.

The Boardwalk That's Already Had Five Summers

While Price's Landing works through its punch list, it is easy to forget that Shallotte already pulled off exactly what that park is trying to do, and did it five years ago. The Shallotte Riverwalk, a quarter-mile boardwalk with a gazebo at each end, opened to the public in 2021 after more than a decade of planning. It connects to Mulberry Park off Main Street and runs along the river with informational plaques on the town's history and ecology.

It also has a mascot. The alligator that lives along the boardwalk has a name, Shally, and locals who walk the route regularly know to look for him along with the blue herons, eagles, and the occasional flounder working the shallows. It is a small detail, but it is the kind of detail that tells you this stretch of river has already become part of people's routines rather than a place they are waiting to try.

That is the useful contrast here. Price's Landing is the ambitious half, still catching up to its own deadline. The Riverwalk is the proven half, already absorbed into daily life in Shallotte. Knowing which is which saves you a wasted trip and tells you where to actually take out-of-town guests this month if you want the sure thing.

Two Thursdays Left in the Concert Series

If you have been meaning to catch the Sounds of Summer series at Mulberry Park Amphitheater, the season is almost over. The concerts run Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at 123 Mulberry Street, and the remaining dates are:

• August 20: Too Much Sylvia
• August 27: Jebb Mac Band
• September 3: North Tower Band, the season finale

Mulberry Park itself opened back in 2016 as a $1.6 million, 10-acre build with an amphitheater, event lawn, walking trails, and a community garden. It is worth remembering that this park took its own years to become the town's default gathering spot, which is a useful bit of patience to borrow while Price's Landing across the street works out its remaining kinks. The concerts are free, and the town has historically brought in food trucks to go with the lineup, so there is no need to eat beforehand if you would rather grab dinner on-site.

Where Locals Are Actually Eating Along the River

If you want a fuller evening around a Thursday concert, or just an excuse to walk the Riverwalk before dark, a few spots have become the reliable answers for river-adjacent dining and dessert in Shallotte.

Lilly Bird's Creamery is the newest name on that list. The Williamson family opened the shop at 4810 Main Street over Memorial Day weekend this year, offering small-batch, slow-churned ice cream with a stated 16 percent butterfat base, 16 dairy flavors, and eight non-dairy options. It is a short walk from both Mulberry Park and the Riverwalk, which makes it an easy stop before or after a concert.

For something with a view, Salty Cow Tavern sits along the Shallotte River and has built a reputation as a hangout for waterfront cocktails and classic tavern fare. Inlet View Bar & Grill, with two outdoor decks positioned on the river and the Intracoastal Waterway, remains a locals' favorite for the same reason people keep coming back to the Riverwalk itself: the water is the draw, and the food is good enough to make you stay.

The Takeaway for Anyone Living Here Right Now

The honest state of Shallotte's riverfront this August is a mix, not a finished product and not an empty promise either. Part of it, the kayak launch, the playground, the boardwalk that has been open since 2021, is ready for you today. Part of it, the parking lot, the fuller amenity list at Price's Landing, is still working through a contractor review with no confirmed new completion date.

That is worth knowing before you plan a Saturday around a park that is not fully built yet, and it is worth knowing that you do not have to wait. The river has been the reason this town exists since it was a shipping route in the 1800s, and right now, in the gap between what has opened and what is still coming, there is already enough finished to make an evening out of it.

If you are thinking about what it means to live near a town that keeps building toward its own waterfront, or you are weighing a move to Shallotte and want a read on how the town actually functions day to day, Natalie Rakoci knows this stretch of the coast from the inside. Let's Connect.