The esplanade is Palm Cove's spine — a pedestrian and cycling path that runs the length of the beach, flanked on one side by ancient melaleuca trees and on the other by the restaurants, bars, and resort hotels that make up the village. The trees are the defining feature: they are enormous, multi-trunked, with paper-like bark and a canopy that closes over the path in places.
Walking the esplanade is the first thing to do and the last thing to do in a visit to Palm Cove. Early morning it belongs to joggers and people with coffee. By 9am the first sunbathers are setting up on the beach alongside. In the evening, as the restaurants fill, the path fills with people and the light turns gold through the trees.