St. Patrick's Day 2025: Where to see Chicago River dyeing and parades
Chicago is gearing up for a weekend full of St. Patrick's Day parades and citywide celebrations. Here's what you need to know.
When is St. Patrick's Day?
St. Patrick's Day is on Monday, March 17. The three annual parades are held the weekend before St. Patrick's Day. The Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade downtown is held on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, and the South Side Irish Parade in the Beverly/Morgan Park community is held on the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day.
When is the Chicago River dyeing?
Every year on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, the Chicago River is dyed green. The best place to watch the Chicago River turn green is along Upper Wacker Drive between State Street and Columbus Drive. The lower Riverwalk will be closed, except for select ticketed events. Bridges over the river also will be closed during the river dyeing, except for the Orleans Street, Columbus Drive, and LaSalle Street bridges.
The dyeing of the river will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The task usually takes about 45 minutes to complete, and the bright green color can last anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days, depending on the weather.
Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade route
The city's downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade is celebrating its 70th anniversary. The parade steps off at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, at Columbus and Balbo drives in Grant Park. The parade will proceed north on Columbus Drive to Monroe Street, with the viewing stand located in front of Buckingham Fountain.
Street closures for the parade will begin as early as 8 a.m., including Columbus Drive between Roosevelt Road and Wacker Drive, and east/west streets within those boundaries, between Michigan Avenue and DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
Entry to the parade route along Columbus Drive begins at 11 a.m. and will only be permitted at Jackson and Ida B. Wells Drive (formerly Congress Drive) and all entry points will have security checkpoints set up for entry to the parade route. Security will be checking all bags and purses. Coolers, alcohol, open beverages, CamelBaks and personal water bottles will not be allowed into or along the parade route.
How to get to the Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade
Public transportation is the best option for getting to the downtown parade on Saturday.
- Blue or Red Lines: If you are taking the CTA's Blue or Red lines, you can exit your train at any of the Loop subway stops, and walk east to Columbus Drive.
- Brown, Green, Orange, or Pink Lines: If you are taking the CTA's Brown, Green, Orange, or Pink lines, you can exit at any of the elevated stops along Wabash Avenue and walk east to Columbus Drive.
- Metra: If you are coming in on Metra to Union Station or Ogilvie Transportation Center, you can walk seven blocks east to Columbus Drive. If you are riding Metra to LaSalle Street Station, you can walk five blocks east to Columbus Drive. If you are riding Metra to Millennium Station, you can walk south on Michigan Avenue to Monroe Street, Jackson Drive, Ida B. Wells Drive, or Balbo Drive and then east to Columbus Drive.
- 43rd Ward Alderman Timmy Knudsen will cover your Lyft ride in an effort to encourage his "Drink Safe, Spend Local" campaign. Knudsen is offering Lyft credits for rides taken to and from the 43rd Ward on Saturday, March 15th, from Noon - to 10 p.m. Flyers with the promotion will be spread out throughout the 43rd Ward ahead of the weekend festivities.
- Driving: If you are driving downtown, the Grant Park and Millennium Park garages are the closest to the parade route. Entrances to the garages are available along Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Van Buren.
South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade route
The South Side of Chicago will celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Irish on Parade Sunday morning. The parade steps off at noon from 103rd Street and Western Avenue in the Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods.
Don't forget to wave to the CBS News Chicago team, as we'll have our own float in the parade.
The parade started in 1979 and has grown to become the largest St. Patrick's Day community-based parade outside of Dublin, Ireland.
How to get to the South Side Irish parade
The best way to get to the parade is by Metra, using the Rock Island line. You can exit along the Beverly/Morgan Park branch at 99th Street, 103rd Street, 107th Street, 111th Street, or 115th Street, and walk about one mile west from the station to Western Avenue.
You can also take the CTA Red Line to the 95th Street terminal, and then hop on a #95 or #103 CTA bus to head west to Western Avenue.
If you need to drive, you'll need to get to Interstate 57, and exit at either Halsted Street or 111th Street, and make your way west to Western Avenue. Parking restrictions in the area begin at 8 a.m. and will remain until 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, but anyone parking in the area that day should read signage before parking.
Expect parking restrictions on both sides of the street from 103rd to 112th Streets along Western Avenue. The staging area is located on Western Avenue from 99th to 103rd Streets and Bell to Maplewood Avenues. Street closures along the parade route as well as the staging area may begin as early as 7 a.m. The parade is expected to end at 4 p.m., the disbanding area is located on Western Avenue from 115th to 119th Streets.
Northwest Side Irish Parade route
The Northwest Side Irish Parade steps off at noon on Sunday at Onahan School, at 6634 W. Raven St. proceeding south on Neola Avenue to Northwest Highway and north to Harlem Avenue in the Norwood Park neighborhood.
Northwest Highway will be closed to vehicles at 9 a.m. Parking restrictions are in effect along the route beginning at 7 a.m. Both sides of the street on Neola, Raven, Northwest Highway, Normandy Avenue, Imlay, Neva, Palatine and Natoma along the route will be affected.
The best way to get to the parade is to hop on the CTA Blue Line and get off at the Jefferson Park stop, where you can catch a Northwest Highway (#68) bus and get off between Nagle Avenue and Harlem Avenue to walk to the parade route.
You can also take Metra's UP-Northwest Line to the Norwood Park station, and walk to the parade route from there.
