St. Patrick's Day 2026: How to see the parades and Chicago River dyeing

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 Tuesday, March 17. The four annual parades are held the weekend before St. Patrick's Day. The Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade downtown and the Archer Avenue St. Patrick's Day Parade will be held on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, and the South Side Irish Parade in the Beverly/Morgan Park community and the Northwest Side Irish Parade in the Norwood Park neighborhood are 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 bright green. The best place to watch the Chicago River dyeing is along Upper Wacker Drive between State Street and Columbus Drive. The lower Riverwalk will be closed from 11 p.m. on Friday through 6 a.m. on Sunday. Bridges over the river will be closed to spectators, but the Columbus, LaSalle, and Orleans bridges will be open to cars and pedestrians.

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.

Downtown Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade

The city's downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade steps off at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, 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 start early as 8 a.m., including Columbus Drive from Roosevelt Road to Wacker Drive and east/west streets within those boundaries. Streets within the boundary of Monroe Street between Michigan Avenue and DuSable Lake Shore Drive will be closed. DuSable Lake Shore Drive or State Street can be used as an alternate route.

Entry to the parade route along Columbus 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 where all purses and bags will be checked. Coolers, alcoholic beverages, CamelBaks, and personal water bottles will not be permitted 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.
• 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. There is also parking available at the Hilton Chicago Hotel at Balbo and Michigan avenues. 

Archer Avenue St. Patrick's Day Parade

The Working Families Archer Avenue St. Patrick's Day Parade steps off at noon on Saturday in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood at Archer Avenue and Oak Park Avenue, and proceeds east to Merrimac Avenue. The parade is expected to conclude at 2 p.m.

South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade

The South Side of Chicago will celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday, March 15. The parade steps off at noon from 103rd Street and Western Avenue in the Beverly neighborhood, and marches south to 115th Street.

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.

Driving is not recommended, as parking will be extremely limited near the parade route, but 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. 

No parking will be allowed on Western Avenue from 99th Street to 119th Street beginning at 6 am. Beginning at 7 a.m., parking will be prohibited on the east side of Artesian Avenue from 103rd to 111th. There will be no parking on the west side of Claremont Avenue from 103rd to 107th. Expect other parking restrictions on side streets east and west of Western Avenue from 103rd to 112th Streets. Parking restrictions are expected to remain in place until well after the parade is expected to end at 4 p.m.

Expect traffic to be restricted on Western Avenue and surrounding side streets beginning at 9 a.m. On all east/west streets leading to Western Ave. between 103rd and 115th, expect portions of the street to be closed within 75 feet of Western Avenue or between the first alleyway and Western Avenue.

Northwest Side Irish Parade

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.