7 Reasons to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on a Family Trip to Chicago

Chicago has been named the best city in which to celebrate St. Patrick’s day for good reason. From parades and family-friendly brunches with traditional music and food to all-day bar crawls, there is something for everyone.

We lived there for over 15 years, and absolutely loved the all-out feeling throughout the city for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

There’s a saying that “in Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is Ch-Irish.” This goes for kids, too. This means St. Patrick’s Day is a perfect time for a family trip to Chicago!

Family-Friendly Things to Do in Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day

Regardless of what you choose to do on St. Patrick’s Day, plan to wear a lot of green. Whether you choose items from your wardrobe or go all out with a shamrock suit, you’ll fit right in.

Don’t be afraid to go all-out, though. The more elaborate your outfit, the more fun you’ll have. Even Little Man enjoyed fancy hats with sequins when we celebrated in the Windy City.

1. Watch the River Get Dyed Green

Chicago has been dyeing its river green since 1962. This unique tradition occurs on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day each year. It starts at 9:00 am and lasts approximately 45 minutes.

In The Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local Union 130 is solely responsible for the process. Essentially, they dump ~50 pounds of powdered dye into the water between the Columbus Street and State Street bridges.

Anywhere along the Riverwalk between those bridges is a great place to catch the action. Several different boats zoom around as the dye is dumped to mix it into the river. Don’t worry!

The dye is vegetable-based so it doesn’t harm the environment and it only lasts a few days. Get there early, though. Hundreds of thousands of people attend this free pre-St. Patrick’s Day event!

2. Ride the Chicago Water Taxi

Our favorite way to enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day river dyeing is taking a ride on the Chicago Water Taxi. It has limited stops this early in the year. However, it is an affordable way to enjoy a view of the water and the buildings.

The cost to ride is just $6/person. Kids under three and active military (with ID) ride free.

When the weather is nice, they permit riders to sit on top in the open air. In addition, there’s always room down below in an enclosed area with tables to relax.

There’s even limited seating in the lower bow area. This spot offers front-row viewing of the city view as the boat navigates the river.

3. Drink Green River

No, not the river water! That would be gross. And likely dangerous.

The dyeing of the river is so unique that it even has a bright green carbonated beverage named after it! Green River Soda pops up in local stores everywhere for a few weeks each year. It has a distinctly sweet flavor.

Little Man loves it so much that even having left Chicago several years ago, he still talks about drinking Green River on St. Patrick’s Day each year. Every visitor to Chicago must try a liter if they visit at this time of year!

4. Go to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

After the river dyeing, the city hosts a parade in Millenium Park at noon. It proceeds down Columbus Dr between Balbo and Monroe streets. The beginning of the route at Balbo is usually very crowded. We prefer to stand in the middle of the route.

This is where the crowd is a little thinner. In addition, the floats and performers aren’t bunched up, as they tend to get at the end of the route near Monroe. Anywhere between Congress Blvd and Jackson Dr are usually good spots.

Just make sure you swing by a convenience store or a carryout restaurant to grab something to eat during the parade.

Once you have a spot, you won’t want to leave for food. And kids always get hungry at the most inopportune times. Nothing ruins a parade like a hangry youngster.

5. Enjoy the Green Beer

When we were young and childless, we’d often partake in the all-day parties. These occur in pretty much every Irish pub in the city. Some of these festivities begin as early as 7:00 am!

Our favorite bar, due to location and ambiance, was Lizzie McNeil’s Irish Pub which is right on the Chicago River. Whichever bar you choose downtown, enjoy a green beer (or just take a photo with one) because everyone is Ch-Irish on St. Patrick’s Day!

There are often companies promoting various products and giving away free samples near the river. Often there are health food companies offering powders with “medical benefits” that also turn your drinks green.

We snagged a couple of samples of matcha tea from the green beer mascot to try later.

6. Hang Out at Chief O’Neill’s Pub

If a family-friendly St. Patrick’s Day party is more your speed, then Chief O’Neill’s pub is the place to be. It was voted one of the Top 10 Irish Pubs in the World!

On St. Patrick’s Day, the pub has live Irish music and dancing all day long. There’s also a tasty and extensive buffet full of Irish food, including some kid-friendly options.

It does get busy, as it’s one of the most popular spots outside downtown to go on St. Patrick’s Day. So if you go for the amazing food and ambiance, make sure you get there early.

It’s probably best to skip the river dyeing, or head straight up there afterward, in order to secure a spot. When the weather is nice, you can sit outside in their huge “beer garden” to enjoy the day.

7. Eat Some Festive Theme Food

If you wait until after the river dyeing and the water taxi ride to eat lunch, it’ll be difficult to find a spot. Most restaurants downtown will have a line out the door and long wait times.

Instead, hop on the Red or Blue Line and head to either Lincoln Park or Wicker Park. Every restaurant in the city, Irish Pub or otherwise, will have themed food on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

As I’ve written about before in this blog, we love burgers. So instead of an Irish pub, we popped into Burger Bar. Their monthly special was the Rueben Stacker burger, which was amazing.

Paired with a DIY green 312 beer (thanks to the Matcha tea samples), it was the perfect blending of Chicago and Irish. A true Ch-Irish lunch!

Getting to Chicago

If you’re visiting from somewhere in the Midwest for your family trip to Chicago, chances are you’ll be driving. Chicago is accessible by multiple interstates: 55, 57, 64, 80, 88, 90, and 94.

If you do this, keep in mind that Chicago city driving can be stressful. Drivers are assertive. Even after living there for over 16 years, I can tell you that it’s not for the faint-hearted.

But it’s doable, especially if you leave your car parked at the hotel until you leave.

It’s also possible to take the Metra trains. While their timing is unreliable, both departing and arriving, it can be a fairly budget-friendly way to travel. This is especially true if you’re willing to travel at undesirable times like 4 am on a Thursday.

A more popular way to take a family trip to Chicago, especially from outside the midwest, is by plane. There are two major airports in Chicago: Midway and O’Hare. Each is connected to the downtown loop by public transit.

The Blue Line runs downtown from O’Hare and the Orange Line runs downtown from Midway. I personally prefer to fly from Midway because the airport is smaller and easier to navigate, especially with kids in tow.

Where to Stay in Chicago

I normally recommend families stay downtown where all the action and tourist activities are. However, I do this with reservations for St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

It may seem appealing to splurge on a hotel along the Chicago River. That’s not a good idea for a family trip to Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day, though.

Hotels know they will be popular and the prices are at least triple the usual rates. Since hotels in Chicago already get rather pricey, this means a hotel room on the river could cost $400+ per night.

In addition, many people come into Chicago during this weekend for the parties. A fair number of these parties spill over into hotel rooms after the open bar parties have ended.

Instead, if you want to stay downtown get a room a few blocks from the Chicago River. Choosing hotels in the Streeterville or Gold Coast neighborhoods are also good choices.

They are close to the festivities but not so close that a raging party will ruin a mid-day baby nap or keep you up at night.

Final Thoughts on a St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago for Families

Between Green River Soda, a ride on the Water Taxi down an actual green river, a parade, and green beer it’s easy to see why planning a family trip to Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day weekend is such a good idea.

Just make sure you have some crazy green gear to wear because everything goes in Chi-Town on St. Patrick’s Day!

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