Getting to the Chicago Pride Parade

Note: Information on this page is about an event that has passed. Information will be updated again in advance of the next Pride Parade once confirmed and available.

The 50th Annual Chicago Pride Parade takes place on Sunday, June 30, 2019 and kicks off at Montrose/Broadway at noon.

The parade route, updated a few years ago, presents new places from where you can enjoy the parade, access to the parade from a greater number of train stations (including Wilson and Sheridan), and a different set of street closures/bus reroutes that you may need to be aware of.

On this page

Tip: Buy your fare in advance

Avoid long lines at vending machines at stations near the parade and buy your fares in advance. There are multiple fare options available:

Buy at Ventra Vending Machines in 'L' stations*

Ventra Tickets are disposable tickets good for a day or a trip good for 90 days from when you purchase them and are not activated until you first use them, so you can buy these in advance. All Ventra Vending Machines can vend multiple tickets at once. There are two kinds of these disposable tickets:



If you get a 1-Day Ticket ($10) before the parade, you'll be set for the trip back afterward—they're good for unlimited rides, for one person, on CTA buses and trains for up to 24 hours from the first time you use them.

Out and about all weekend? A 3-Day Ticket ($20) is also available at airport stations and is good for unlimited rides for one person for a full 72 hours from the first time you use it.



You can also buy a Single-Ride Ticket ($3, except at O'Hare)—which includes full fare and up to two transfers you can use within two hours of when you first use the card to ride. (If using these, be sure to get two on the way, so you've got a second ticket ready for use on your way home! Ventra Tickets are good for up to 90 days from purchase and the transfer window isn't activated until you use your ticket to board/enter.)

Ventra Cards

Buy online, at retail locations or at Ventra Vending Machines in 'L' stations*

New cards cost $5 at machines, which is returned to you as value if you register within 90 days.



With a Ventra Card, you can load value (money for regular fares) or passes at vending machines. You can also load value or passes to a card you already have by using the Ventra app, online at ventrachicago.com or at more than 1,000 retailers (including drugstores and currency exchanges).



Value loaded on a Ventra Card can pay for up to 6 additional people traveling with you, even if you're using a pass for yourself. If you're also paying for children 7-11 years of age, ask for assistance in paying a children's Reduced Fare, which a bus driver or station attendant can offer to you.



Contactless Pay-as-you-go with Apple Pay, Google Pay or a contactless bankcard

Just touch your phone or bankcard to the fare reader

If you have a phone with contactless payment apps like Apple Pay or Google Pay set up, or any bankcard with the contactless payment symbol ( ), you don't need to get a card or ticket! Skip the machines and pay a Pay-as-you-go fare directly at the turnstile.



Note that the PAYG fare is $2.50 per full fare ride on bus or train (except at O'Hare), plus $0.25 for up to two transfers within two hours (paid upon first transfer). Free transfers are also available where designated, and you can use these options to pay for up to 7 people (including yourself) traveling together!

Note you may see a temporary pre-authorization hold of $5 in in your app/account when using this option, but you'll only be charged the correct fare once we reconcile the fare used with your bank.



Bikes, strollers & carts

Please note the following for parade day:

For everyone's safety and to provide additional capacity, we may require that strollers and carts be folded before boarding all CTA buses and trains .

. Bikes will be prohibited on trains on the day of the parade. Bikes will still be allowed on all CTA buses' bike racks (2 per bus).

Parade route map

Download/print this map

The new parade route begins at Montrose/Broadway, at noon, and follows Broadway south to where it meets with Halsted, continuing on Halsted south to Belmont, on Belmont east to Broadway, on Broadway south to Clark/Diversey and on Diversey east to Cannon (in Lincoln Park), where the parade disperses.

Additionally, for the queuing up of floats, Montrose will be affected between Clark and Broadway, Sunnyside between Broadway and on both Sheridan and Broadway between Montrose to Wilson.

How do I get to the parade?

With the current parade routing, which was first implemented in 2012, you can access the parade from several CTA stations, including Wilson and Sheridan. The Red and Brown Lines provide the closest service to the parade route with fast, frequent service:

From the Red Line

From the Brown Line

Lakefront bus routes, including the #146 and #151, provide convenient access from the north, the Gold Coast/North Michigan Avenue and downtown, to the areas east of the parade route.

Avoid crowded Belmont Station (Red, Brown lines) and surrounding area

The Belmont station and the area around it tends to become the most crowded on the day of the Pride Parade. We encourage you to consider avoiding this area and enjoying the parade from other parts of the route, including near Wilson and Sheridan on the Red Line. Entry to the Belmont station may be restricted to the main entrance on the south side of Belmont Avenue.

If Belmont’s platforms become crowded, we may need to temporarily halt entry to the station while we allow trains to pick up waiting passengers to make room. In previous years, crowding both at the station and outside of it has sometimes resulted in the police asking us to close the station for safety reasons. You can avoid inconveniences in the event Belmont becomes too crowded by considering using these nearby stations, instead:

Addison on the Red Line is just 1/2 mile (about a 10-minute walk) north of the Belmont station.

Wellington on the Brown Line is just 1/4 mile (about a 5-minute walk) south of the Belmont station.

Free transfer between Red and Brown Line trains is also available at Fullerton.

Will you provide extra service?

Yes—we'll be providing extra service and longer trains on the 'L' to accommodate the large numbers of people who attend the parade every year.

If possible, we encourage you to take advantage of train service due to increased local traffic near the parade route and a number of bus reroutes around it.

What buses will be rerouted due to the parade?

The following bus routes will be rerouted:

Note that this list may change and additional bus routes may be affected/rerouted, and heavy traffic around the parade may slow travel even where buses are not rerouted. Check alerts for your route before you leave, allow extra travel time and we encourage you to take trains to/from the area, where possible.

How can I get from one side of the parade route to the other?

This new routing also provides places where police officers will be available to help pedestrians cross from one side of the parade route to the other. These designated crossing locations are at the following streets that cross the parade route:

Montrose Irving Park Grace Addison Cornelia Roscoe Aldine Wellington Oakdale

Additional resources