San Diego St. Patrick’s Day Parade Date, Route & Post-Parade Irish Festival

By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com San Diego Blogger

San Diego is hardly as well known as Boston, Chicago or even where I used to roam, Savannah, GA, when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day parades.

But it has one, and it is one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the USA. There’s even a post-parade festival afterward with bands, beer and a true Irish environment. Here is the date, parade route, details and everything you need to know about it.

The 2024 date is Saturday, March 16.

There’s a huge parade – organizers claim its the second biggest in the country west of Chicago – that lasts for approximately two hours on 5th and 6th Avenues in Balboa Park.  It starts at 10:30 a.m. It takes place on 5th and 6th Avenues in Balboa Park adjacent to Balboa Park. It starts at Fifth Ave., and Laurel, goes north to Upas Street, then south on Sixth Ave., and finishes at Laurel, which is the entrance to Balboa Park.

Thousands of people line up on both sides of the street for the parade The savvy ones arrive well equipped for the event; they bring food and beverages. Red plastic cups are a big part of the scene.

This is followed by a festival on the adjacent open space between Laurel and Nutmeg Streets. The full hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. It is all free to attend, even the festival.

San Diego St. Patrick’s Day Irish Festival & Party Scene

It’s always good to have a place to continue to flash you your Irish eyes after a parade. In Boston and Chicago, it’s the Irish bars.  In Savannah, it’s River Street. In San Diego, it’s the Irish Festival.

The Irish Festival San Diego is a post-parade party at a large an open space between Sixth Ave., and the Balboa Park bridge. It has bands, entertainment on two stages, crafts, Irish food and beer. Of course there’s beer. It would not be much of a St. Patrick’s Day party without beer. Its hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

This is the perfect place to meet and mingle and for you singles out there, it’s a good environment to seek out other single lads and lasses. For instance, I met the reigning Miss Emerson from the OTL tournament whom to be is a bit of a San Diego celebrity.

There is a $10 entry fee to the large beer garden and beers are $8 (you buy tokens and then present them to the beer stations). There are also dozens of the usual fair-type of fast food vendors. And bands every two hours playing Irish music.

Pros Tips: Avoid going into the festival after the parade, Do so during or after about 1:30 p.m.. There are only two entrances and it can take 30 minutes to an hour to get into it…Be sure you get in the correct ticket line for beers. I once stood for 10 minutes in a line before I realized I was in the kiddies slide line…Once you get your beer tickets, the lines for beers are long but moves along at a steady pace. It’s about a 5-minute wait. So get two.

All You Really Need To Know About The San Diego St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Here’s all you really need to know about the San Diego St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Just show up, enjoy the parade and the Irish festival and have a great time.

And if you want to keep partying, head to the Gaslamp for the annual Shamrock block party.