The weekend right after Thanksgiving 2015, we learned that there was a lighted boat parade in Mystic, Connecticut. Lighted boat parade? We had no idea what that was. We assumed it was like a regular parade with floats, except this time the floats actually floated. So, off we went to the Mystic Christmas Boat Parade.
They had a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony that was supposed to start at 6pm. Then immediately after the Christmas Tree was lit, the boat parade was supposed to begin. We left our home base in anticipation of arriving an hour early. We hit the mark. We arrived to the city limits of Mystic around 5pm.
Let me give you a tip in case you ever decide to visit Mystic, Connecticut during a festival, parade or other public event. There are basically two roads into the town from the Interstate. One is the Allyn St exit and the other is the Greenmanville Ave exit. Both of these roads are two lanes wide. I suggest you take the Greenmanville Ave exit. If you take the Allyn St exit, it will take you straight though downtown Mystic and you will experience a longer wait and more traffic jams.
We unfortunately took the Allyn St exit. It took us through the congested downtown where there was an abundance of cars, people and pets. We made it to the bridge and were about to cross when the light turned red and the draw bridge began to open up. So, we sat there for about 10 to 15 minutes while we waited for the bridge to go back down.
We noticed that everyone wanted to park near downtown or across the bridge near Cottrell St. This is where the Christmas Tree was and where the boat judging would take place. We knew, from our traveling experience, that with that much attention in one spot, parking would be difficult. So, we took a left after the bridge (away from Cottrell St) and headed down Holmes St. We went past the shops and some apartments until I saw a dimly lit side street named Bay Street. I turned down and within 100 feet I found a nice parking spot right next to the river. And it was only about a half mile from the bridge.
After parking, we walked back towards the bridge and Cottrell Street. We stopped into a cafe for some coffee and cocoa. I asked the cashier where a good place was to see the parade and she said, “behind the cafe.” The cafe butted up against the river front. We walked on down to Cottrell St to see if we wanted to watch the tree being lit. We decided against it since we planned on seeing a larger, more popular tree being lit and we wanted a good spot to watch the parade.
Here is another tip. Just north of Main St, between the S&P Oyster Company and Lis Bake Shop (the cafe we got our hot beverages and advice from), there are apartments on the west side of the road. This is the same side as the river.
If you walk between the apartments, there are walkways, you will come to a public walkway behind the apartments. It is not lit at all and there are no guard rails. However, there were hardly any people there and we were able to watch the Mystic Christmas Boat Parade with ample space around us. It was quite nice to have the room; we could see people in other spots who were really crowded. We simply stood a little back from the edge while watching so we wouldn’t end the night with a dip in the Mystic River on accident.
Around 6:30pm or so, the boats started to float our way. There were tug boats, row boats, sail boats, fishing boats and a host of others of all shapes and sizes. We saw Santa on one, the Eiffel Tower on another and a light saber battle, yep, Star Wars on yet another (watch the short vid after the pix to see it). There were a host of different themes, lighting configurations and music. The parade lasted for about 45 minutes or so.
Star Wars Light Saber Battle Boat
This was our first lighted boat parade. And it was a marvelous one. We had good parking. We had a great viewing vantage point. The climate was comfortable and we had a great time. The one thing we will do the next time we go to one is bring folding chairs. Being next to a river tends to make everything damp so sitting gives you a case of the wet butt! If you are near Mystic around Thanksgiving, check to see when they are having their Mystic Christmas Boat Parade, follow our tips and go have a great time. Safe Travels.
