{"id":1102,"date":"2026-06-13T15:20:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/?p=1102"},"modified":"2026-06-13T15:20:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:20:19","slug":"chicago-boat-company-named-best-chicago-river-adventure-in-cs-magazines-2026-best-of-travel-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/chicago-boat-company-named-best-chicago-river-adventure-in-cs-magazines-2026-best-of-travel-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Boat Company Named \u201cBest Chicago River Adventure\u201d in CS Magazine\u2019s 2026 Best of Travel Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s something special about seeing Chicago from the water.

Maybe it\u2019s the way the city slows down once you leave the dock. Maybe it\u2019s the mix of skyline views, music, food, drinks, and good company. Or maybe it\u2019s simply that cruising the Chicago River turns an ordinary afternoon into something people remember long after summer ends.

This year, Chicago Boat Company was honored to be named \u201cBest Chicago River Adventure<\/a><\/strong><\/em>\u201d in CS Magazine\u2019s 2026 Best of Travel Awards, and we could not be more grateful.

Over the years, we\u2019ve watched guests celebrate just about every occasion imaginable on the river. Birthday parties, proposals, corporate outings, graduations, anniversaries, first dates, family reunions, and spontaneous weekend plans have all found their way onto our boats. No two cruises are ever exactly the same, and that\u2019s part of what makes this experience so unique.

What started with electric boats on the Chicago River has continued to grow into something much larger. Today, Chicago Boat Company offers a variety of ways to experience the city from the water, from laid-back Duffy boat cruises to Cycleboats and group outings designed for every kind of celebration.

One of the best parts of being on the river is that there\u2019s no \u201cright<\/em>\u201d way to do it. Some groups bring full charcuterie spreads and playlists prepared weeks in advance. Others just hop aboard with a few drinks and let the city do the rest. Whether you\u2019re planning a corporate team outing or simply looking for a different way to spend a summer evening in Chicago, the experience becomes your own the moment you leave the dock.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the people behind the scenes. Our dock staff, captains, management teams, and operations crew work every day to create smooth, memorable experiences for guests throughout the season. Their hard work is what keeps everything moving from busy weekends to sunset cruises and everything in between.

Most importantly, thank you to every guest who has chosen to cruise with us over the years. Your celebrations, traditions, and memories are what continue to make the Chicago River such an exciting place to be.

As we head further into the 2026 season, we\u2019re excited to keep welcoming both first-time cruisers and returning guests back onto the water.

We\u2019ll see you on the river.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s something special about seeing Chicago from the water. Maybe it\u2019s the way the city slows down once you leave the dock. Maybe it\u2019s the mix of skyline views, music, food, drinks, and good company. Or maybe it\u2019s simply that cruising the Chicago River turns an ordinary afternoon into something people remember long after summer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[124,26,4,31,5,6,10,171,65,25,196,188,195],"class_list":["post-1102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bachelor-party","tag-boats","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-river","tag-chicago-riverwalk","tag-chicago-summer","tag-chicagoland","tag-cycleboats","tag-duffy-boats","tag-eco-friendly","tag-pontoon-boats-chicago","tag-summer-2026","tag-things-to-do-chicago"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1102"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1113,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1102\/revisions\/1113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoboatcompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}