Great news Bostonians: our beloved Swan Boats are cruising through the Public Garden pond once more! After their glorious comeback last summer, the iconic barges have returned to the pond as of Saturday, April 13 for their 147th season.
The Swan Boats were first created in 1877 by Irish immigrant and shipbuilder Robert Paget, and his family continues to operate the business nowadays. Paget found inspiration for his barges after attending the opera Lohengrin in NYC, at the end of which the hero crosses a river in a boat drawn by a swan.
Swan Boats are a Boston rite de passage and a must try if you’re in town for Boston Marathon weekend. If you don’t ride the Swan Boats through the Public Garden, did you even go to Boston?
The swan on each boat is made from either copper or fiberglass, depending on the age of the boat, and hides a paddle mechanism that is used to foot propel the boat through the water. Fully loaded, each Swan Boat weighs three tons, as they’re built on oak-framed pontoons sheathed in copper – the same construction originally used in 1877.
In 2020, for the first time in their 146-year history, the famous Swan Boats were kept out of the Public Garden lagoon due to COVID-19. Thankfully for us, the Paget family brought back this annual rite of spring last year, and it shows no signs of stopping now.
The boats operate from 10 to 4 daily. From the summer solstice on June 21, hours extend from 10 AM to 5 PM daily. The 2023 season will run through Labor Day on September 2 this year.
For more information, you can visit the Swan Boats of Boston website.