I never park downtown anymore. I drive in to a Metro Lot (Anacostia-Green Line for us) on Saturday morning (Free on weekend just like you said), Metro in, see what I want to see, Metro out (most evenings by 11pm or so) and go home. I live in the DMV area and just got burned so many times. I've been towed once and ticketed once. AND I'M A LOCAL AND SHOULD KNOW BETTER HAHA
Recently used SpotHero to visit Georgetown for dinner (no Metro access to that neighborhood). We paid $8, lot would have been $13 --- 5pm to 1am only, no overnight.
Trip Hacks DC no problem also I know that it’s usually cheaper if you stay in Virginia because there’s less taxes I believe. Also great app is the Hilton app because it will let you book right from your phone.
Best place we used was evens hotel parking lot in rockville md just a walk across the street to the metro station but when we stayed at college park md we parked at union station and walked all over
When I worked in the District in the early-mid 1970s, I didn't drive at first; I took the stinking metro-bus. When I changed to a night shift, no busses ran after midnight so we car-pooled. There was parking in the lower levels of the government building where I worked and six of us had enough points to qualify for a spot.
That lot is Mon-Fri, 5am-7pm. I've used it a couple of times, very convenient to Air and Space, just a couple of blocks, and easy to get on and off 695 from there. They also have an early bird price of $16, if in before 9:30.
I think we'll be staying at the Gaylord this summer. Is there a video on where to park for the day only, around National mall, near the bus that goes around to monuments?
just the other day I saw a guy scratching his head, looking over his car, his side mirror was smashed and the whole left side of his car was smashed, yet another reason not to park on the street
I'll be in a camper van, which is too tall for most parking garages. I would like to spend 2 days exploring the national mall area. If I stay in an end of the line metro station am I allowed to sleep in the van overnight, in the parking lot? I could park there and ride the metro in.
My family and I are traveling out to D.C. with our Camper soon. The campground we are staying at just notified us that they are no longer running their shuttle service for 2022. Now I have to Use our 1 ton pick up truck to drive into the city. I am looking at possibly driving to Largo Town Center or Morgan Boulevard metro stations, parking there and using the Metro to get into the city. My question is dose anyone think I will be able to fit a Crew Cab Dually in the parking lot or is there another option? Thank you for any help in advance
We'll be staying in DC about a half mile SW of Dupont circle. We wont be driving around IN DC but will be driving out of DC into VA and MD for site seeing. Can you recommend a good garage close to the area we'll be staying in just in case we decide to do a week long car rental instead of daily car rentals? Thanks Rob!
Contrary to what many will say, I typically don't take Metro into town. It is great for tourists and the daily commute, but if you plan to go in on off hours and know your way around, it is much easier to drive, and can be cheaper to park as well. For weekday parking near the mall there are several garages in the Federal Center SW area that are only a few blocks away from the Air and Space Museum end of the mall. These lots generally are only open during the week, and and are not open late, but if you are doing the museums that generally shouldn't matter. For the tidal basin area there is a lot along Ohio Dr SW, basically hiding between the bridges, that is free and an easy walk to the Jefferson and Roosevelt memorials. No overnight parking there.
Be aware that many parking garages have really narrow marked spaces (to maximize the number of cars they can squeeze in) -- along with very wide concrete columns/ pillars that can easily scrape and ruin your fender if you're not very slow and cautious backing-out.
Hi, Rob. My wife and I are planning on coming in from Iowa probably next spring or summer. We're in the beginning stages of planning, so we're not sure yet. Anyway, we had the idea to go to our local airport and get a rental car that we would drive to DC, drop it at the Arlington Airport, then take the metro or Uber into our hotel. Then we do the reverse when we come back home. We figured out that if we do it that way, it'll cost us ABOUT 600 dollars between car rental fees and gas. Is that a viable option?
What about parking on the streets using Paymobile app? Is that safe? And read somewhere that parking in Ohio Dr in East Potomac park is free for visitors
Ohio Drive is free only south of Buckeye Drive, which can be quite a hike from the monuments depending how many of the closer spaces are already claimed. The Parkmobile app is fine as long as you are aware that most street parking on the Mall is time limited to 3 hours and you can not extend your time past that. Garage is best for long-term parking.
does spothero really reserve a spot at a parking garage? Also how would you pay for a parking garage if not using spothero and going on weekend when no attendants are there?
What are the chances of getting a multi-day parking stop at greenbelt lot. I see on website they only have a number of spots (15 t0 17)set up for multi-day? Can you just park anywhere even though you stay longer? We are coming into town on Friday and going home on Tuesday. Thanks for all the great advice on you channel.
Not sure honestly as I don't ever park at Greenbelt. People park in regular spots overnight but it's an "at your own risk" type situation if you choose to do that.
We have a 9:30am appointment to tour the white house this Saturday and it will be 36 deg. out so I wonder if there will be lots of traffic or not and do you think I will have a easy time finding garage parking at the Ronald Regan building if we leave Columbia MD around 8am. Im not opposed to taking the metro but i really wanted to take my back pack with waters and put our gloves and snacks in it oh and my Camera and you cant take any of that on the white house tour and theirs nowhere to leave my bag that's close to the white house. I already looked into a few options.
Parking at the Reagan building sounds like your best option. Traffic on Saturdays is usually much lighter than other days of the week but there are never any guarantees.
Trip Hacks DC everything turned out great!! I kept checking the drive time since 6am. We had a slight 3 min or 5 min delay on the drive but took about 44 min from house to parking. There was tons of empty spaces in the lot. I was surprised how central it was to everything. Extremely convenient. It was very cold out and the crowd was very different from November. From first check in to reaching the White House took about 10 maybe 15 min. Then to get into the African American museum was no wait at all. Walked right . Somehow no one checked our ticket.
Hey Rob...... Where are the Best Places for Oversized Vehicle Parking? My Family and I will becoming in April in a Cargo Van and the hotel we are staying at doesn't offer parking for vehicles over 6'. Ours is 9"6". Any recommendations would be appreciated
My recommendation is to be very careful about comparing the rates for Airbnb vs hotels. In DC, Airbnb is often more expensive when you factor in all of the Airbnb service fees, cleaning fees, etc. If you've coming very soon (ie in the next couple weeks) you'll find hotel rates at their lowest of the entire year.
And be careful about Parking sections for AirBnB. I recently went to NYC and they said Parking on Premises...which really meant street parking if you can find it. :)
Hi Rob, thank you for all your tips to W DC, do you know what is the best time of this 2021, cherry blossom will have peek blooming of this month, so we can book the ticket? Thank you Rob.
Please help..we are going to visit capital we need to know where we can park bc we will be in a sprinter van..So I dont think we can make clearance in garages. Hotel is to far away. Will Union Station meet our needs?
Capitol Visitor Center recommends Union Station if you must drive. www.visitthecapitol.gov/visit/directions-and-hours/getting-to-the-capitol Limited metered parking is available nearby. Don't park illegally on the street.
