Parking at Metro stations

Hi all,

Planning on taking a day trip to DC. Since we are only 2 hours away, I thought it would be cheaper (and easier) to drive to the Metro and take it into the city.

Can anyone tell me if parking is readily available at the stations in the morning? We would be taking 95 north, so we%26#39;d probably use either the Springfield or Huntington station.

Thanks for your help!

Parking at Metro stations

No, it is NOT readily available. In fact, good luck finding one if you arrive any time after 6 in the morning if you are thinking about coming on a weekday.

If it is the weekend, then you should be OK.

Be aware, that Metro only accepts a SmarTrip card to pay for parking. You will have to purchase this hard-plastic credit card like farecard pre-loaded for $10. The card cost is $5, leaving you with $5 in fare/money available.

Parking at Metro stations

Again the situation is different depending on when you come. Parking is free on weekends and federal holidays. Otherwise you will have to deal with a SmarTrip card. http://www.wmata.com/rail/parking/

Thank you both. Any suggestions on what to do for weekdays--just try and park in DC? We%26#39;re planning on going to the Newseum again on a Friday

You could look into using the VRE (Virginia Railway Express) commuter train. They run out of Fredericksburg, so you wouldn%26#39;t need to drive any further north than that.

A lot of people are very negative about the train, saying it takes too long, but I happen to be a big fan.

I find it a nice, relaxing way to spend time with friends/family. You can eat on VRE. You can%26#39;t on Metro, so have breakfast if you want. Some of the cars are even configured with tables.

When I have friends/family come visit and want to go into D.C., we use it frequently.

Thank you jwhiteree, that%26#39;s a fabulous suggestion. Being new to VA I didn%26#39;t know that option was available. We love travelling by train as well--much better than the greyhound in the sky a/k/a flying. :)

Thanks again.

I suggest you do some follow-up research on how to use the train from Fredericksburg by doing searches in the Virginia forum. Some of the stations have parking restrictions, i.e., you need a pass to park in certain areas.

I am not familiar with the way the Fredericksburg line works, as I use the Manassas/Broad Run line.

If you don%26#39;t find the answers you need by researching the VA forum posts, put a new question there and there are several VA experts who will answer.

I cannot comment on travel via train/VRE. If you choose to drive all the way up, you could just park in a pay garage ($10 - $15) near the Newseum.

If you do drive up, note that unless you are on your way back to Richmond by 2:30 pm, you are likely going to sit in a couple hrs worth of backups, as it seems like every resident in DC, Fairfax, and Arlington combined gets on 95 South on Friday afternoon. You need 3 people to use the HOV lanes. If you can%26#39;t get on the road by then, you may as well stay, have dinner, and get on the road around 8:30, as most of the traffic will have subsided by then. You could also roll the dice that HOV will be much better and take it starting at 6 pm (HOV ends at 6 for 395/95 South).

Thanks for the traffice warning sbva65! I forgot to take into account weekend traffic.

The last time I took 395/95 South on a Friday it took us over 3 hrs to get to Fredericksburg, leaving from Shirlington, which is right off 395, at around 4:15. You really don%26#39;t want any part of 95 South on a Friday afternoon.

I parked in a metro parking lot and traveled by metro to DC but I came from the north. I also came and left on a sunday. The experience was amazing because it was cheap and simple. I chose this rather than a lot because many of the city lots are closed on sundays. i would call them (metro) and see if they can give you any idea about parking and how crowded it would be. If you decide to drive in I was able to research garages and found many that were quite reasonable,I think I just googled parking in washington dc.

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