Going to DC, where the hell do I park?

Splitting an AirBnB with another family (I didn't pick it) for a trip to DC this spring. Turns out the AirBnB doesn't have parking. Our friends are dropping their SUV at Reagan Airport Econo Lot and taking the metro in, but I'll need access to our van for a few planned day trips during the week. We're staying across from Gallaudet University. From taking a virtual tour of the area via Google Streetview the street parking looks patchwork at best, plus a bunch of parking rules for when you can park. Again, none of this was my planning but I'm the one who has to make it work. I've never been to DC as an adult and have no idea what to expect other than a zillion other tourists and getting my hub caps stolen. Any tips on parking decks or where to stash a car?

I parked in one of these without any problems, not sure how close to your place you will find one. I am sure all locations are different, but the one I parked at was quite ok for a long weekend.

https://parking.com/washington-dc/lot/601-pa-ave-north?utm_source=Yext&utm_medium=Yext&utm_campaign=Yext-DC&start=2023-02-24T14%3A30&stop=2023-02-24T16%3A30&lot_id=34412&showListOnly=1&view=daily&sw=38.891308496070195,-77.02671956174939&ne=38.89677101892653,-77.0134248982501&facility&valet&general=&displayFullCity=0

Looks like I also parked at

lots.impark.com

This one:

I would also ask the airbnb host if they know of any options, probably the best bet here.

Slippery said:

I would also ask the airbnb host if they know of any options, probably the best bet here.

That's next step. I would have gladly kicked in some extra $$ for a place with parking even if it was further outside the city.

I doubt DC is as bad as San Francisco , but do not leave anything visible in the van , 

Smash and grabs seems to be a big problem in the big cities , 

leave your hubcaps at home ?

Good  luck........ps put an airtag in your van.......

californiamilleghia said:

I doubt DC is as bad as San Francisco , but do not leave anything visible in the van , 

Smash and grabs seems to be a big problem in the big cities , 

leave your hubcaps at home ?

Good  luck........ps put an airtag in your van.......

Yup, already planning on meth head proofing the van when it is parked. Tempted to debadge it (it's a Kia) just in case. Air tag isn't a bad idea.

I'm also tempted to just rent a van for the trip. Drive it to the DC airport, metro it to the AirBnB, ZipCar for the day trips, and rent another van from the DC airport to drive home.

The latest tactic in SF (probably others), apparently is to break the rear glass and pull the rear seat down to look into the trunk. Since most everyone now knows not to leave anything visible and tend to put stuff in the trunk.

A van might make this mute, but they will certainly want to know what is in the back (if there are no windows).

Yeah, I only know parking for during the day, not overnights. 

Uber and Lyft are good locally to get to more distant parking solutions. Heck, before I got full remote I would metro to branch Ave and take an approx $40 Lyft ride in a pinch to get home if I missed the last commuter bus of the day. But economy parking at Regan might be better than that.

Never tried it, but Google returns https://dcparking.org/overnight-parking-washington-dc/

Where are your day trips to and from? Metro is a pretty good way around so is uber. I might be able to help. 

yupididit said:

Where are your day trips to and from? Metro is a pretty good way around so is uber. I might be able to help. 

Turns out we only need to go to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center which is a good 2 hour ride on the metro, and 1 hour by car. I may roll the dice on getting a Zip Car for the day for that trip and stash the van at the airport for the whole week.

Just heard from the AirBnB host, they have not parking suggestions. Well E36 M3.

slefain said:

yupididit said:

Where are your day trips to and from? Metro is a pretty good way around so is uber. I might be able to help. 

Turns out we only need to go to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center which is a good 2 hour ride on the metro, and 1 hour by car. I may roll the dice on getting a Zip Car for the day for that trip and stash the van at the airport for the whole week.

I thought there was a shuttle to Udvar Hazy from Air&Space downtown?

edit:
Silver Line nows runs out to IAD... dunno how you get from there to Udvar Hazy, which is kinda on the other side of the airport.

We always stayed out and rode that Metro train everywhere.  Good luck.

Contact your politicians- we got invited to a breakfast to see our Senators skirt our questions. 

My congress lady gave a group of us a tour and got us into an 8am mint tour.  Do the FBI tour.  Bring a new penny to show the kids Abe Lincoln.  

Be super careful about street parking anywhere within the District.  Even if you keep the meter paid, many parking spaces become illegal parking zones during rush hour--and you WILL be ticketed.

sleepyhead the buffalo said:

slefain said:

yupididit said:

Where are your day trips to and from? Metro is a pretty good way around so is uber. I might be able to help. 

Turns out we only need to go to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center which is a good 2 hour ride on the metro, and 1 hour by car. I may roll the dice on getting a Zip Car for the day for that trip and stash the van at the airport for the whole week.

I thought there was a shuttle to Udvar Hazy from Air&Space downtown?

edit:
Silver Line nows runs out to IAD... dunno how you get from there to Udvar Hazy, which is kinda on the other side of the airport.

There is a bus from several of the silver line stops to Udvar Hazy.  See website:

https://airandspace.si.edu/visit/udvar-hazy-center/directions

There's a garage under Target on NY Avenue. It says Petco in this picture, but it's Target. Enter from 16th street.   EDIT: I deeply dislike using public transportation, but I grudgingly admit that the DC Metro is pretty decent.

Park at the Airbnb and just use the metro.

Several years back we spent a week in DC and stayed at a hotel in Alexandra across the street from a metro stop.  Did not use the car all week

My wife and I have parked at Union Station, then hopped on a train or bus to get wherever we wanted to go, except we drove to the Dulles air and space museum. Union station was the cheapest, least sketchy place I found to park for a couple days.

We'll be taking the train down early April for a long weekend with the family, which will be interesting with 2 small, excited kids.

Up in NW on Idaho ave near the police station you can park on with no permit. 

It's not near a metro, so not so convenient. You can also just find a paid garage somewhere and park. Bunch or parking apps for that. 

If it were me, I would see what the closest hotel is.  I would call that hotel or a few and find out overnight parking rates.  

I might say:  
I'll be joining one of your guests for a few nights.  I will not be the one paying for the room but I need parking, what does that cost?  I can not put the cost of parking onto her room charges, we don't want her husband to see the charge for the additional car.  Can I pay direct?  If they ask who you will be staying with then reply with, I'd rathe not say.  

I know your staying at an Airb but I'm wondering if there is a hotel close enough for you to park right there and walk back to your place?  Calling a hotel front desk will get you a conversation with someone very local who daily gets questions on the lay of the local land.   

When I went to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy museum several years ago they mentioned a shuttle from there to the Main Museum in downtown DC.  I was under the impression you can leave your car there and shuttle in and back out, leaving your car there.  There was no admission fee, but they do charge for parking.    

Taking the metro to Udvar-Hazy is double the time it would take to drive, so for that trip I think we'll use our van. There is an alley behind the AirBnB where we can park briefly and completely empty the van once we arrive, so that is good.

The Uline Arena building has a parking deck that is a 15 minute walk (or a quick Uber) from the AirBnb:

https://goo.gl/maps/GV8vuQV99bjXMU4GA

I can street park the first night we get there so we can have the van for our trip the next day to Udvar-Hazy. Once we get back from Udvar I stash the van at the Uline Arena parking deck until we leave. Yes it will be $28 a night for the parking deck but I don't have to worry about getting a ticket and only slightly less chance of getting broken into. We'll use the metro for the rest of the week. That should work....theoretically.

We survived and had a great time!

And the solution to parking was Union Station. It is open 24/7, has security, and is easy to access. Dropped off the van after hitting Udvar-Hazy, took a Lyft back to the AirBnB so I wouldn't miss dinner. For departure I just walked 15 minutes to Union Station and drove the van back to the AirBnB. No big deal. Well, it was $150 for parking, so there was that. But the van was fine, which is worth it to me.

Glad you guys had a good time!