USDWhat Reagan National charges at the gate: $7 an hour, $35 a day in the garages, $25 in Economy
Drive-up parking at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) costs $7 per hour and $35 per day in the Parking 1 and Parking 2 garages, and $7 per hour and $25 per day in the Economy Lot. Reserving at least 12 hours ahead through the airport is the only way to guarantee a space and never costs more than the drive-up rate. The Economy Lot has lost roughly 40 percent of its spaces to construction of a new parking structure that runs into 2026, the cell phone lot is closed, and the terminal garages now give 60 free minutes instead. Hotel lots in Crystal City and Alexandria start at $8 per day with shuttles, and Metro's Yellow and Blue Lines stop at a station that is closer to the terminal than the airport's own lots, at $2.25 to $6.75 a ride. Rates checked September 8, 2026.
How much does it cost to park at the DCA airport?
Reagan National runs three public parking products: Parking 1 and Parking 2 at $7 per hour up to $35 per day, and the Economy Lot at $7 per hour up to $25 per day. Reserved rates start at $25 in Economy and $35 in the garages, and the airport states you will never pay more than the drive-up price when you book ahead.
All three are operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, accept cash and every major card at the exit booths, and let card users tap in and out without a ticket. The one thing the rate card hides is that the hourly meter and the daily cap meet at five hours: a five-hour stay in a garage is $35 whether you leave at hour five or hour twenty-three.
| Official DCA option | Hourly | Daily maximum | Serves | Access to the terminal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parking 1 | $7 | $35 | Terminal 1: Air Canada, Frontier, Southwest (Gates A1 to A9) | Underground walkway with moving sidewalks, about 5 to 7 minutes; garage shuttle every 5 to 10 minutes |
| Parking 2 | $7 | $35 | Terminal 2: American, Alaska, Delta, JetBlue, United (Gates B10 to E59) | Covered walkways, about 5 to 7 minutes; garage shuttle every 5 to 10 minutes |
| Economy Lot | $7 | $25 | All airlines | Shuttle every 10 minutes, roughly 10 to 15 minutes to the terminal; outdoor lot with covered bus shelters |
| Terminal garages, first 60 minutes | Free | Pickups and drop-offs | Pull a ticket; exit within 60 minutes. Minute 61 costs $14, the same as two hours | |
Capacity on the day we checked was 1,080 spaces in Parking 1, 4,889 in Parking 2 and 1,703 in Economy, with Economy 90 percent occupied on a Tuesday morning. That last number is the construction effect, and it is why the airport's own page tells drive-up customers without a reservation to consider Metrorail.
Reserving beats driving up: the 12-hour rule and the Economy Lot's missing spaces
Airport reservations must be made at least 12 hours before arrival, can be changed or cancelled free up to one hour before the entry time, and are honored even when the facility fills. With the Economy Lot down about 40 percent during construction, a reservation is the difference between a $25 space and a $35 one.
The mechanics are simple: you pay in advance by card, receive a QR code, and use any lane marked Prepaid to scan in and out. There is no minimum or maximum stay, though a car left longer than 45 days has to be registered with the parking office at 703-417-4300 or it will be treated as abandoned. For customers who did not reserve, the airport's parking page shows a live count of open spaces in each facility, and the Economy figure is the one to watch on holiday weekends.
The construction itself is a new parking structure inside the Economy Lot footprint. Until it opens, the lot that used to be the safe fallback is the one most likely to be full, which inverts the usual advice at this airport.
Off-airport lots in Crystal City and Alexandria: from $8 a day with hotel shuttles
Four hotel lots near Reagan National take advance bookings at $8 to $12.25 per day, all covered or indoor, with the two closest, the Crystal Gateway Marriott and the Westin Crystal City on Richmond Highway, under a mile from the terminal. The cheapest, the Courtyard Alexandria Pentagon South at $8, runs its shuttle every 30 minutes; the most-booked, the Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria at $8.50, has an indoor garage and a 10-minute shuttle ride.
Every lot below is covered, which the airport's Economy Lot is not. Reservations through ParkingAccess carry a $5 booking fee and can be cancelled free up to one hour before drop-off.
| Off-airport lot | From (per day) | Distance | Shuttle | Parking type | Google rating | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courtyard Alexandria Pentagon South, 4641 Kenmore Ave, Alexandria | $8.00 | 3.7 mi | Every 30 min | Covered self-park, 24-hour security, keep your keys | 3.7 on 1,141 reviews | Courtyard Pentagon South parking |
| Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria, 801 N St Asaph St, Alexandria | $8.50 | 2.3 mi | About 10-min ride | Indoor garage, EV charging | 4.0 on 1,434 | Sheraton Suites Old Town parking |
| Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Richmond Hwy, Arlington | $9.50 | 0.8 mi | Every 15 min, about 10-min ride | Covered self-park, 24-hour access | 4.2 on 1,467 | Search dates on this page |
| Westin Crystal City, 1800 Richmond Hwy, Arlington | $12.25 | 0.8 mi | Every 60 min, about 10-min ride | Indoor garage | 4.1 on 1,621 | Westin Crystal City parking |
The trade-off inside that table is shuttle frequency against price and distance. The Westin is closest and indoor but runs one shuttle an hour, so a missed bus costs 60 minutes; the Marriott next door runs four times as often for $2.75 less. The Alexandria hotels are cheaper and farther, and Old Town's Sheraton tied the Westin as the DCA lot ParkingAccess customers booked most in the last 90 days, and its guests stayed an average of nearly ten days. That pattern, long trips at the cheap indoor lot, is the use case where off-airport parking wins outright at this airport.
Original research: Metro versus parking for four Washington-area starting points
A weekday round trip on Metrorail to Reagan National costs $4.50 from Crystal City, about $6 from downtown Washington, and at most $13.50 from the far ends of the system, against $8.50 a day at the cheapest hotel lot and $25 a day in the airport's Economy Lot. Because Metro charges per trip and parking charges per day, the train is cheaper than every parking option from the second day of any trip, regardless of where you start.
Method: we applied Metro's published formula, a $2.25 base fare covering three composite miles plus $0.45 for each mile beyond that, capped at $6.75, to four typical origins, then compared the round trip with one, three and seven days of parking at the cheapest off-airport lot, the Economy Lot and the garages. Weekend and late-evening fares are flat at $2.25 to $2.50, so a Saturday departure makes the case for the train even stronger.
| Trip length | Metro round trip (Crystal City / downtown DC / outer suburbs) | Sheraton Suites Old Town at $8.50 | Economy Lot at $25 | Parking 1 or 2 at $35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 day | $4.50 / about $6 / up to $13.50 | $8.50 | $25 | $35 |
| 3 days | same, fares do not grow with trip length | $25.50 | $75 | $105 |
| 7 days | same | $59.50 | $175 | $245 |
The finding is not that nobody should park at DCA. It is that the reason to park is never price. People park here for a 5 a.m. departure that precedes the first train, for a family with a car seat and four bags, or because home is nowhere near a Yellow or Blue Line station. If none of those apply, the covered walkway from the Metro station is shorter than the walk from Parking 1.
Which garage serves your airline: Parking 1 for Terminal 1, Parking 2 for Terminal 2
Parking 1 is the garage for Air Canada, Frontier and Southwest, connected to Terminal 1 by an underground walkway, and Parking 2 is the garage for American, Alaska, Delta, JetBlue and United, connected to Terminal 2 by covered walkways. Both walks take about five to seven minutes, and a free garage shuttle circulates every 5 to 10 minutes for anyone who would rather ride.
Parking 1 has two quirks worth knowing before you pull in. Only levels 4 and 5 are open to the public, entered from the west side of the airport next to the rental car return, and the garage has a 7-foot height clearance, so a roof box or a tall van needs to call the parking office for an alternative. Rental car counters occupy Level 1 of the same building, which makes it the natural garage for anyone dropping a rental and parking a personal car in one visit.
Parking 2 is the big one, with 4,889 spaces on the day we checked against 1,080 in Parking 1, and it is the garage most travelers at DCA will use because Terminal 2 handles the five largest carriers here. If your airline is in Terminal 2 and Parking 2 shows full, the airport honors reservations regardless, which is the second reason to book the garage rather than drive up.
The 60-minute free window that replaced the cell phone lot
Reagan National's cell phone lot is closed for the Project Journey construction, and in its place the terminal garages give a free grace period of up to 60 minutes. Pull a ticket, wait in a space or meet your traveler inside at baggage claim, and exit through any express lane within the hour; minute 61 costs $14.
The airport is explicit that there is no first-hour discount once you cross the line, so a 70-minute pickup costs the same as two hours. The garages connect indoors to the terminals with moving walkways, which is what makes this workable in bad weather in a way the old outdoor cell lot never was. For a delayed inbound flight, the answer is to wait somewhere else and enter the garage once the aircraft has landed, since the 60 minutes runs from the ticket time, not the arrival time.
Reagan National Airport: 1,703 Economy spaces, 4,889 in Parking 2, and a Metro station closer than the lots
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport sits in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac from the District, with its two terminal garages attached to the terminals and the Economy Lot served by a 10-minute shuttle. The Metrorail station on the Yellow and Blue Lines is connected to the terminal by a covered walkway and, in Metro's own words, is closer to the airport than the parking lots.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority operates the airport and its parking, publishes the drive-up and reserved rates, and is building the new parking structure inside the Economy Lot that has reduced its capacity during construction. Free 24-hour assistance for a flat tire, a jump start or a lost car is available to any parking customer at 703-417-7275.
The structural fact behind every section of this page is that National's lots are expensive by airport standards while the train is at the door. At most airports the parking decision is about price; at DCA it is about whether you can get to a Yellow or Blue Line station.
When parking at Reagan National is the wrong choice
Do not park at DCA if you live within reach of a Yellow or Blue Line station, if your vehicle is taller than 7 feet and Parking 1 is your terminal's garage, or if you are counting on the Economy Lot without a reservation during the construction period.
- You can reach Metro. A round trip costs $4.50 to $13.50 and does not grow with the length of your trip. Parking starts at $8.50 a day off-airport and $25 on-airport. The only parking that beats Metro is the kind that solves a problem the train cannot: a pre-dawn departure, a car seat, or an origin with no station.
- Economy without a reservation. The lot was 90 percent occupied on an ordinary Tuesday with roughly 40 percent of its spaces gone to construction. Drive-up customers turned away pay $35 in a garage instead of $25.
- Tall vehicles at Terminal 1. Parking 1's clearance is 7 feet. Call the parking office at 703-417-4300 before you arrive rather than discovering it at the entrance.
- Stays over 45 days. Register the car with the parking office or it is treated as abandoned and removed at the owner's expense.
- Tight connections at the Westin. Its shuttle runs once an hour. For a flight that leaves within two hours of parking, the Marriott next door at 15-minute intervals is the safer $9.50.
- Pickups that run long. The garage's free window is 60 minutes from the ticket time. Minute 61 is $14.
Frequently asked questions about parking at Reagan National
How much does it cost to park at the DCA airport?
Drive-up rates are $7 per hour and $35 per day in Parking 1 and Parking 2, and $7 per hour and $25 per day in the Economy Lot. Reserving at least 12 hours ahead through the airport guarantees a space at rates starting from $25 in Economy and $35 in the garages, never more than the drive-up price.
Where is the best place to park at DCA?
For a short trip with a Terminal 2 airline, Parking 2 at $35 is a five-to-seven-minute covered walk. For anything longer, the Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria at $8.50 per day has an indoor garage and a 10-minute shuttle, and the Crystal Gateway Marriott at $9.50 sits under a mile away with a shuttle every 15 minutes.
Is it cheaper to park off site near DCA?
Yes. Hotel lots in Crystal City and Alexandria run $8 to $12.25 per day against $25 in the airport's Economy Lot and $35 in the garages, and all four bookable lots are covered or indoor, which the Economy Lot is not. Over seven days the Sheraton Suites Old Town costs $59.50 against $175 in Economy.
Is there free parking at DCA?
Only for the first 60 minutes in the terminal garages, intended for pickups and drop-offs while the cell phone lot is closed. There is no free long-term parking; minute 61 in a garage costs $14, and the cheapest paid option is the Courtyard Alexandria Pentagon South at $8 per day.
Related airport parking guides
Washington-area travelers choosing between airports should compare this page with Dulles International (IAD) parking, the Airports Authority's other airport, where the lot mix and rates differ. For the Northeast corridor, Newark Liberty (EWR) parking and LaGuardia (LGA) parking show how the Port Authority prices its garages against off-site lots.
Where the rates on this page come from
- Reagan National Airport: parking information, live availability, airline-to-garage guide and the Economy Lot construction advisory
- Reagan National Airport: Parking 1 drive-up rates, height clearance and public levels
- Reagan National Airport: Parking 2 drive-up rates
- Reagan National Airport: Economy Lot drive-up rates and 10-minute shuttle
- Reagan National Airport: the 60-minute free grace period in the terminal garages
- Reagan National official reservations: guaranteed space, never above drive-up rates, free changes up to one hour before entry
- WMATA: Yellow and Blue Line service to the Reagan National Airport station
- WMATA Tariff 49, effective July 1, 2026: Metrorail fare formula, $2.25 base and $6.75 maximum
