Chicago Street Parking
From the Magnificent Mile to deep dish pizza, Downtown Chicago has no shortage of things to do! Finding a parking spot in downtown Chicago can get expensive. The good news is you can get free street parking or affordable parking near downtown Chicago. It’s close to public transit that will take you straight into the Loop.
Here’s what you need to know about free parking and affordable parking near Downtown Chicago:
1) Free Street Parking Near Downtown Chicago
Yes – It’s true! There is actually free parking near Downtown Chicago. Within the Fulton River District (20-minute walk from downtown) there are dozens of free parking spots. The SpotHero street team recently explored the area a bit more and have developed this extensive description of the free parking.
Let’s start with a bird’s eye view of the free parking location.
Free Parking in the West Loop
Below are three maps with more specifics on where you can find free parking.
Need more of a visual? At the street level, here’s where you can find free parking near Downtown Chicago in the West Loop:
We start with the corner of Kenzie and Union, looking west.Here there is free parking starting on the North side of Union street and extending west all the way until you hit the underpass of 90/94.
Continuing west down Kinzie the free parking picks back up on the south side of the street starting just west of Green street.
We arrive next to the intersection of Kinzie and Peoria. Here there is free parking starting west of the intersection on the north side of Kinzie.
There is also free parking on the east and west side of Peoria going north until you reach Hubbard street.
We continue again west down Kinzie. Similar to Peoria street is Sangamon. Here you can park for free on both the east and west sides north of Kinzie and south of Hubbard street. West of Sangamon on Kinzie street you can park for free on the north side of the street until you hit Morgan street.
Going north on Morgan street from Kinzie you can find free parking on the east side of the street until you hit Hubbard. Looking west from the Morgan/Kinzie intersection there is free parking on the south side of Kinzie until you reach Carpenter street. The free parking then switches from the south side to the north side after you pass Carpenter. Now, for the most glorious free parking of them all; looking west on the corner of Kinzie and Aberdeen there are very nice, newly paved parking spaces. You read it correctly, “spaces”. This is not curb side parking, but beautifully painted lines with room for your cars to breath! (Photo) Also similar to the other north south streets on this free parking guide, Aberdeen has free parking north of Kinzie on both sides of the street until you reach Hubbard.
2) Parking Reservations Near Downtown Chicago
There’s actually an easier way to find parking near Downtown Chicago than hoping for free street parking. You can reserve parking near downtown Chicago in the West Loop with SpotHero. SpotHero is a parking reservation app that lets you reserve spots in advance in lots and garages, which is often a discount price to the drive-up rate.
By reserving in the West Loop, you are close enough to Downtown Chicago to walk or take the L train. But you’ll also save a ton of money on parking in the process. Parking in Downtown Chicago’s Loop neighborhood is often double what you’ll pay in the West Loop.
Below are four convenient locations for discount parking near downtown Chicago with each of these spots being a 10-20 minute walk to downtown.
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| Lot/Garage Address | Rate Starting At | Reserve Online |
| 331 N Green St – Lot | $4 | Book Now! |
| 737 W Washington Blvd – Garage | $8 | Book Now! |
| 922 W Washington Blvd – Garage | $8 | Book Now! |
| 765 W Adams St – Garage | $10 | Book Now! |
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If you don’t want to walk to the Loop once you park your car, there are plenty of public transit options. Here are a few convenient public transit options below:
West Loop Parking Spot Public Transit To Loop:
Green Line and Pink Line from Clinton
Time: Every 10 minutes
Brown Line from Quincy & Wells
Time: Every 8 Minutes
Blue Line from Clinton
Time: Every 10 minutes
CTA Bus Stop at Jackson & Desplaines
Time: Every 15 minutes
Loop Public Transit to West Loop Parking Spot:
Green Line from Adams & Wabash
Time: Every 10 Min
Blue Line from Jackson
Time: Every 8 Min
CTA Bus Stop at Michigan & Jackson
Time: Every 12 min
CTA Bus Stop from Adams & Wabash
Time: Every 9 Min
CTA Bus Stop from Madison & Wabash
Time: Every 8 minutes
You can also search for more parking spots near Downtown Chicago below: