Parking in Boston
 

We are planning a trip to Cape Cod this summer and want to spend a day in Boston. Plans are not finalized, but I imagine we will be going to the area of the Freedom Trail.

I would like to have an idea of availability and costs for parking.

When checking for information on tours, I saw a suggestion of lot parking at Lechmere T stop for $6 a day. That sounds like a bargain, but I am not sure if it makes sense since I am not familiar with the city.

I suppose too, if we have to pay for T tickets for 5 people plus $6, it might be cheaper to pay for parking in a more convenient location if that T stop is not convenient.

Thanks

Parking in a downtown location is going to run about $30/day. My go-to place is Boston Common Garage (which is sort of a garage, but really underground - under the Boston Common). Perfect location - in case you want to return to car to drop off packages, get raincoat, etc. But you have to deal with traffic getting in and out of Boston.

If you are going to park further out and are coming from Cape Cod, I would not go to Lechmere. Instead, I would drive to Quincy and take the Red Line of MBTA in. MBTA.com gives you details of all T lots including cost and likely availability of a space.

Most MBTA lots fill early with commuters - but less so in the summer. I am less familiar with lots south of Boston, but some have private lots adjacent that cost a bit more but are an easy walk to MBTA.

So decide if you want to drive into Boston. After you pay MBTA fares, you are correct that cost is about the same. Convenience of a car as a home base versus not dealing with traffic but dealing with MBTA in summer.

Enjoy your day in Boston.

Seconding Gail.

Common Garage, entered from Charles Street, is basically at one end of the Trail.

Time is money. I see no reason unless you don't want to drive in Boston to go to a satellite train station pay for parking and pay for subway each way. Your overall savings might be $10-15. That's money worth spent to cut to the chase. Braintree or Quincy train Redline would be the logical choice if you choose to train it.

It's a pretty direct drive from the Cape into Boston. I would not advise doing it during rush hour (in or out) though, because of bad traffic (stop and go for miles, although at some point there is an HOV lane for cars with multiple passengers) even in summer. If you want an early start to your sightseeing day, do as advised and park at the Quincy T stop (frequent red line SUBWAY, not scheduled commuter TRAIN), south of the city a bit. If not, the Boston Common garage is as convenient to the Freedom Trail and as least expensive as it gets.
If you look at a map, you will see that Lechmere is IN the city (actually in Cambridge). You would have to pass through some part of the downtown area to get there from the Cape, so why do so.

Choose a day when there is not a Red Sox afternoon game

I always get the best advice here!

Boston Common Garage it will be.

Although I don't like big city traffic, we can deal with it.

And thanks for the tip about choosing a day without a Red Sox afternoon game. I wouldn't have thought to check that. So far, we were planning on T W or Th because I read that traffic in and out of the Cape is not as bad those days.

Back from checking the Red Sox site. They do have an afternoon game on one of the days that we were considering, so will eliminate that choice.

Will a night game make much difference?

If you come early in the morning, say about 10 a.m., I wouldn't worry about the Red Sox game in the afternoon. It won't affect your parking at the Boston Common Garage. It's not the most convenient nor cheapest garage for game goers. Fenway Park is on my local street route into Boston so I have to consider game traffic every time I go in that direction.

Regarding parking in a T lot, consult the availability on the website Gail gave you. If any of your group is 12 or under, they ride free. Otherwise it's $2.75 per person each way. There are two big lots in Braintree and Quincy right off Rt. 3 on your way to Boston. The Red Line brings you to Park St. which is the beginning of the Freedom Trail on Boston Common. It might be more convenient for you when leaving to go back to the Cape.

If the Common garage is full, there is a garage in Park Square behind the Park Plaza Hotel with similar rates as the Common garage. But you should be okay if you get there mid-morning. So I'd say it's a toss-up. All depends if you want to drive into town.

>>Will a night game make much difference?<<

It shouldn't affect you, assuming you're heading into town by about midmorning and your destination is the Common area. Also assuming you'll be heading out of town well before the game is over (11-ish).

If you can avoid rush hour, I agree with parking at the Common underground. It's a good location to get to the Freedom Trail, you won't save a lot of money by taking the T instead, and nonrush traffic isn't all that bad in the city. The T isn't a bad idea, but for your purposes and to maximize your time in the city for just a day, I'd park at the Common.

But do note that these days, rush "hour" lasts quite a bit longer than an out of towner might expect at both ends of the day.

Thanks everyone for the additional tips.