MGM National Harbor Parking Fee 2023, Valet Cost & Map

As the closest casino to Washington D.C., MGM National Harbor receives a steady influx of over six million visitors a year.

This is in addition to the millions more visiting downtown National Harbor, Tanger Outlets, and folks attending meetings at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

As you can imagine, this creates an insatiable need for parking.

Fortunately, the MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino does its part, with an enormous underground parking garage with spaces for 5,000 vehicles.

MGM National Harbor Parking Self-Parking Fee

How much does it cost to park at MGM National Harbor Hotel and Casino?

Nothing! It’s Free!

To be more specific, self-parking at MGM National Harbor is free. There is a charge for valet parking (more on that below).

The free self-parking applies to everyone: registered hotel guests, casino patrons, and just those who want to take a look around. As for parking at MGM National Harbor for concerts? That’s free too. From the parking garage, take the elevator to the casino level to get to “The Theater.”

MGM National Harbor Parking Garage Map

(The black signs point to the entrances into the self-parking garage. The red stars show you the two valet parking areas).

The casino/hotel’s massing underground parking garage is directly under the casino and has eight levels. There are seven parking lanes in each level.

There are four entrances to the self-parking garage.

Three are on the south side which is MGM National Avenue, and one on the north side (Monument Avenue).

There is another entrance on the north side that can used, however it was not open for parking as of the time of this writing.

Either way, signage out front points you to the four different self-parking garage entrances. Out in front, a number in green will tell you how many spaces are available.

Inside, the garage is well-lit and clean, with indicator lights that flash green to let you know of an open space.

Valet Parking at MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino

While self-parking at the resort is free, there is a charge to have your car or truck valet parked. Valet parking rates are as follows:

Registered hotel guests are charged for valet parking, (in addition to the resort fee), however unlike those not staying at MGM National Harbor, hotel guests have unlimited in and out privileges during their stay.

For non-hotel guests, a new valet charge will start each time they valet park.

Valet Parking Drop-Off

You’ll find two different valet drop-off and pick-up areas: a casino valet and hotel valet. The hotel valet stand is manned 24 hours a day. The Casino valet stand is open from 4 PM to midnight, Thursday – Sundays, and from 3 PM to 1 AM on Friday and Saturday nights.

Both valet areas are on the south side of the resort.

The first one will be the casino valet drop off. This is directly beneath the soaring hotel tower, and is marked by both great signage and MGM’s iconic large gold lion proudly standing guard out front.

The hotel valet is just 150 feet up the road, also marked by easy-to-follow signs.

Free Valet Parking at MGM National Harbor

In the recent past, free valet parking was offered from Sunday night to Thursday night for diners going to one of the following restaurants: Osteria Costa, Voltaggio Brothers Steak House, Ginger, and Fish by Jose Andres (which has since closed). I’m not sure if this is still available at the others, so you may want to ask your server.

Electric Charging Stations at MGM National Harbor

For you Tesla and electric car owners, there are free charging stations on each parking level. They are located close to the elevators.

Other

• If you are self-parking while driving a handicapped accessible van, MGM says to use the most southern, of the three self-parking entrances.

• Clearance for each of the four entrances into the self-park garages is seven foot even.

• In addition to the 5,000 self-parking spaces at the MGM hotel and casino, there is lots of parking available at downtown National Harbor (albeit at a price).

There are three garages downtown, with 4,200 spaces. In addition to some additional surface parking, Gaylord National Resort has 3,500 parking spaces. All of these spaces come with a charge for either each hour, or for each two-hour increments.

• We should probably enjoy the free parking at MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino while we can.

On their website, MGM Resorts has stated, “the resort will move to a paid parking model in the future,” which means, “we’ll start charging you for parking as soon as we think we can get away with it.”

MGM Resorts International was the first casino company in Las Vegas to begin charging their customers a parking fee. Rates in Sin City kick-in after the first hour of free self-parking.

Despite the backlash among tourists (and locals who frequent the Strip), the practice of paid parking at MGM properties remains in place, with parking rates even rising in subsequent years.

(By Steve Beauregard. Photos courtesy of Maryland GovPics, and Ron Cogswell via Flickr).