The 5 Best Public Parking Garages in Chicago (2024)

This one has a pretty long intro, so if you’re in a hurry just scroll down until you hit the bold text.

If you’re viewing this page on a computer, you’ve probably noticed the beautiful orange Still Need Parking link by now.

Now I’m not going to sit here and pretend those aren’t here for a reason. Websites need money to run, and we make a small portion of ours by making deals with parking garages in Chicago. Before you freak out about us selling our souls to the devil or modifying our content to fit their needs, let me assure you that we’re being perfectly transparent here. We’ve turned down offers for affiliates in the past because of bad business practices, price, consumer feedback, and generally poor management. The Chicago parking garages we choose to do business with are hand selected by our team, and we have personally visited each and every one listed on our parking page. Basically, we have pretty damn high standards.

Now I know what you’re thinking, why did it have to be public parking garages? Especially in the city where they’re all expensive as Hell. Well, we figured it would be a nice touch to offer information about parking in Chicago ontop of event info. You can read up on whatever it is you’ll be attending and reserve a spot online in one fell swoop. BLAM!

As far as the price goes, we don’t work with those that are incredibly expensive. There are a few benefits to our deals, and a cheaper price for you is one of them. By reserving a spot through our site, you’re automatically saving $2 in most cases. Also, some of the deals we list are only offered here (and yeah, those took quite a bit of persuasion on our part).

If you’re not blindly accepting my word for it without any details, that’s perfectly understandable, so we’ve compiled a “best of” list of our top 5 Chicago parking garages detailing exactly why we chose each of them. Cool? Cool. Here it is:

5) Mart Parc Orleans Chicago Parking Garage
Parking For: The Merchandise Mart, Riverwalk, Holiday Inn Mart Plaza, River North, Illinois Institute of Art, Bars and Restaurants
Location: 437 N. Orleans, Chicago, Illinois
Specials: Morning Special ($13, in by 8am & out by 7pm), Night Life Special ($10, from 3pm to 3am), Hotel Parking ($25 for 24 hours)
Spaces: 565
Reserve Online
Daily Deals

Number 5 on the list is Mart Parc Orleans, a decent-sized Chicago parking garage on the West side of River North. This one is located right next to the Merchandise Mart, and it’s one of their official parking garages (number 4 on our list is the other). This monthly parking garageis a great choice if you want to check out the newly revamped Riverwalk, which figures to be a huge attraction now that it’s beginning to take shape. Realistically, there are quite a few things to check out in the River North area, and this one could make the list on that alone. We wouldn’t short-change you like that though! The Mart Parc Orleans Chicago monthly parking garage also offers a $25 for 24 hour special, one of the cheapest rates in the city over that time period.

4) Mart Parc Wells Chicago Parking Garage
Parking For: The Merchandise Mart, Riverwalk, Holiday Inn Mart Plaza, River North, Illinois Institute of Art, Bars and Restaurants
Location: 401 N. Wells Street, Chicago, Illinois
Specials: Morning Special ($16, in by 7am & out by 7pm), Night Life Special ($10, from 3pm to 3am), Hotel Parking ($25 for 24 hours)
Spaces: 750
Reserve Online
Daily Deals

The big brother garage of Mart Parc Orleans, this location is further East, closer to the vibrant nightlife and restaurants in River North. This Chicago monthly parking garageis near almost all of the same things as the other, but it’s less of a hike to everything in central/east River North. The prices of this public parking garage are a tad bit higher, but a couple of the deals are the same.

3) South Loop Parking Garage
Parking For: Financial District, Government Buildings, Passport Office, Immigration Office, City Hall, Harold Washington Library, Chicago Board of TradeLocation: 318 S. Federal Street, Chicago, Illinois
Specials: Morning Special ($16, in by 8am & out by 7pm) & Hotel Parking ($25 for 24 hours)
Spaces: 801
Reserve Online
Daily Deals

If you have any kind of official business in Chicago, this is the go-to parking garage. It’s located near the Financial District and every major government building in the area. This Chicago parking garage is also set right in the heart of the loop, so if you’re looking for a centralized location to check out the city, this is probably it. South Loop sits at 3 on the list because its normally a bit pricier than the others, but compared to its surrounding area, the cost is near the low end.

2) Rush-Ohio Wabash ROW Chicago Parking Garage
Parking For: The Magnificent Mile, the Shops at North Bridge, Nordstrom, Eataly, Many Stores, Hotels & Restaurants
Location: 50 E. Ohio Street, Chicago, Illinois
Specials: Morning Special ($14, in by 9am & out by 7pm), Hotel Parking ($25 for 24 hours), & the AMC Theater Special ($16 for 4 hours)
Spaces: 1027
Reserve Online
Daily Deals

This Chicago parking garage is located at the intersection of Rush, Ohio & Wabash (hence the nickname, ROW). The primary reasoning behind this garage’s ranking is its Mag Mile location, size, and cheap prices. It’s easily one of the biggest public Chicago monthly parking garagesin the area, and between its deals and regular hourly rates, it’s easily one of the cheapest too. It’s right in the midst of a tremendously busy area, with the Shops at North Bridge and Eataly within eyesight from the entrance. You barely need to move to get to the Mile too, so plan out a day of shopping and take advantage of this bad boy.

1) Wabash-Randolph Self-Park Parking Garage
Parking For: Theatre District, Macy’s, Millennium Park, Daley Plaza, The Art Institute, Thompson Center, theWit Hotel, Burnham Hotel, and the Renaissance Hotel
Location: 20 E. Randolph St.
Specials: Theater Parking ($21 5pm-Midnight), Hotel Parking ($25 for 24 hours), and Early Morning ($16 in by 8:30 out by 7)
Spaces: 1124
Reserve Online
Daily Deals

Wabash – Randolph comes in as our top garage in Chicago, and with good reason. It’s located just across the street from Macy’s, and it’s right next to the Theater District & Millennium Park. The location is only a piece of the puzzle though. Wabash – Randolph also offer three different wallet-friendly specials. Among them, Theater Parking, which is just $21 for 7 hours. Best of all though is the hotel parking special, $25 for 24 hours. It’s barely more than a dollar per hour, and WAY less than you’d find anywhere else for the same deal. Yeah the other garages have this special as well, but this place is in a prime hotel spot. Wabash-Randolph is number one. Hands down.

So what do all of these garages have in common? Online reservations, $25 for 24 hours, multiple other deals, and great locations. Trust us, these are the 5 Best Places to Park in Chicago.