St. Augustine Parking: the Garage, Meters, Free Lots and Where to Park for Each Ride

Garage Rates and Where They Come From

The City of St. Augustine sets the garage rates and publishes them on its parking page. Two figures matter: a peak rate for the workday and a cheaper off-peak rate for evenings. The off-peak $5 rate does not apply during Nights of Lights and several festivals, per Visit St. Augustine.

St. Johns County residents who register at ParkStAug.com pay a reduced rate after an approval that can take up to 14 business days.

Spaces, Hours, Residents and the Monthly Pass

The Historic Downtown Parking Facility sits at 1 Cordova Street and holds 1,200 spaces. It is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, according to the City. The garage customer service line is 904-484-5160 and it answers daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Vehicles with a handicapped placard or plate park free here and at any city pay station, and the placard owner must be present.

County residents get two breaks: the $3 garage entry and a street and lot rate of $0.50 per hour through ParkStAug, against the $2.50 per hour visitors pay. The monthly pass costs $32 per month before tax. Note one conflict in the sources: the City describes the $20 charge as per vehicle per entry, while Visit St. Augustine describes it as $20 per day. Check the sign at the entrance for which applies. Visit St. Augustine says any city spot is free daily from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. and on Sunday mornings.

Meter Rates, Limits and Free Hours

City meters and pay stations cost $2.50 per hour for non-residents. Visit St. Augustine gives time limits of three hours on streets and four hours in city lots, while Florida's Historic Coast states a single 4-hour limit for city street and lot parking, so treat the street limit as three to four hours and read the signs on the block you take. Paid enforcement runs until 9 p.m. seven days a week per Visit St. Augustine.

The free windows are the part worth memorizing. Meters are free Monday to Saturday before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. On Sundays they are free before 1 p.m. and after 9 p.m. They are free all day on national holidays. Visit St. Augustine puts it more broadly as well: any city spot is free daily from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. and on Sunday mornings. Visit St. Augustine lists metered spots along the bayfront south of the Bridge of Lions.

The ParkStAug App

The ParkStAug app works throughout city limits on iOS and Android. It lets you add meter time remotely, which matters downtown because the three to four hour limits cut short many visits and walking back to feed a meter wastes the visit. The same app is how St. Johns County residents claim the $3 garage rate and the $0.50 per hour street rate, and resident approval can take up to 14 business days, so register well before a planned visit.

The Other Lots

Beyond the garage, five options cover most needs. The Castillo de San Marcos lot on the bayfront is run by the National Park Service and charges for parking until 9 p.m. daily. Visit St. Augustine gives the paid start as either 10 a.m. or 8 a.m. depending on the page, so arrive before those hours and no charge applies. The NPS says the city lot in front of the Castillo charges $2.50 per hour and accepts only vehicles 21 feet or shorter including trailers, larger vehicles can park free at West Castillo Drive and Riberia Street about three blocks away, and the handicapped space in the visitor lot is free for properly identified vehicles.

The Bass Lot at 30 Granada Street sits across from the Lightner Museum and is paid 24 hours a day, which makes it the natural lot for tours meeting behind the Lightner. The Old Jail at 167 San Marco Avenue offers free onsite parking for visitors, and it is the same address the trolley uses as its main boarding point. The 3 Riberia Street lot handles big vehicles: RVs park free there from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., overnight costs $35 plus tax with no camping or sleeping, and Florida's Historic Coast lists about 20 motorcoach spaces with no transport to the historic district. Parking at the Mission Nombre de Dios takes the Passport Parking app and no cash. Visit St. Augustine notes private lots are always paid with no free option, and parking at Anastasia State Park on the island side is covered by the entrance fee of $8 per vehicle of up to eight people.

Fines and Resident Zones

Illegal parking fines rose from $35 to $100 in the historic downtown core bounded by Old Mission Avenue, South Street, the Matanzas River and the San Sebastian River, per JaxToday. The increase covers yellow curbs, fire hydrants, loading zones and blocked driveways. Expired meters were excluded, so an overstay at a meter is not covered by the increase.

In residential areas a tag is required except before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m., per Visit St. Augustine. The Parking Division answers at (904) 825-1090 Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Free Hours That Count

Three free windows do most of the work. Meters are free after 9 p.m. every night, which fits a dinner and a walk through the lit plaza. They are free Sunday mornings until 1 p.m. and free on national holidays.

Any city spot is free daily from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. per Visit St. Augustine. Outside those windows, genuine free parking downtown is thin: Visit St. Augustine says private lots are always paid, the Bass Lot is paid around the clock, and the garage charges for every entry. The two real exceptions are the Old Jail lot at 167 San Marco Avenue, free for its visitors, and the marina lot on Riberia Street used by one cart tour.

The STAR Circulator

The STAR Circulator is a free downtown bus operated by Old Town Trolley and funded by the Florida Department of Transportation. Visit St. Augustine describes it as running daily 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., while the City lists Sunday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., and JaxToday reports that from October 1 an expansion to Anastasia Island and St. Augustine Beach adds 15 stops including the Alligator Farm, St. Augustine Beach City Hall and Embassy Suites near the Ocean Pier, with shuttles leaving the Visitor Information Center from 9 a.m. and pickups every 30 minutes, funded through the end of 2029. Florida's Historic Coast lists the downtown loop at roughly every 15 minutes, with stops at the Visitor Information Center, 14 Avenida Menendez along the bayfront and Cathedral Place between St. George and Cordova.

The contact number is 904-795-7827. Park free or cheap at a distant stop and the bus covers the walk.

A Tour With the Parking Built In

One ride removes the parking problem entirely. The Historical Tour, Free Parking from Pineapple Ride & Tour costs $48 per person for a narrated hour in an open-sided electric vehicle carrying up to 10. It meets at 134 Riberia Street at San Sebastian Marina, between The Ice Plant and Fish Camp restaurants, and riders park free all day in the center gravel lot and meet at the red push-cart. If you prefer a carriage, both the Carriage History Tour and the Carriage Ghost Tour cost $175 per carriage and meet at Cathedral Place and Charlotte Street.

Garage Prices on Shuttle Days

During the 2025-26 season the downtown garage charged $40 for entries at or after 1 p.m. on shuttle days and $20 otherwise, per Visit St. Augustine. The off-peak $5 evening rate does not apply during Nights of Lights and several festivals, so the cheap evening entry disappears for the whole season. Visit St. Augustine says 2026-27 parking and shuttle information was not yet available on its tour page, so treat the $40 figure as last season's rule until the City publishes the new one.

Private lots near downtown run $20 to $40 depending on lot, day and time, and the City warns that parking in private lots not welcoming holiday visitors risks towing.

The Free Shuttle Lots

The city offers a free Park & Ride shuttle during Nights of Lights. In 2025-26 it ran 1 to 11 p.m. on 33 days from three lots: Broudy's Lot at 198 West King Street, the North San Marco Lot at 301 San Marco Avenue and the St. Johns County Health Department at 200 San Sebastian View. Riders were dropped at the north drive-thru lane trolley entrance of the Visitor Information Center at 10 South Castillo Drive.

The Nights of Lights Trolley at $81 per private row of up to 4 meets at 10 W Castillo Dr. On the island side the free STAR Beach Shuttle ran 5 p.m. to midnight and dropped at 201 Gerado Street east of the Bridge of Lions, with pickups that included the Alligator Farm at 999 Anastasia Boulevard, St. Augustine Beach City Hall at 2200 A1A South and Ocean Pier Park at 350 A1A Beach Boulevard. The 2026-27 lots and schedules were not yet published at the time of writing.

Resident Zones and the Fine

Resident-only parking zones apply near downtown from November 21, 2026 through January 18, 2027, and a vehicle without a resident Nights of Lights tag fines at $100. Separately, the ordinary downtown illegal parking fine rose from $35 to $100 in the core between Old Mission Avenue, South Street and the two rivers. The city suggests visiting Monday through Thursday for shorter waits, less traffic and easier parking.

Rideshare pickup on Friday and Saturday nights from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. is at Avenida Menendez near the carriage loading zones, the Plaza loading zone on Charlotte Street and the Visitor Information Center clock tower. Nights of Lights beyond parking, including the lights themselves and the rides through them, is covered in the Nights of Lights guide.

Rides and Their Nearest Parking

One ride starts at the garage itself, one brings a free all-day lot of its own, and the trolley boards where the Old Jail has free onsite parking for its visitors. Bookable prices below are the US dollar card prices for each ride.