Parking at Santa Monica costs from $12/day. Compare 6 nearby lots and garages by price, walking distance and how full each one is right now, plus metered street parking. Lot locations, rates and hours are real and geocoded. Tap a pin for driving directions.
6 lots · 2,832 spaces. Scrub the time slider for the crowd estimate.
On-street parking
1,200 metered spaces · $1.50-3/hr · Meters along Ocean Ave & Main St (pay by app). Pay by plate or ParkMobile.
Rates checked Oct 20, 2026; not confirmed: Beach Lot 1 North. Posted prices at the lot always win.
Local moves
Beach lot prices change with the season: April 1 to October 31 is summer pricing, November 1 to March 31 is lower, and holiday rates may apply.
Beach lots charge per entry. At Beach Lot 9 North the summer rate is $12 on weekdays and $15 on weekends, and the lot closes at 9 PM.
The city's Day Beach Parking Permit covers most beach lots but excludes the Pier Deck, the Annenberg Beach House and all short-term lots.
The Civic Center Structure is always open, and its daily maximum is $14 on weekdays and $5 on Saturdays and Sundays.
Parking at Santa Monica costs from $12/day. The cheapest paid lot is Beach Lot 9 North at $12-15/day.
Parking at Santa Monica is paid — there is no free beach lot. Lots start at $12/day. Arriving early or late in the day is your best bet for a spot.
Santa Monica has 6 lots within walking distance; the largest is Parking Structure 7 (900 spaces). The lots nearest the sand fill first, so the ones a block or two back usually have room. Use the live map above to compare walking distance and how full each lot is right now.
On warm, sunny weekend days the closest Santa Monica lots fill by mid-morning. Arrive before 10 AM or after 4 PM for the easiest parking, and scrub the time slider on the map above for the crowd estimate hour by hour.
Yes. At least one Santa Monica lot or the metered street parking takes mobile payment (such as ParkMobile), so you can pay by phone instead of feeding a meter. Check the signs at your lot for the app name and zone number.
More Santa Monica
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Lot locations, counts, rates and hours are real, geocoded from each address. No live space-count feed is published, so availability is estimated from typical beach crowds and today’s weather. Your location is used only in your browser to sort by distance.
Main parking at Santa Monica: Santa Monica Pier Deck ($4.25/hr, $20/day max) and Beach Lot 9 North ($12-15/day), plus street parking at $1.50-3/hr. Check today’s water, surf and UV on the conditions page.