Green Lot Parking

$20 per day gets you DTW’s on-airport budget long-stay option

Green Lot Parking runs $20.00 per day and sits next to the DTW terminals, making it the airport’s in-house discount choice for trips of 3–10 days. You park in an open, uncovered lot, then catch the airport shuttle rather than walking into the McNamara or Evans garages. For a week-long trip, regulars on r/Detroit say it’s roughly half what you’d pay in the main decks, with the same official-airport setup and patrols.

The Green Lot shuttle loop typically runs about every 10 minutes and serves both McNamara and Evans. Riders on FlyerTalk and Reddit report leaving cars for 8–9 days without issues, with the bus usually pulling in within one cycle. When boarding at the lot, check the sign or ask the driver which terminal comes first so you don’t sit through an extra stop if you’re tight on time.

This is set up for long stay parking, not quick out-and-back trips, so build in a buffer. Local regulars say they add about 30 minutes compared with using the garages to cover shuttle waits and the possibility that your bus hits the other terminal first. If you’re on an early Delta departure out of McNamara or a tight evening return into Evans, that extra half hour keeps your check-in and TSA timing sane.

Watch out for winter conditions in the Green Lot, especially on trips in January and February. Because it’s an open-air surface lot, snow and ice can linger between rows longer than in the covered garages, and some r/Detroit users mention a slick walk from car to shuttle stop after storms. Wear real shoes, not slides, and park closer to a marked stop even if it means circling once more.

Practical move: for flights at DTW during peak mornings, aim to enter the Green Lot a full 90 minutes before boarding time, not departure time, so the shuttle plus terminal drop pattern doesn’t eat into your TSA window.