Southwest corner of Lakewood & Donald Douglas: that’s Lot C
Lot C sits at the southwest corner of Lakewood Blvd and Donald Douglas Drive, across the street from Long Beach Airport’s Terminal 1. It’s the old on-airport “outdoor park and walk” option: you park in an open-air surface lot and walk in rather than using a shuttle. Think crosswalk, sidewalk, then terminal doors instead of circling for a closer garage space.
Historically, Lot C undercut the other on-airport options by several dollars: after June 2007 it capped around $11 per day, versus about $14 in Lot B and $17 in Lot A. Long-term parking was allowed here, so regulars doing week-long trips would stack real savings over five to seven days. If you’re parking for three nights or more, this pricing gap used to add up fast.
This lot is fully outdoors, with uncovered spaces only, so your car sits in the Long Beach sun and ocean air the whole time. The walk from the corner of Lakewood and Donald Douglas to Terminal 1 is short but exposed, roughly a few minutes curb to curb depending on signals. Pack light or roll luggage with decent wheels; you’ll be crossing an active multi-lane road instead of popping straight into the terminal from a garage elevator.
Older FlyerTalk threads show regulars picking Lot C specifically to save those extra $3–$6 per day and skipping the then-new “fancy” on-airport garage. They treated it as the budget play: walk a few hundred yards, keep the cash for a JetBlue upgrade or a drink in the terminal. If you’re price-sensitive and okay with a street crossing, that trade feels pretty reasonable.
Practical tip: build in an extra 10–15 minutes to park, lock up, wait for the Walk/Don’t Walk cycle on Lakewood, and clear Terminal 1 security, especially for early bank departures.