Value Parking

Save about $7/day vs T1 Daily by using Value at T2

Value Parking sits in the Orange and Purple ramps at Terminal 2, with a posted $19 daily maximum versus roughly $26 in the main Terminal 1 ramps. It’s on-airport, long-stay parking, and the free light rail runs between Terminal 2 and Terminal 1, so you trade a direct ramp-to-terminal walk for a short train hop and a lower bill.

Rates run about $5 for the first hour, then $3 each additional hour, capped at $19 for 24 hours in the Value ramps. That pricing is why frequent flyers call it the “budget on-airport” play for trips longer than a couple of days. You still park in a structured ramp, not an offsite lot off Highway 5 or a hotel surface lot.

The walk from your car in Orange or Purple to the Terminal 2 station runs around 5 minutes under cover, and the light rail ride to Terminal 1 is another 5 minutes end to end. During very early morning departures, locals report the trains spread out a bit, so they pad an extra 10–15 minutes into their schedule if they’re flying out of Terminal 1.

Regular MSP flyers often check the airport’s online ramp occupancy and head straight to Terminal 2 if Orange/Purple shows green. They’ll park in Value for a week-long trip from Terminal 1, accept the light rail transfer as part of the return routine, and still come out ahead versus paying the higher T1 Daily rate every one of those 7 days.

Watch out for deep-winter days when wind chills drop well below 0°F; several travelers mention the short exposed stretch between the ramp and light rail can feel rough if you’re in sneakers and a hoodie. If you’re wrangling strollers, ski bags, or three checked suitcases, that extra transfer step can feel like more work than just pulling straight into a Terminal 1 ramp.

Pro tip: Flying Delta or another Terminal 1 airline for more than 48 hours? Park in Value at Terminal 2, add 20 minutes for the train connection each way, and treat the savings like an automatic upgrade fund.