Parking Garage

Three-minute covered walk to the Main Terminal, $22 per day

The Parking Garage at TYS is the closest self-park option to the Main Terminal, with about a 3-minute walk from your car to check-in. Daily max runs $22, and short-term is metered at $1 per 20 minutes until you hit that cap. This is the pay-more, walk-less choice for flights out of McGhee Tyson.

The garage sits directly across from the terminal doors, so in heavy rain or a 5:30 a.m. departure, you skip shuttles and long crosswalks. Airport info pegs it as the closest lot to the terminal building, which matches frequent flyer reviews that call it their go-to in bad weather or on tight schedules. If you value staying dry and shaving 5–10 minutes off your airport routine, this is the spot.

Rates are simple but steep for TYS: $1 per 20 minutes, topping at $22 per day, which stacks up quickly on a 7-day trip. Parking comparison sites flag this as the priciest on-airport self-park, more than Terminal Lots A/B and economy. Several reviewers say they only swallow the garage rate on overnight or weekend runs.

There’s a posted height clearance of 7′ 2″, so standard SUVs usually fit, but taller vans, lifted trucks, or roof boxes might not. If your vehicle pushes that height, measure before you leave or plan to divert to a surface lot. Everything here is uncovered at the edges but fully under-roof on the main decks, which helps in summer heat and winter ice.

Regulars treat the garage as a “short-trip, bad-weather, late-arrival” tool and use cheaper Terminal or economy lots for week-long vacations. If your return is after 10 p.m. or in a thunderstorm, paying the garage premium once can feel worth it when you’re rolling a bag to the car in under 3 minutes. Tip: set a calendar reminder with your daily rate and return date so the total bill doesn’t surprise you.