Coors Field Insider: Parking and LoDo Insider Tips

Last week, Coors Field Insider gave you the quick inside scoop as to where Coors Field is, and that delightful gimmick of the 20th row of purple seats that led to the name of our blog, Purple Row.

So you've come to Denver in interest of watching the Colorado Rockies baseball club. You have driven your automobile into the heart of LoDo, and now you're wondering where you can leave your car, as driving directly to your seat is not only infeasible, but highly implausible, given that your car cannot fit through the turnstile. Plus, if your car wants something to eat during the game, you're going to have to drop like $50 just to even begin to get enough concessiony goodness to get the car to quit complaining that it's hungry and wants to go home.

Anyhow, parking.

Given the general area of Coors Field, right in the downtown area, there is parking to be had just about everywhere. The locations and areas I'll be listing are far from the only options for parking at Coors. The areas I'll be describing are north of 20th st.

Click past the jump for a bunch of areas to park your car in.

The Obvious Choice

The Official Rockies Parking Lot is $8, and it's ginormous. It's a bit of a walk in, but if walking isn't an option, they have shuttles running all over the parking lot, so you should be alright. Downside: It's a beast getting in and out of this ginormous lot. If parking lots of this fashion aren't your thing, and you don't want to have to be in the bottleneck getting in/out, read on, as there are many ways to park in the LoDo area right off of the street.

For Those Willing To Spend And Those Unable To Walk Far

One block to the east of Coors Field houses any number of $15-$20 lots for leaving your car. For people coming from out of town who don't want to try and circumnavigate the LoDo area looking for a cheaper spot, these lots are easy to get to, usually easy to get out of, and it's really hard to get lost. I mean, come on, if you're coming from out of town, you're on vacation. It's totally worth it, especially if you have tired grumpy kids with you post game.

For Those Not Quite So Willing To Spend But Able To Walk Like 3 Blocks

If you head East a block or 3 from Coors, you can find a decent number of lots for ~$10 (sometimes $5) along Larimer and Lawrence streets. My family likes to park somewhere in the vicinity of Lawrence and 21st.

For Those Willing To Walk And Unwilling To Spend (much)

Keep going east. There's a trend forming here, if you haven't gathered. If you find your way up around Curtis St. or in that area, there's a good number of $5 lots to leave your car in. It's a bit of an obnoxious hike, but it's worth it if you're not in a hurry postgame.

For Those Willing To Traverse The Earth For Free

Get onto Market St. and head north. Keep going. Market turns into Walnut St. past Park Avenue West, keep going. Once you hit about 26th/27th, somewhere in there, keep a sharp eye on the warehouse fronts. There's oftentimes lots of free spots in that vicinity (make sure to watch the building signs), and if you can't find a storefront slot, between 27th and 28th there's this big field/vacant lot thing there and you can just pull up into the dirt shoulder and leave your car there. Downside: It's a long walk into the park. Make sure you've packed your Nike Shox. I'm a total cheapskate for a lot of games, and I'll buy my $4 Rockpile ticket and just hoof it to the RF gate.

For Those Unwilling To Drive To Coors But Willing To Spend Like $5 Apiece

Denver RTD has several Park 'n' Ride lots around the Denver Metro Area. The best one of these to choose, in my opinion, is the Broadway station, as it's right off of I-25 and Broadway, has more than adequate parking for free, and the light rail will take you from this lot to either Union Station (which is about 3 blocks south of the LF gates) or to the 16th St Mall (where you'll take the free Mall Ride to Market Street) and then walk about 4 blocks into the park, right at the Home Plate gate. Upside: No worrying about where your car is or LoDo traffic pre/postgame. Downside: Crowds waiting for the Light Rail postgame. For students, this is an awesome option, as RTD passes are subsidized by your educational institution, and this is just total gravy.

These are the main areas I've found to park my car. We've also heard rumors of parking garages across 20th that are far more affordable, but I've never really used them much. This is where I'd like the input of as many people willing to share their parking secrets as possible.

I'm actually surprised at the number of people who HAVEN'T been to Coors Field, so I'm excited to continue on this series and tell everyone about all the nifty things about attending a game at the Best Park in Baseball.