Michigan State keeps its gameday pricing simple: $30 for a campus lot or ramp, $20 for the commuter lot at Mount Hope and Farm Lane with a shuttle included, and $20 for accessible parking with its own shuttle. Tailgating lots open at 7 a.m. for an early kickoff and 11 a.m. for a night game, so the whole day shifts with a time television sets about a week out. What fans add is about the exit rather than the entry, and they are blunt about it: getting out of the lots nearest the stadium is the worst part of the day, and the people who enjoy their evening parked further out on purpose. We could not verify any free public parking here.
The short answer
Cheapest: commuter Lot 89 at Mount Hope and Farm Lane, $20 with the shuttle included, starting two hours before kickoff. Standard: $30 at Cherry Lane, Ramp 5, Ramp 6 or the Shaw Lane ramp. Best with a wheelchair or a placard: Lot 48 at the Natural Resource Building, $20 including a shuttle that departs the northeast stadium gates. Best for RVs: Lot 203 at the MSU Pavilion, reported at $60, first come first served. Worst plan: parking as close as you can to Spartan Stadium and expecting to drive away promptly afterward.
At $20, 4 of the 18 College stadiums we have priced cost less and 13 cost more. See every College Sports stadium ranked.
Compare every option
| Option | Cost | Walk | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commuter Lot 89, Mount Hope and Farm LaneStadium lot | $20, shuttle included | None, the shuttle runs to the stadium | Paying the least and skipping the worst of the traffic |
| Campus lots and rampsStadium lot | $30 | Varies, the Shaw Lane and Red Cedar ramps are the closer ones | Tailgating on campus, which is what the extra $10 buys |
| Accessible parking, Lot 48Stadium lot | $20, shuttle included | Shuttle departs from the northeast stadium gates | Drivers who need accessible parking, at the cheapest rate on campus |
| East Lansing city rampsOffsite lot | Special football day rates, not published as a single figure | From downtown East Lansing onto campus | Making lunch part of the plan and walking in |
| RV parking, Lot 203 at the MSU PavilionStadium lot | Reported at $60, first come first served | At the MSU Pavilion, off the main campus core | RVs, which have one published option here |
| Season parking passStadium lot | Reported at $280 for the seven home games | Depends on the lot assigned | Season ticket holders, and nobody buying one game |
Every option, in detail
Stadium lot
Commuter Lot 89, Mount Hope and Farm Lane
$20, shuttle includedNone, the shuttle runs to the stadium /// Shuttle starts 2 hours before kickoff
The commuter lot on the south side of campus is $20 with a shuttle included in the price, running from two hours before kickoff and continuing a reasonable while after the game. It is $10 under every campus lot and it puts you outside the ring of traffic rather than inside it.
Heads up: The shuttle starts two hours out rather than when the tailgating lots open, so if you want to be on campus at 7 a.m. this is not the way in. Fans note the return shuttle is busy after the game like every shuttle at every stadium.
Via lansing.org (Greater Lansing visitor bureau gameday guide, updated July 2026. Fans in September 2023 described the same lot at the same price with a free bus, which is the earliest report we found of it.)
Stadium lot
Campus lots and ramps
$30Varies, the Shaw Lane and Red Cedar ramps are the closer ones /// 7 a.m. for noon to 4 p.m. kickoffs, 11 a.m. for 6 p.m. and later
Four campus options sit at $30: Cherry Lane at the southeast corner of Harrison and Wilson, Ramp 5 at Red Cedar Lane and Trowbridge Road, the Ramp 6 Grand River ramp, and the Shaw Lane ramp east of the Abrams Planetarium. The tailgating lots open with the kickoff-dependent schedule, so an early kick means a 7 a.m. start and a night game means 11 a.m.
Heads up: Fans are consistent that the close lots are the slow exit. One who parked at the Wharton Center specifically described exiting to Wilson and out via Hagadorn as the reason the traffic was tolerable, which is a route choice rather than luck. Another put it plainly: getting out after a game is hell, so park off campus and walk.
Via lansing.org (Greater Lansing visitor bureau gameday guide, updated July 2026, for the lots, prices and opening times. The exit routes and the advice to park further out are fan reports from September 2023.)
Stadium lot
Accessible parking, Lot 48
$20, shuttle includedShuttle departs from the northeast stadium gates /// Shuttle on the same schedule as Lot 89
Lot 48 at the Natural Resource Building is Michigan State's accessible gameday parking at $20, with a shuttle included that runs to the stadium and departs from the northeast gates afterward. It is priced the same as the commuter lot rather than at a premium, which is not true everywhere.
Heads up: We could not confirm from MSU itself whether a state issued placard or plate is required and what documentation is checked at the gate, so confirm before you drive if that matters to your day.
Via lansing.org (Greater Lansing visitor bureau gameday guide, updated July 2026. MSU's own pages did not publish the accessible parking requirements where we could read them.)
Offsite lot
East Lansing city ramps
Special football day rates, not published as a single figureFrom downtown East Lansing onto campus /// Ramp hours
The city of East Lansing sets special football day rates at its ramps and surface lots and publishes real-time availability, which is more than most college towns do. Fans recommend it as the off-campus play: park in a city ramp, eat downtown, walk onto campus with the crowd, and skip the campus exit entirely.
Heads up: The city does not publish one gameday rate we could quote, so check availability and price before you commit. Fans naming specific ramps were describing the 2023 season, and downtown ramps change.
Via lansing.org (Greater Lansing visitor bureau gameday guide, updated July 2026, for the special rates and real-time availability. Specific ramp recommendations are fan reports from September 2023.)
Stadium lot
RV parking, Lot 203 at the MSU Pavilion
Reported at $60, first come first servedAt the MSU Pavilion, off the main campus core /// First come first served on gameday
Michigan State puts RV parking at Lot 203 by the MSU Pavilion on a first come first served basis rather than by reservation.
Heads up: We could not verify the $60 rate on an MSU page we could read, and first come first served with no reservation means arriving early is the whole plan. Confirm with MSU before towing anything to East Lansing.
Reported by fans, with no official page confirming it. Fan report and secondary coverage naming Lot 203 and the $60 rate. We could not confirm the price or the arrival rules on any Michigan State page.
Stadium lot
Season parking pass
Reported at $280 for the seven home gamesDepends on the lot assigned /// Sold in advance to season ticket members
Michigan State sells season parking to season ticket members, reported at $280 for a seven game home schedule, which works out to $40 a game and is more than the $30 day rate.
Heads up: We could not confirm this price on an MSU page. If you are coming to one game, this is not your product anyway.
Reported by fans, with no official page confirming it. Secondary coverage of MSU season ticket and parking pricing. Not confirmed on a Michigan State page we could read, and flagged rather than treated as a rate.
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Skip parking entirely
Michigan State bundles the shuttle into the two cheapest parking options rather than selling it separately, so the way to skip traffic here is a parking choice rather than a transit ticket.
Lot 89 shuttle
Included in the $20 parkingRuns between the commuter lot at Mount Hope and Farm Lane and the stadium, starting two hours before kickoff and continuing a reasonable time after the game.
Via lansing.org
Accessible shuttle from Lot 48
Included in the $20 parkingRuns on the same schedule as the commuter shuttle and departs from the northeast stadium gates after the game.
Via lansing.org
Gameday text alerts
FreeMSU Police and Public Safety run a gameday text service covering traffic, parking, delays and safety. For the 2026 season, text SPARTANFB26 to 888777. The code changes each season, which is worth knowing if you saved the old one.
Via lansing.org
Walking from downtown East Lansing
FreeSeveral hotels sit within walking distance of the stadium, including the Graduate East Lansing, SpringHill Suites, the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, and the East Lansing Marriott at University Place. If you are staying at one of them, driving on gameday is the wrong move.
Via lansing.org
When to get there
The tailgating lots open on a schedule that moves with kickoff: 7 a.m. for a noon to 4 p.m. start and 11 a.m. for 6 p.m. and later. Television sets that time about a week out, so check before you plan a morning. The commuter shuttle from Lot 89 starts two hours before kickoff, which is later than the lots open, so those two plans are not interchangeable. On the biggest weekends MSU closes the stadium lots the night before and restricts the rest of campus to event passes from early afternoon, so a normal campus permit stops working on gameday.
Getting out after
Fans are more direct about this than the official pages are. One who drove in from out of town was told to find public parking off campus and walk because getting out after a game is genuinely bad. Another who parked at the Wharton Center described the specific escape route, out to Wilson and across to Hagadorn back to the highway, as the reason it went smoothly. The pattern is the same one that shows up at every large campus: the $10 you save at the commuter lot also buys you a faster drive home.
Tailgating rules
Tailgating is the reason the campus lots cost more than the commuter lot, and the lots open early enough to make a day of it: 7 a.m. for an early kickoff, 11 a.m. for a night game. The Munn tailgate area and MSU's own gameday programming sit alongside the lot scene.
We could not find Michigan State's published rules on grills, alcohol, tents or generators for the 2026 season on the pages we could read, and we are not going to guess at them. MSU also partners with a commercial operator for full-service tailgates, which is a different product with its own rules.
Via lansing.org
Questions, answered
- How much does parking cost at Spartan Stadium?
- Stadium lots run $20 to $280. Cheapest: commuter Lot 89 at Mount Hope and Farm Lane, $20 with the shuttle included, starting two hours before kickoff. Standard: $30 at Cherry Lane, Ramp 5, Ramp 6 or the Shaw Lane ramp. Best with a wheelchair or a placard: Lot 48 at the Natural Resource Building, $20 including a shuttle that departs the northeast stadium gates. Best for RVs: Lot 203 at the MSU Pavilion, reported at $60, first come first served. Worst plan: parking as close as you can to Spartan Stadium and expecting to drive away promptly afterward.
- Is there free parking near Spartan Stadium?
- There is no reliable free parking near Spartan Stadium. The cheapest options are listed above.
- What time should I get to a Michigan State game?
- The tailgating lots open on a schedule that moves with kickoff: 7 a.m. for a noon to 4 p.m. start and 11 a.m. for 6 p.m. and later. Television sets that time about a week out, so check before you plan a morning. The commuter shuttle from Lot 89 starts two hours before kickoff, which is later than the lots open, so those two plans are not interchangeable. On the biggest weekends MSU closes the stadium lots the night before and restricts the rest of campus to event passes from early afternoon, so a normal campus permit stops working on gameday.
- Can you get to Spartan Stadium without a car?
- Michigan State bundles the shuttle into the two cheapest parking options rather than selling it separately, so the way to skip traffic here is a parking choice rather than a transit ticket. Lot 89 shuttle: Included in the $20 parking.
Lot and shuttle prices here come from the Greater Lansing visitor bureau's gameday guide, updated July 2026, which is the most current source we could read. Michigan State's own athletics pages publish game-specific notices rather than a standing rate card.
The RV and season pass figures are the weakest on this page. Both come from secondary coverage rather than an MSU page, and both are labeled that way.
The gameday text alert code changes every season. It is SPARTANFB26 for 2026, and the previous year's code will not work.
On some gamedays MSU closes the stadium-adjacent lots the night before and restricts the remaining campus lots to event parking from early afternoon. A faculty, staff or student permit stops covering you at that point.
Sourced from the stadium, the city, local outlets, and fans who park here every week. Checked July 2026, and we recheck three times a year. Prices and lot rules change, so every claim above either links where it came from or says plainly that it is fan-reported and unconfirmed. Click through before you build your day around one spot.
/// Know something we do not?
Prices change and lots come and go. If something on this page is wrong, or we missed a lot, tell us.
A person reads every one. You will not get an automatic reply, and we do not change the page until we can verify it ourselves.
Citing this guide
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Dispatch Sports, “Parking at Spartan Stadium: Michigan State Spartans Gameday Guide.” Checked 2026-07. https://dispatchsports.com/college/michigan-state/parking
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