Notre Dame charges one flat price for general parking, $50 a vehicle, and the interesting decisions are all around the edges of that. Two neighboring colleges sell their own lots at $40 a car, South Bend Transpo runs a genuinely free shuttle from downtown that is open to anyone, and the South Shore Line runs game day trains with a free bus from the airport to campus, which matters for a fanbase that is national rather than local. Lots open at 8 a.m. except the Gold Lot, which opens later and later the further the kickoff moves. The trap here is not a price, it is where you buy: fans who bought resale passes found they do not arrive until the afternoon of the game.
The short answer
Cheapest way in: the Transpo Game Day Express, free and open to the public, from downtown South Bend hotels to McKenna Hall on campus. Cheapest place to leave a car: Saint Mary's College or Holy Cross College at $40, both next door to campus. Standard: $50 a vehicle in the Blue, Gold, Burke or Dorr lots. Coming from Chicago: the South Shore Line, with a free shuttle from the airport to campus. Worst plan: buying a parking pass on a resale site that is not SeatGeek, because we could not verify any free public parking here and a pass that lands at 4:30 p.m. is worth nothing at an 8 a.m. lot opening.
At $50, 13 of the 18 College stadiums we have priced cost less and 3 cost more. See every College Sports stadium ranked.
Compare every option
| Option | Cost | Walk | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| General parking, Blue, Gold, Burke and Dorr lotsStadium lot | $50 per vehicle | Varies, these are the campus lots | The standard answer, and the one most people take |
| Saint Mary's CollegeOffsite lot | $40 for cars, $80 for RVs | Adjacent campus, north across the road | Paying less than the campus rate without going far |
| Holy Cross CollegeOffsite lot | $40 for cars, $100 for campers, $250 for a bus or RV | Adjacent campus | Campers, which are priced separately here and nowhere else |
| Party Zone and Notre Dame FCUOffsite lot | Party Zone $150 for cars and $425 for a bus or RV, Notre Dame FCU $300 for a bus | Varies | Groups arriving by bus, and nobody arriving by car |
| Accessible parking, Bulla LotStadium lot | $50 per vehicle | Bulla Road, with campus shuttles running from 8 a.m. | Drivers with a state issued ADA placard or plate |
| Downtown South Bend garages plus the free shuttleOffsite lot | Garage rate on a gameday is not published, the shuttle is free | None, the Game Day Express runs to McKenna Hall on campus | Skipping campus traffic entirely, if the garage rate works out |
Every option, in detail
Stadium lot
General parking, Blue, Gold, Burke and Dorr lots
$50 per vehicleVaries, these are the campus lots /// 8 a.m. ET, except the Gold Lot
Notre Dame prices general parking at a flat $50 a vehicle across the Blue and Gold lots off Douglas Road and the Burke North, Burke South and Dorr lots off Angela Boulevard and Dorr Road. Passes come from the Murnane Family Ticket Office or the ParkMobile app, where processing fees may apply. Campus shuttles run to and from the lots from 8 a.m., and after the game they keep going at least two hours, until the lines are gone.
Heads up: The Gold Lot is the exception to the 8 a.m. opening: it does not open until 10 a.m. for a 3:30 kickoff and 1 p.m. for a 7:30 kickoff. Vehicles are capped at 7.5 feet wide and 20 feet long, and box trucks, trailers and unregistered golf carts are not allowed.
Via fightingirish.com (Notre Dame Athletics football gameday getting around page, 2025 season)
Offsite lot
Saint Mary's College
$40 for cars, $80 for RVsAdjacent campus, north across the road /// Gameday
The neighboring college sells its own lots on gamedays at $40 a car, which is $10 under Notre Dame's flat rate, and takes RVs at $80. It is the cheapest verified place to leave a car for a Notre Dame home game.
Heads up: This is a different institution with its own lots and its own rules, so Notre Dame's shuttle network and lot policies are not the ones that apply to you here.
Via fightingirish.com (Listed with its price on Notre Dame Athletics' own gameday page)
Offsite lot
Holy Cross College
$40 for cars, $100 for campers, $250 for a bus or RVAdjacent campus /// Gameday
The other neighboring college, also at $40 a car, and the only place on this list that prices a camper differently from an RV: $100 for a camper against $250 for a bus or a full RV.
Heads up: The gap between the $100 camper rate and the $250 bus and RV rate means the category your vehicle falls into is worth confirming before you drive, not after.
Via fightingirish.com (Listed with its prices on Notre Dame Athletics' own gameday page)
Offsite lot
Party Zone and Notre Dame FCU
Party Zone $150 for cars and $425 for a bus or RV, Notre Dame FCU $300 for a busVaries /// Gameday
The Party Zone is the premium end, at three times the campus car rate, and is booked separately through gamedayyourway.com or 574-318-3905. The Notre Dame Federal Credit Union lot takes buses at $300 with limited capacity.
Heads up: At $150 a car the Party Zone costs $100 more than a Notre Dame lot and $110 more than Saint Mary's. If it is the tailgate you are buying rather than the parking, that is a fair trade. If you thought you were buying parking, it is not.
Via fightingirish.com (Notre Dame Athletics football gameday getting around page, 2025 season)
Stadium lot
Accessible parking, Bulla Lot
$50 per vehicleBulla Road, with campus shuttles running from 8 a.m. /// 8 a.m. ET
Accessible parking sits in the Bulla Lot on Bulla Road at the same $50 as general parking, and requires a state issued ADA placard or license plate. Campus shuttles serve the lots from 8 a.m. and keep running at least two hours after the game.
Heads up: Notre Dame gives faculty, staff and students free ADA parking here with a valid permit, which is a different arrangement from the $50 visitors pay. Do not read one as the other.
Via fightingirish.com (Notre Dame Athletics football gameday getting around page, 2025 season)
Offsite lot
Downtown South Bend garages plus the free shuttle
Garage rate on a gameday is not published, the shuttle is freeNone, the Game Day Express runs to McKenna Hall on campus /// Shuttle runs 3 hours pre-game, last downtown departure 1 hour before kickoff
South Bend Transpo runs the Game Day Express free and open to the public on every home football Saturday, stopping at the Aloft Hotel, the Century Center and Courtyard by Marriott, the DoubleTree on Washington Street, and McKenna Hall on campus. It runs for three hours before the game and two hours after.
Heads up: The city's downtown garages are free all day on weekends, but that rule explicitly excludes special events, and a home football game is one. We could not get a published gameday garage rate, so call the city at 574-232-3843 rather than assuming free. The shuttle itself is genuinely free either way.
Via sbtranspo.com (South Bend Transpo for the shuttle, which is free and public. The downtown garage weekend rule and its special event exclusion come from the City of South Bend, and the gameday rate is not published.)
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Skip parking entirely
Notre Dame is the rare campus where a national fanbase gets a real answer: a free public shuttle from downtown hotels, and a train from Chicago with a free bus at the other end. Neither requires parking anywhere near the stadium.
Transpo Game Day Express
Free, open to the publicRuns every home football Saturday between downtown South Bend and McKenna Hall on campus, stopping at the Aloft Hotel, Century Center and Courtyard by Marriott, and the DoubleTree on Washington Street. Three hours of service before the game, with the last departure from downtown an hour before kickoff, then two hours after the game.
Via sbtranspo.com
South Shore Line game day trains
Train fare, with a free connecting shuttleThe South Shore Line runs game day service to South Bend International Airport with a free shuttle bus between the airport and campus, dropping at the IU School of Medicine building at 1234 N Notre Dame Ave. For a 3:30 kickoff, inbound trains arrive 11:38 a.m. and 2:05 p.m., with the return departing the airport at 10:43 p.m. and the campus shuttle leaving at 8:30 p.m. For a 7:30 kickoff there is an extra train 90 minutes after the game, with the campus shuttle leaving an hour after the final whistle.
Campus shuttles and rideshare
Free with your parkingShuttles run to and from the lots from 8 a.m. and continue at least two hours after the game, until the lines clear. Pickup and drop-off points include the Hesburgh Library and Joyce Center Gate 4, and the Trader Joe's lot is postgame rideshare only.
When to get there
Lots open at 8 a.m. Eastern, and the one exception matters: the Gold Lot stays shut until 10 a.m. for a 3:30 kickoff and until 1 p.m. for a 7:30 kickoff, so a Gold Lot pass and an early arrival do not go together. Kickoff times are set about a week out by television. Fans report that season parking passes go out in early August, which is also roughly when the resale market fills up. If you are riding the Game Day Express, the last departure from downtown is an hour before kickoff.
Getting out after
Notre Dame commits to running its campus shuttles for at least two hours after the game, and specifically until all the lines are gone rather than until a clock runs out, which is a more honest promise than most. The Game Day Express runs two hours after. If you came by train, the campus shuttle back to the airport leaves 8:30 p.m. after an afternoon game or an hour after the whistle for a night game, and those are the ones you cannot miss.
Tailgating rules
Tailgating happens in the campus lots, and the constraint that shapes it is the vehicle size cap: 7.5 feet wide and 20 feet long, with box trucks, trailers and unregistered golf carts not allowed at all. If your setup involves towing something, it belongs at Saint Mary's, Holy Cross or the Party Zone rather than on campus.
We could not find Notre Dame's published rules on grills, alcohol, tents or generators for the campus lots on the gameday pages we checked, and we are not going to guess at them. The three off-campus operators each set their own rules, so ask whoever sold you the space.
Questions, answered
- How much does parking cost at Notre Dame Stadium?
- Stadium lots cost $50. Cheapest way in: the Transpo Game Day Express, free and open to the public, from downtown South Bend hotels to McKenna Hall on campus. Cheapest place to leave a car: Saint Mary's College or Holy Cross College at $40, both next door to campus. Standard: $50 a vehicle in the Blue, Gold, Burke or Dorr lots. Coming from Chicago: the South Shore Line, with a free shuttle from the airport to campus. Worst plan: buying a parking pass on a resale site that is not SeatGeek, because we could not verify any free public parking here and a pass that lands at 4:30 p.m. is worth nothing at an 8 a.m. lot opening.
- Is there free parking near Notre Dame Stadium?
- There is no reliable free parking near Notre Dame Stadium. The cheapest options are listed above.
- What time should I get to a Notre Dame game?
- Lots open at 8 a.m. Eastern, and the one exception matters: the Gold Lot stays shut until 10 a.m. for a 3:30 kickoff and until 1 p.m. for a 7:30 kickoff, so a Gold Lot pass and an early arrival do not go together. Kickoff times are set about a week out by television. Fans report that season parking passes go out in early August, which is also roughly when the resale market fills up. If you are riding the Game Day Express, the last departure from downtown is an hour before kickoff.
- Can you get to Notre Dame Stadium without a car?
- Notre Dame is the rare campus where a national fanbase gets a real answer: a free public shuttle from downtown hotels, and a train from Chicago with a free bus at the other end. Neither requires parking anywhere near the stadium. Transpo Game Day Express: Free, open to the public.
The one thing that costs fans real money here is where they buy. Multiple fans reported in October 2025 that parking passes bought on StubHub do not deliver until 4:30 p.m. on gameday, which is useless when lots open at 8 a.m., and that support would not release them earlier. Fans point to SeatGeek as Notre Dame's official resale partner. Buy from the Murnane Family Ticket Office or ParkMobile if you can.
Prices here are Notre Dame's published 2025 season rates, the most recent posted when we checked in July 2026.
Saint Mary's College and Holy Cross College are separate institutions selling their own lots. Notre Dame lists their prices, which is how we can quote them, but their rules are their own.
Downtown South Bend garages are free all day on weekends except during special events, and a home game is a special event. The city did not publish a gameday rate we could find.
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.
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Dispatch Sports, “Parking at Notre Dame Stadium: Notre Dame Fighting Irish Gameday Guide.” Checked 2026-07. https://dispatchsports.com/college/notre-dame/parking
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