Stanford sells three things to the public: General Lots 7 and 8, IM South, and day-of payment at the gate for those same lots. It does not publish prices anywhere we could read, so the useful part of this page is not the money, it is the exit. Stanford fans give the most specific escape routing of any fanbase we have researched, down to which street each lot dumps you onto and which one connects to 101 without crossing the traffic. The other thing they know is that the hospital garage on Campus Drive is free, and a short walk from the stadium. Lots open five hours before kickoff.
The short answer
Free, according to fans who use it: the Roth Way garage by the hospital on Campus Drive, a modest walk from the stadium, exiting onto Quarry with little traffic. Fastest exit among the paid lots: IM South, which puts you onto Serra Street, El Camino Real and then Oregon Expressway to 101, avoiding Palm and Galvez entirely. Slowest: Lots 7 and 8, which exit onto Galvez or Palm, both closer to the stadium and busier. Without a car: Caltrain to Palo Alto and the free Marguerite shuttle. Stanford does not publish parking prices we could verify.
We could not put a number on stadium parking here, because no single-game rate is published that we could verify. That has been hard to find and we are still looking, so check back. See every College Sports stadium ranked.
Compare every option
| Option | Cost | Walk | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roth Way garage by the hospitalFree street | Free, according to fans who park there | A modest walk, or about 3 minutes on a bike | Paying nothing and leaving without drama |
| IM South, Lot 4Stadium lot | Sold as a pass or paid on site, price not published | The longer walk of the paid lots | Getting out fastest, which fans are unanimous about |
| General Lots 7 and 8Stadium lot | Sold as a pass or paid on site, price not published | Closer to the stadium than IM South | A shorter walk in, if you accept a slower drive out |
| Lot 2, El Camino GroveStadium lot | Pass holders only, price not published | Varies | Anyone tailgating seriously, or staying overnight |
| Accessible parking and the Dis-GO shuttleStadium lot | Not published | ADA shuttle covers the distance | Fans who need accessible parking, with a real shuttle behind it |
| Cardinal LotsStadium lot | Season ticket members only | The closest lots | Season ticket holders |
Every option, in detail
Free street
Roth Way garage by the hospital
Free, according to fans who park thereA modest walk, or about 3 minutes on a bike /// Garage hours
The garage on Campus Drive near the hospital, next to the Cantor arts museum, is described by a regular as free, not far to walk, and coming out onto Quarry Road with relatively little traffic hassle. One fan brings a folding bike and is at the stadium in about three minutes. Another regular calls it fast to get out but far away and a bit dead, which is a fair summary of the trade.
Heads up: We could not confirm with Stanford that this garage is free on football gamedays specifically, as opposed to on a normal weekend. Check the signage when you arrive rather than assuming, and note there is no tailgate scene here at all.
Reported by fans, with no official page confirming it. Fan reports from September 2025 describing the garage as free with an easy exit, corroborated by a second regular in the same thread. Not verified against Stanford parking rules for gamedays.
Stadium lot
IM South, Lot 4
Sold as a pass or paid on site, price not publishedThe longer walk of the paid lots /// 5 hours before kickoff
IM South is one of only two public lots that take payment at the gate rather than requiring a pass. Fans recommend it specifically for the exit: it puts you out onto Serra Street, which connects directly to El Camino Real, and from there south to Oregon Expressway and onto 101 north. One regular adds that it usually has a visiting fan tailgate or two, which the quieter garages do not.
Heads up: The tradeoff is a longer walk to the stadium than Lots 7 and 8. Fans think it is worth it, and their reasoning is about the drive home rather than the walk in.
Via gostanford.com (Stanford Athletics gameday central confirms IM South Lot 4 is public and takes day-of payment. The routing advice and the tailgate observation are fan reports from September 2025.)
Stadium lot
General Lots 7 and 8
Sold as a pass or paid on site, price not publishedCloser to the stadium than IM South /// 5 hours before kickoff
The other public option, also taking day-of payment at the gate. These sit closer to the stadium than IM South, which is the entire reason to pick them.
Heads up: Fans are specific about the cost of that proximity: Lots 7 and 8 make you exit onto either Galvez Street or Palm Drive, both closer to the stadium and both busier. If getting home quickly matters more than the walk in, this is the wrong choice.
Via gostanford.com (Stanford Athletics gameday central for the lots and the day-of payment rule. The exit street detail is a fan report from September 2025.)
Stadium lot
Lot 2, El Camino Grove
Pass holders only, price not publishedVaries /// 6 a.m. on gameday, or 3 p.m. Thursday for overnight pass holders
Lot 2 runs on its own clock. It opens at 6 a.m. on gameday for Lot 2 pass holders rather than five hours before kickoff, and overnight pass holders may arrive from 3 p.m. on the Thursday before a Saturday home game.
Heads up: This is a pass holder lot rather than a drive-up one, so it is not an option you can choose on the day. The Thursday arrival window is the earliest of any lot here by a wide margin.
Via gostanford.com (Stanford Athletics gameday central, 2025 season)
Stadium lot
Accessible parking and the Dis-GO shuttle
Not publishedADA shuttle covers the distance /// Shuttle starts 30 minutes before gates open
Stanford runs ADA shuttle service in partnership with Dis-GO on gamedays, beginning 30 minutes before the gates open, with a published map of pickup and drop-off points. Fans buying ADA parking report being offered Galvez, Track and Sunken Diamond as the lot choices.
Heads up: A fan asking which of those three to take for a fast exit was told Sunken Diamond, following the exit to El Camino Real and heading south to Oregon Expressway for 101. Galvez is the one to avoid for the same reason Lots 7 and 8 are.
Via gostanford.com (Stanford Athletics gameday central for the Dis-GO partnership and the shuttle timing. The ADA lot options and the routing advice are fan reports from September 2025 and May 2026.)
Stadium lot
Cardinal Lots
Season ticket members onlyThe closest lots /// 5 hours before kickoff
The Cardinal Lots are reserved for season ticket members and are not sold as single game parking, which is why the public choice really is just Lots 7 and 8 or IM South.
Heads up: Do not turn up at a Cardinal Lot expecting to pay at the gate. Only Lots 7, 8 and IM South accept on-site payment.
Via gostanford.com (Stanford Athletics gameday central, 2025 season)
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Skip parking entirely
Stanford sits in the middle of a dense Bay Area transit network, and its own gameday page points at five separate systems rather than running a stadium shuttle, which tells you the intended answer is to arrive by train.
Caltrain, BART, SamTrans and VTA
Standard faresStanford lists all four alongside its own Marguerite shuttle as the ways to reach a game without driving. Caltrain to Palo Alto is the obvious route for anyone coming down the peninsula from San Francisco.
Via gostanford.com
Marguerite shuttle
FreeStanford's own shuttle system, which the university lists among the gameday transit options. It is free to ride, which makes the train plus Marguerite combination the cheapest way to reach the stadium.
Via gostanford.com
Dis-GO ADA shuttle
Not publishedRuns on gamedays in partnership with Stanford, starting 30 minutes before the gates open, with its own map of pickup and drop-off points.
Via gostanford.com
When to get there
Lots open five hours before kickoff, with two exceptions that both belong to Lot 2: it opens at 6 a.m. on gameday for its own pass holders, and overnight pass holders can arrive from 3 p.m. on the Thursday before the game. Kickoff times are set about a week out by television. Fan Fest opens three hours before kickoff with free admission, which is the point at which the campus starts feeling like a gameday rather than a Saturday.
Getting out after
This is the part Stanford fans have genuinely worked out, and it is more specific than anything else in this set. IM South exits onto Serra Street, which connects directly to El Camino Real; from there head south to Oregon Expressway, also signed as Page Mill, and onto 101 north. Lots 7 and 8 push you onto Galvez Street or Palm Drive, both nearer the stadium and both busier, and Galvez simply becomes Embarcadero, so the northern route is the same traffic by another name. If you hold an ADA pass, Sunken Diamond takes the El Camino route rather than the Galvez one. The Roth Way garage exits onto Quarry Road and mostly sidesteps the whole thing.
Tailgating rules
Tailgating is permitted in the parking lots, and Stanford also sells reserved tailgate packages through a commercial partner on Maloney Field and Avery Plaza. Fan Fest runs for three hours before kickoff with free admission, which is the version you do not have to buy into.
We could not find Stanford'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. Fans note that the lot you pick decides the atmosphere as much as the rules do: IM South usually has a visiting tailgate or two, while the hospital garage is quiet and empty.
Via gostanford.com
Questions, answered
- How much does parking cost at Stanford Stadium?
- Free, according to fans who use it: the Roth Way garage by the hospital on Campus Drive, a modest walk from the stadium, exiting onto Quarry with little traffic. Fastest exit among the paid lots: IM South, which puts you onto Serra Street, El Camino Real and then Oregon Expressway to 101, avoiding Palm and Galvez entirely. Slowest: Lots 7 and 8, which exit onto Galvez or Palm, both closer to the stadium and busier. Without a car: Caltrain to Palo Alto and the free Marguerite shuttle. Stanford does not publish parking prices we could verify.
- Is there free parking near Stanford Stadium?
- Roth Way garage by the hospital: Free, according to fans who park there, A modest walk, or about 3 minutes on a bike. We could not confirm with Stanford that this garage is free on football gamedays specifically, as opposed to on a normal weekend. Check the signage when you arrive rather than assuming, and note there is no tailgate scene here at all.
- What time should I get to a Stanford game?
- Lots open five hours before kickoff, with two exceptions that both belong to Lot 2: it opens at 6 a.m. on gameday for its own pass holders, and overnight pass holders can arrive from 3 p.m. on the Thursday before the game. Kickoff times are set about a week out by television. Fan Fest opens three hours before kickoff with free admission, which is the point at which the campus starts feeling like a gameday rather than a Saturday.
- Can you get to Stanford Stadium without a car?
- Stanford sits in the middle of a dense Bay Area transit network, and its own gameday page points at five separate systems rather than running a stadium shuttle, which tells you the intended answer is to arrive by train. Caltrain, BART, SamTrans and VTA: Standard fares.
Stanford does not publish parking prices anywhere we could read. Its gameday page names the lots, the opening times and the payment rules, and routes buyers to a ticketing site where the rate appears per game.
Only three lots take payment on the day: General Lots 7 and 8 and IM South Lot 4. Everything else needs a pass bought in advance.
The free Roth Way garage is a fan-sourced find rather than something Stanford publishes as gameday parking, and we could not confirm it stays free on a football Saturday.
The exit routing on this page is the most detailed we have collected anywhere, and all of it comes from Stanford fans rather than from the university, which publishes a postgame traffic map without the street-by-street reasoning.
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
Free to quote and reference, including in articles and AI answers. We ask for credit and a link back, which is the whole license.
Dispatch Sports, “Parking at Stanford Stadium: Stanford Cardinal Gameday Guide.” Checked 2026-07. https://dispatchsports.com/college/stanford/parking
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