Our family of 8 recently got back from an adventure that included a trip from Ohio to Denver (and back) on an Amtrak train
(SEE ALSO: 4 reasons my Amtrak trip was a blast…)
(SEE ALSO: … but I’ll probably never take another Amtrak trip)
We live in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is conveniently right on the boundary of an Amtrak Zone
(SEE ALSO: Maximizing your route on the Amtrak Zone Map)
Because Cincinnati and Denver are both (on the edge of) the Central Zone, a one-way trip in a bedroom Amtrak sleeper car only costs 25,000 Amtrak points (which you can transfer 1:1 from Chase Ultimate Rewards, which is one of the reasons I think Chase Ultimate Rewards are the best miles out there)
The only problem is that the route between Cincinnati and Chicago is only served 3 days a week, and we couldn’t make the dates work out. That route (the Cardinal) is also served by a Viewliner train instead of a Superliner, which also made the points redemption more complicated than it needed to be.
(SEE ALSO: Amtrak Viewliner Routes vs. Amtrak Superliner Routes)
(SEE ALSO: Amtrak Superliner vs. Viewliner – what’s the difference?)
And if we needed another reason, the train leaves Cincinnati at 1:47 a.m. westbound and 3:17 a.m. eastbound (ugh)
So instead we decided to drive up to Toledo. The train times there are 5:22 a.m. westbound and 11:39 p.m eastbound, still not ideal, but manageable.
Amtrak Toledo Union Station parking: where to find it
One of the big questions that we had, not being from Toledo, is where to find the Amtrak Toledo Union Station parking. There were a couple of posts about it, but the official Amtrak station page was not very helpful (other than confirming the fact that there WAS Amtrak Toledo Union Station parking.
Now that we’ve been there and back, I can confirm where exactly both the short term and long term parking is
Amtrak Toledo Union Station’s address is 415 Emerald Avenue, and there is easy access from Interstate 75 (get off at Exit 201A and the signs to Union Station are good). They’ll lead you to Emerald Avenue and the station will be on your right (see the above map). If you are going to be there for just a short amount of time, the Amtrak Toledo Union Station short-term parking will be on your right just passed the station. If, like us, you are taking a long-haul train, then Amtrak Toledo Union Station long-term parking is directly across the street.
(SEE ALSO: 4 reasons my Amtrak trip was a blast…)
(SEE ALSO: … but I’ll probably never take another Amtrak trip)
Amtrak Toledo Union Station parking – is it free? is it safe?
The Amtrak Toledo Union Station parking is free – there is no charge for parking. It seemed perfectly safe to me as well. While I can’t speak for how the surrounding neighborhood is, the Amtrak Toledo Union Station parking was well lit and our van was still there after a week and a half 🙂
Hanging out at Toledo’s Union Station at ~5 am waiting for our train
- Introduction: Big heads, Trains and Bears, oh my!
- My (free) $6500 family train vacation on Amtrak
- Holy Toledo! The lunacy in trying to book this Ohio hotel
- Why you want to transfer Amtrak points to Choice Hotels
- How I spent 350,401 miles and points
- You can book unlimited Choice Hotel award nights?
- Checking historical Amtrak delays
- Amtrak Union Station Toledo parking
- 4 reasons my Amtrak trip was a blast…
- … but I’ll probably never take another Amtrak trip
- 4 laundry hacks when you're doing long term travel
- Amtrak Union Station Chicago Metropolitan Lounge
- Boiling River Yellowstone
- Do you take hotel toiletries, pens and other amenities?
- Finding the REAL geographic center of the United States
- How to get compensation for Amtrak delays
- Amtrak tips: Tipping on Amtrak
- Ranking the 8 hotels we stayed at on our vacation
- Updating my travel map with new visited places
- How I spent 350,401 points
- Why I didn’t spend $9,144.92 on my vacation
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I’d never leave my car at Amtrak’s Toledo Ohio Union Station. But I live close enough that even with the wacky times it wouldn’t be a problem to find a ride..
Hmm – I didn’t have a problem.
The end of your post is missing! So…it sounds like it’s free. Is it safe to park long-term?
Yes – it seemed safe to me. It was well lit and our van was still there when we got back!
We leave early Saturday morning and return late Sunday night is that considered long term parking ?
We left our car there for over a week. I’m not sure what the actual rules are there, but if I were you, I’d park it in the long term parking
Thank you for this info and for the helpful map of the parking lot locations.
You’re welcome! Glad it could help – safe travels
I am have a difficult time finding long term parking information for the Amtrack Toledo station.
Does Amtrak still have a long term parking area?
It’s been several years since I’ve been there so I’m not 100% sure. Their website indicates that they do have same-day and overnight parking, but I would probably call them to make sure.
Lynnette,
I parked in the long term parking lot in Toledo on Wednesday February 22nd at around midnight. the Amtrak website states there are 60 long term (free) parking spots. I estimate about 20 cars were in the lot then.
I returned on Sunday February 26th, at about 6am. My car was still there, and there were about 18 other cars in the lot. The station has a full time security guard, and I observed many police car(s) driving by during my wait for the train on Wednesday. I realize that you asked this question many months ago. I doubt that this information will be of benefit to you. Hopefully it helps someone else though.
bob
Robert, you never know who will read your post. I’m looking for long term parking in Toledo Amtrak and need this info to make a decision. Thanks for posting. Knowing security is nearby is important.
Thanks for your helpful response. I’ll be taking the train for a trip to Chicago and am looking for info on parking. The train back gets in at 3am and I’d rather just be able to get into my car.