Passenger Trains > Parking advice, Eugene Oregon

We are planning a two week trip from Eugene, Oregon and thence to the East Coast by Amtrak. We will be gone for aprox 2 weeks. 

We will be arriving in Eugene by car and need a place to safely leave our car for that time. We are not very familiar with Eugene, but we know that there is parking at the Amtrak station.

Any advice and suggestions are most appreciated.

John Webb
Trinidad, CA

I doubt, in fact am almost positive, 2 weeks at the depot can't be done. Unfortunately I can't think of an alternative.

​Where are you coming from? Amtrak has connection buses that come from points outside Eugene and one of those might ba an option - check the Amtrak timetable.
 

If you can't for some reason use the Amtrak parking, you could go to the airport and park there, and use a taxi.

Amtrak's Web site says Eugene has 25 lont-term parking spaces.

https://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am/am2Station/Station_Page&code=EUG

You might also consult the Web site Park-O-Pedia. They have all sorts of parking lots listed: http://en.parkopedia.com/parking/eugene/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/16 21:00 by walstib.

Eugene should have plenty of parking right there.

Posted from Android

The problem is that I believe the "long term parking" at the depot is only overnight, unless there are parking spaces I am unaware of. Calling the depot at Eugene and asking would probably be a very good idea.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/16 07:25 by Railbaron.

Update: Looking at the link above about parking in Eugene it appears those "long term" spaces might be for more than overnight as I thought. It appears they have an option called "Pay By Cell" so it appears you may be able to pay for each day as you go, although I have no idea of price or availability. Best idea is to call the depot and ask.

Thanks everyone for the info and advice. I will be calling the Eugene depot.

I thought occured to me that there might be a kind hearted Eugene resident here on TO that would be willing to let us park our car at their house. If so, you could send me a private message and we can discuss the details.

John Webb
Trinidad, CA

John:

Am I correct in assuming that after driving to Eugene you'll be spending some time there before heading North and East by Amtrak.?

If I am, and you'll be staying at a local hotel,I can tell you that my wife and I have had good luck by advising our hotel's manager (we stay at Hampton Inns) that we were going to be leaving for two weeks and asking him/her whether they'd let us to leave your car there while we were away.  

It's worth a try.

Fritz in HSV, AL   

John,
I second Fritz's idea.  I've done that and most hotels are okay with it as long you sign some form saying you know the hotel isn't responsible for any damages.  I know that might sound counterintuitive but I think that might be a better idea than parking at the station. 

Calling the Eugene Amtrak station is not possible,
AFAIK.  The only phone number I could get for it on
Google was the expected "1-800-872-7245" ---
"1-800-USA-RAIL", which is a national call center.
Probably none of the people there would know anything
about parking at the Eugene depot.

Parking at a really nice hotel sounds like the best idea.

Good luck, and have a great time!

Thanks again everyone.

I got this phone # for the Eugene Amtrak depot from 411: (541) 338-8359. I have tried it multiple times. No answer then it switches to busy. I tried at times when, according to timetable, there was less train or bus activity to distract the staff from answering the phone. Maybe there's a better phone #. Any Amtrak lurkers out there know of one? PM me if you do.

John Webb
Trinidad, CA

I'd suggest this:
call Amtrak's 1-800 number and talk with a live agent ( push zero until one picks up ) and tell 
them your issue. They should either call the station for you on a private line or give you a number to call.
If that goes nowhere, call back and ask to speak with customer relations.
This goes for any staffed Amtrak station that never answers their public phone.

There are parking places across from the station and some more westof the station. On the outside the station among the newspaper racks is a ticket machine in which you enter the number of your parking place and pay for a ticket to be placed on the dash of your car. The fee depends on how long you want the ticket for; you choose the time option you want. I have parked there for a week while taking a train south and back, no problem.
Check out Eugene if you have the time, it's an interesting place!
Have a nice trip.

Robert McCreary
Myrtle Creek, OR

When are you leaving to head east? We are leaving tomorrow to Portland and then on to Wisconsin. We have space at our house for a parked car.   Kim
 

Forgot to click on email replies etc...leaving tomorrow aft...live in south hills...getting ride to Amtrak station at 11 a.m....Kim

Guess I already replied...KCM...Vietnam combat vet...67-69

Thnaks Kim. It's not until April.

John Webb
Trinidad, CA

From my experience, the hotel/motel parking scenario is your best bet.  Lots of hotels/motels do this, though they seldom advertise the service.  Many times out of my 3,327 overnights in hotels, I have seen this done or heard from others on the countless shuttle buses I've ridden.

Ed

"Many times out of my 3,327 overnights in hotels...."  Wow.  Congratulations.  I wish I had counted.  I share the, um, pain.  I claim 365 times ten, and that might be an underestimation.  I no longer stay at places where they ask me if I'm staying all night, and I don't stay at places where the desk clerk is behind bullet-proof glass. 

Yes, I endorse the idea of parking at a hotel.  Have a good relationship with the front desk crew. 

     -MirandaDepot