Sunset Junction Parking Guide

Sure, everyone loves Sunset Junction. Except the part where you arrive too late and spend a good hour looking for parking. The best way to avoid this fate is to arrive early (before 3 p.m.). But if that's not an option, we recommend taking public transportation. The closet Metro stop for the fest is the Red Line's Vermont Ave. and Santa Monica Blvd. stop. Best bus lines to take to the event from the Westside are taking the 720 Rapid Bus to the Vermont/Wilshire station (and then rail to Vermont station) or the 217 from Fairfax or anywhere along Hollywood. Blvd. The 2 and the 4 buses also run frequently up and down Sunset Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. respectively. Both will drop you very close to the front gate of the festival on Sunset Blvd.

If you choose to drive, parking is very tight in the surrounding residential hills after 4 p.m. If you think you are going to get lucky and find a spot on, say, Sanborn or Maltman, think again. You'll have better luck taking Beverly Blvd. from the Westside, which turns into Silver lake Blvd. Make a left onto Marathon and go up the hill taking any spot you might come across (off of any side street) and then walk down to Sunset.

In general, it pays to be counterintuitive: look for spots on the West side of Marathon instead of closer towards Sunset on streets like Micheltoreana or N. Dillon.

Or, you might just get lucky on a little street right before Sunset called Gateway, which is right before Sunset but just enough off the beaten path to frequently have spots available.

Look at our map for hints, and think about finding a spot at a meter on Virgil (free on Sunday, of course). Also, there may be spots on the east side of Sunset at a meter on Hyperion if you arrive early enough and don't mind a bit of a walk.

The best advice we have is to avoid the entire area right near Sunset Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. entirely, and find parking at a meter on Virgil near Santa Monica Blvd. You may have to walk a bit, but it's better than driving around in circles looking for that one killer spot just steps from the fest; trust us.

The festival actually provides free parking with a shuttle service at Los Angeles City College (835 North Vermont Avenue at Monroe Avenue). There is no way of telling if spots will still be available at LACC after 8 p.m.

Of course, you can always just avoid all transportation headaches by walking or riding your bike…always the best option if you live even remotely close enough to consider.