The Winter Walnut Creek Nutshell newsletter has a great holiday parking guide map that shows both city as well as private parking garages in the downtown area. This is not only useful for holidays. The key takeaway from this map is that most public parking garages cost money, while the private garages are free, usually 3 – 4 hours. Ironic, no? More information on downtown public parking garages can be found on the downtown Walnut Creek site.
Keep in mind that Walnut Creek recently changed their parking meter holidays to include Martin Luther King Jr., Presidents, Columbus and Veterans Day, so you may want to go on these days or a Sunday to try to grab a free street spot. At least most garages have a sign indicating the open spots available. Be careful because sometimes they don’t take into account reserved valet spaces which can lead major annoyances. It’s going to be a trying time parking in Walnut Creek this holiday season like always, so good luck to everyone finding a spot!
