Transit and luggage storage in Washington DC

That's a great museum in a beautiful space (and great, but expensive food). Try to pack light and look on the museum website to confirm they accept large bags in coat check. Times have changed, unfortunately, and I cannot think of any lockers out there you can use (even the ones for Amtrak at Union Station are exclusively for their customers).

PS. Are you not renting a car? If you are, then just park at a metro stop (and keep your luggage in your car) because parking down by the Mall is difficult and expensive.

Some Smithsonian museums have coin operated lockers for luggage. Try natural history or the American history one.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/museum/faqs/visiting-museum

Dulles is pretty far ftom the city, so you'll spend quite a bit of time getting into town. The express bus 5A runs from Dulles airport to a spot outside the L'Enfant Plaza subway station at 7th and D Streets SW. It makes only two intermediate stops. NMAI is on Independence Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets SW, about 6 blocks away. If you hit it right, schedule-wise, I think the only thing faster than this bus might be a taxi. The fare was about $7 (they don't give change) when I used the bus in April. A taxi would probably be close to $100 by the time you include a tip. Google WMATA 5A for the schedule.

If you just miss the 5A, SuperShuttle would be worth considering.

Another good option, less expensive than SuperShuttle, is the Washington Flyer Silver Line Express. The $5 bus runs every 15 or 20 minutes from the airport to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Sration where you'd take the Silver Line downtown (substantial extra cost, more during rush hour) to the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station and use the 7th St & Maryland Ave. exit. Google Washington Flyer Silver Line Express for information on shuttle tickets, etc. This route requires you to purchase a Metro farecard for the subway portion. Don't put too much money on it; there are no refunds.

A company called Dulles Luggage Storage has a presence on LinkedIn. You can find them by Googling. I believe they are quite new and absolutely cannot vouch for their reliability.

How are you getting to West Virginia after your day in DC?

You all were so helpful and prompt!! I am really grateful to this community. My trip is so complicated, that I've decided to rent a car, but next time I go to D.C., your suggestions will guide me! Many thanks

I can't help with parking for NMAI beyond warning you that it is likely to be an issue if you opt to drive downtown. A lot of the parking garages will be filled with commuters' cars. If you find a spot on the street, it's probably a delivery zone or something like that. Pay attention to all signage. A lot of parking spaces disappear during rush hour (not sure when the parking prohibition begins), and if you ignore the warning signs, they will boot your car and tow it. It's sort of the DC equivalent of gettng caught with an unvalidated train ticket in Europe, but probably more costly.

If you are there on a weekday, I regularly park in a garage on E St between 2nd and 3rd and it usually has space even midday. It is a 3 block walk up 3rd St to the Museum of the American Indian. The garage is $16 and closes at 7pm. There are several other garages in the area. There is some 2 hour metered parking on the street but it is only until 4pm and it is hard to find spaces.

If you'd rather take metro, you could drive to the Reston Wiehle metro station, park in the garage ($4.85, pay with credit card), take metro (about an hour and 15 minutes) to Federal Center SW which is 2 blocks from the museum.

If you are visiting on a weekday, don't try driving in DC. Traffic is a nightmare. We lived in the DC area for about 13 years and still visit my Son, who lives in N. Virginia. Traffic is even worse now than when we lived there. My Son gets up at 4:30am every morning so he can get to work at 6am when traffic is lighter.

Perhaps you can store your luggage at Dulles Airport and return there to pickup.