Columbia Heights Station - DC Metro
Green Line and Yellow Line - interchange station in Washington, DC.
About Columbia Heights station
Columbia Heights is one of the busiest non-downtown stations in Washington, and stepping out of it explains why: the station exits directly into a retail complex, a civic plaza and a crossroads of two dense commercial corridors. Green and Yellow line trains serve the platform, and three entrances spread riders around the 14th Street and Irving Street intersection. The neighborhood above is one of the most diverse in the city, with Latin American, Ethiopian and Caribbean businesses alongside chain retail and a strong restaurant scene along 11th Street NW. There is no station parking and none is needed – almost everyone here walks or takes a bus.
The area around Columbia Heights
Columbia Heights is dense, diverse and consistently busy. Rowhouses and apartment buildings fill the blocks around 14th Street NW, with a commercial mix that runs from big-box retail at the station to small family-run restaurants a few blocks away. The area has changed rapidly over the past two decades and the tension between old and new is visible on almost every block. Riders are overwhelmingly local residents.
What is near Columbia Heights station?
A large multi-level shopping center built directly over the station, with major retailers and a grocery store.
1 min walkThe open plaza at the station entrance with fountains and seating, used for markets and community events.
1 min walkA bilingual Spanish-language theater company in the historic Tivoli building just north of the station.
4 min walkA concentrated stretch of independent restaurants, bars and coffee shops a few blocks east of the station.
6 min walkA terraced park with a cascading fountain and Sunday drum circle, downhill to the south.
12 min walkFirst and last trains at Columbia Heights
Departure times by direction. Which way you are traveling matters – the last train toward one terminal can be an hour before the last train the other way.
| Day | Toward | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-Thu | Branch Av | 5:18 am | 11:49 pm |
| Mon-Thu | Greenbelt | 5:30 am | 12:29 am |
| Fri | Branch Av | 5:18 am | 1:49 am |
| Fri | Greenbelt | 5:30 am | 2:29 am |
| Sat | Branch Av | 6:17 am | 1:48 am |
| Sat | Greenbelt | 6:30 am | 2:29 am |
| Sun | Branch Av | 6:18 am | 11:49 pm |
| Sun | Greenbelt | 6:30 am | 12:29 am |
| Day | Toward | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-Thu | Greenbelt | 5:32 am | 12:07 am |
| Mon-Thu | Huntington | 5:20 am | 11:51 pm |
| Fri | Greenbelt | 5:32 am | 2:07 am |
| Fri | Huntington | 5:20 am | 1:51 am |
| Sat | Greenbelt | 6:32 am | 2:05 am |
| Sat | Huntington | 6:20 am | 1:50 am |
| Sun | Greenbelt | 6:32 am | 12:07 am |
| Sun | Huntington | 6:21 am | 11:51 pm |
Travel times and fares from Columbia Heights
| To | Time | Weekday to 9:30pm | Late night & weekend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Center | 14 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Gallery Pl-Chinatown | 7 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| L'Enfant Plaza | 10 min | $2.30 | $2.30 |
| Union Station | 16 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Smithsonian | 17 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport | 20 min | $3.75 | $2.50 |
| Washington Dulles International Airport | 72 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Pentagon | 15 min | $3.10 | $2.50 |
| Branch Ave | 29 min | $5.90 | $2.50 |
| Greenbelt | 18 min | $5.15 | $2.50 |
Travel times and fares published by WMATA. Fares valid July 2026.
Changing lines at Columbia Heights
Parking at Columbia Heights
Tips for using Columbia Heights
- The station has multiple entrances around a large intersection, so specify a corner when arranging to meet someone.
- For restaurants, the 11th Street NW blocks a few minutes east are generally more interesting than the retail directly above the station.
- This is one of the busiest bus transfer points in the city; the bus stops are spread around the intersection rather than in a single loop.
Columbia Heights station FAQ
The Green Line serves Columbia Heights at all times, with Yellow Line service also operating here depending on current service patterns. Southbound trains run toward U Street, Shaw and downtown; northbound trains continue toward Georgia Avenue-Petworth and Fort Totten.
Effectively, yes. The DC USA complex was built over the station and its entrances are immediately at street level beside the faregates, so the walk from platform to shops takes barely more than a minute. The civic plaza sits at the same intersection.
There is no Metro park-and-ride facility. The retail complex above the station operates its own paid parking garage, which is the practical option for drivers, but the neighborhood is dense and most riders arrive on foot or by bus.
Walk south and east from the station for roughly twelve minutes, dropping downhill toward 16th Street NW. The park s upper terrace and cascading fountain are on the eastern side. It is a straightforward walk, though the return trip back to the station is uphill.