Virginia Square-GMU Station - DC Metro
Orange Line and Silver Line - interchange station in Arlington, VA.
About Virginia Square-GMU station
Virginia Square-GMU sits in the middle of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, the stretch of Arlington where Metro deliberately drove dense, walkable development along Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards. It is the quieter station in that chain — Clarendon has the bars, Ballston has the mall and the offices — and what Virginia Square has instead is institutions: George Mason University’s Arlington campus and its law school, Arlington’s central library, and a residential population in the apartment towers on either side of Fairfax Drive. For riders it is an easy, unfussy station on the Orange and Silver Lines with everything you need within a few blocks and neighbors just a short walk away in both directions.
The area around Virginia Square-GMU
Virginia Square is a residential and institutional pocket of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor — apartment buildings, the GMU Arlington campus, a park and the county’s main library, with lower-rise single-family streets a block or two off the main axis. It is the kind of neighborhood the corridor plan was designed to produce. Riders are residents, students and library and county staff.
What is near Virginia Square-GMU station?
GMU's Arlington location, home of the Antonin Scalia Law School and graduate programs, adjacent to the station.
3 min walkThe county library system's main branch, with meeting rooms and the local history collection, a few minutes north of the station.
6 min walkNeighborhood park with ball fields beside the central library, used heavily for local recreation leagues.
7 min walkThe corridor's restaurant and nightlife hub, one station east and an easy walk along Wilson Boulevard.
12 min walkFirst and last trains at Virginia Square-GMU
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 | New Carrollton | 5:16 am | 11:47 pm |
| Mon-Thu | Vienna | 5:39 am | 12:23 am |
| Fri | New Carrollton | 5:16 am | 1:47 am |
| Fri | Vienna | 5:39 am | 2:23 am |
| Sat | New Carrollton | 6:16 am | 1:43 am |
| Sat | Vienna | 6:39 am | 2:23 am |
| Sat | West Falls Church | 10:35 pm | 10:35 pm |
| Sun | New Carrollton | 6:16 am | 11:47 pm |
| Sun | Vienna | 6:39 am | 12:23 am |
| Sun | West Falls Church | 10:35 pm | 10:35 pm |
| Day | Toward | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-Thu | Ashburn | 5:42 am | 12:09 am |
| Mon-Thu | Downtown Largo | 5:20 am | 11:51 pm |
| Mon-Thu | New Carrollton | 5:24 am | 11:42 pm |
| Fri | Ashburn | 5:42 am | 2:09 am |
| Fri | Downtown Largo | 5:20 am | 1:51 am |
| Fri | New Carrollton | 5:24 am | 1:42 am |
| Sat | Ashburn | 6:41 am | 2:11 am |
| Sat | Downtown Largo | 6:25 am | 1:51 am |
| Sat | New Carrollton | 6:11 am | 1:38 am |
| Sun | Ashburn | 6:41 am | 12:11 am |
| Sun | Downtown Largo | 6:24 am | 11:51 pm |
| Sun | New Carrollton | 6:12 am | 11:37 pm |
Travel times and fares from Virginia Square-GMU
| To | Time | Weekday to 9:30pm | Late night & weekend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Center | 13 min | $2.90 | $2.50 |
| Gallery Pl-Chinatown | 20 min | $3.05 | $2.50 |
| L'Enfant Plaza | 18 min | $3.20 | $2.50 |
| Union Station | 24 min | $3.45 | $2.50 |
| Smithsonian | 16 min | $3.05 | $2.50 |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport | 21 min | $3.15 | $2.50 |
| Washington Dulles International Airport | 40 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Pentagon | 16 min | $2.50 | $2.50 |
| New Carrollton | 41 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Vienna/Fairfax-GMU | 16 min | $5.20 | $2.50 |
Travel times and fares published by WMATA. Fares valid July 2026.
Changing lines at Virginia Square-GMU
Parking at Virginia Square-GMU
Tips for using Virginia Square-GMU
- Clarendon and Ballston are each about a ten to twelve minute walk in opposite directions along Wilson Boulevard, so you can often just walk rather than ride one stop.
- GMU in the station name refers to the university’s Arlington campus beside the station, not the main Fairfax campus, which is served from Vienna.
- There is no Metro parking here — the corridor is designed around walking and transit, and Arlington street parking is metered and permit-restricted.
Virginia Square-GMU station FAQ
The Arlington campus, which houses the Antonin Scalia Law School and a number of graduate programs. It is beside the station. The much larger main campus is in Fairfax and is reached by bus from Vienna station on the Orange Line.
About a twelve-minute walk east along Wilson Boulevard, or one stop on the train. Many people walk it, since the whole Rosslyn-Ballston corridor was designed with short distances between stations and continuous sidewalk retail.
The Orange and Silver Lines. Both run east through Clarendon and Rosslyn, across the Potomac into downtown Washington; heading west, the Orange continues to Vienna while the Silver branches toward Tysons, Reston and Dulles.
No Metro park-and-ride facility. Arlington deliberately built this corridor around transit and walking, so on-street parking is metered or permit-restricted and commuters are expected to arrive on foot, by bike or by bus.