Forest Glen Station - DC Metro
Red Line - station in Silver Spring, MD.
About Forest Glen station
Forest Glen is the deepest station on the DC Metro, and that single fact defines the experience of using it. Because the platform lies so far below Georgia Avenue, there are no escalators at all – high-speed elevators carry every rider between street level and the trains. It is a Red Line stop in a residential part of Silver Spring, with a substantial park-and-ride lot and a hospital directly across the road. The mix of riders is distinctive: commuters heading downtown in the morning, and hospital staff and visitors arriving throughout the day. There is no commercial district here to speak of, and the station makes no pretense of being a destination.
The area around Forest Glen
Forest Glen is a quiet slice of Montgomery County: single-family houses on wooded lots, apartment blocks along Georgia Avenue, and Holy Cross Hospital as the main institutional anchor. The historic National Park Seminary district lies nearby, an unusual collection of eccentric former school buildings. Riders are mostly local residents commuting into DC and people connected with the hospital.
What is near Forest Glen station?
Large Montgomery County hospital directly across Georgia Avenue from the station, and the main reason non-commuters use this stop.
5 min walkFormer girls school campus with a famously eclectic collection of themed buildings, now converted to housing.
12 min walkWooded suburban blocks of single-family houses north and east of the station, typical of inner Montgomery County.
3 min walkFirst and last trains at Forest Glen
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 | Glenmont | 5:45 am | 12:33 am |
| Mon-Thu | Shady Grove | 5:06 am | 11:42 pm |
| Fri | Glenmont | 5:45 am | 2:33 am |
| Fri | Shady Grove | 5:06 am | 1:42 am |
| Sat | Glenmont | 6:34 am | 2:33 am |
| Sat | Shady Grove | 6:06 am | 1:42 am |
| Sun | Glenmont | 6:34 am | 12:33 am |
| Sun | Shady Grove | 6:06 am | 11:42 pm |
Travel times and fares from Forest Glen
| To | Time | Weekday to 9:30pm | Late night & weekend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Center | 24 min | $5.00 | $2.50 |
| Gallery Pl-Chinatown | 22 min | $4.95 | $2.50 |
| L'Enfant Plaza | 30 min | $5.35 | $2.50 |
| Union Station | 18 min | $4.80 | $2.50 |
| Smithsonian | 32 min | $5.30 | $2.50 |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport | 40 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Washington Dulles International Airport | 82 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Pentagon | 35 min | $6.10 | $2.50 |
| Shady Grove | 60 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Glenmont | 7 min | $2.40 | $2.40 |
Travel times and fares published by WMATA. Fares valid July 2026.
Changing lines at Forest Glen
Forest Glen is served by the Red Line only.
Parking at Forest Glen
Tips for using Forest Glen
- There are no escalators at Forest Glen – the elevators are the only way down to the platform, so check wmata.com for elevator status before you travel.
- Because everyone depends on the elevators, boarding and exiting move in batches; allow a little extra time when a full train arrives.
- The park-and-ride lot is large but Georgia Avenue crossings are busy, so use the marked crossing rather than cutting across.
Forest Glen station FAQ
The platform is exceptionally deep beneath Georgia Avenue – the deepest on the DC Metro – which makes conventional escalators impractical. WMATA instead uses high-speed elevators as the only means of reaching the platform, which is why elevator status matters more here than at any other station.
Because there is no escalator or stair alternative for normal use, an elevator outage can close access to the platform, and WMATA typically arranges shuttle service to a neighboring station. Always check wmata.com for elevator status before starting a trip from Forest Glen.
Forest Glen. Holy Cross Hospital sits directly across Georgia Avenue from the station and is a walk of about five minutes, which makes this the practical stop for staff, patients, and visitors arriving by train rather than driving to the hospital lots.
Yes, there is a Metro park-and-ride facility with several hundred spaces serving commuters from the surrounding Silver Spring neighborhoods. Like most inner Maryland lots on the Red Line it fills on weekday mornings. Check wmata.com for current parking rates and availability.