EMSC
Well-known member
If it's a big pow day, I can see plenty of folks who would just consider that the price of admission...
Big & Little Cottonwood Canyons: Car-Reservation-Only On Weekends/Holidays?
- Thread starter ChrisC
- Start date
Good grief, what a nightmare.
ChrisC
Well-known member
Utah's Ski Area Parking Considerations ($$$$$$)
It's interesting. Vail and Alterra sell passes (Epic and Ikon) that their ski resort infrastructure cannot support on weekends and holidays. Therefore, egregious parking fees are added on the backend, almost negating the benefit of the pass. Sure the areas can add High-speed lifts, but there is little room for parking improvements (due to geography, potential real estate profits, environmental regulations, etc.) to support growth. Parking needs to be a consideration/line item in a Utah ski vacation from here on out, especially since Utah has no ski towns/lodging outside of Park City (yes, a few exceptions).
It is sad to see that the most significant change on the Ski Utah website is the new and improved Utah Ski Resort Parking Guide.
For comparison, Disney Theme Park Parking Rates:
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I fail to see any difference between destination ski resorts in Tahoe, I-70 Colorado, and Utah - all are adding new barriers to enjoyment.
It's interesting. Vail and Alterra sell passes (Epic and Ikon) that their ski resort infrastructure cannot support on weekends and holidays. Therefore, egregious parking fees are added on the backend, almost negating the benefit of the pass. Sure the areas can add High-speed lifts, but there is little room for parking improvements (due to geography, potential real estate profits, environmental regulations, etc.) to support growth. Parking needs to be a consideration/line item in a Utah ski vacation from here on out, especially since Utah has no ski towns/lodging outside of Park City (yes, a few exceptions).
It is sad to see that the most significant change on the Ski Utah website is the new and improved Utah Ski Resort Parking Guide.
You've assembled your gear and purchased your pass. The skiing/riding posse meetup point is set, along with your alarm. The car is loaded, and the coffee is brewed. You're on the road before anyone else and congratulating yourself for a job well done. And then it hits you: PARKING.
To help you avoid spending hours driving in circles around the resort base area looking for a parking spot, we've assembled all the need-to-know info about parking at all 15 Utah resorts during the 2024-25 winter season. A few other rules of thumb to keep in mind when driving to any of the Utah resorts this winter: visit udottraffic.utah.gov for the latest traffic and road conditions; canyon driving is safest in a four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle with snow tires or, at the very least, a car stocked with tire chains (more on safe canyon travel here); and to avoid end-of-the-day congestion, consider ending your day by 3 p.m.
For comparison, Disney Theme Park Parking Rates:
Guests pay one fee for a parking pass that is good all day at all four theme parks: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Standard parking: car or motorcycle – $30 per day
Preferred parking: car or motorcycle – $45, $50 or $55 per day*
Oversized Vehicle Parking: Shuttle, Limo, Camper Trailer, RV, Bus or Tractor Trailer - $35 per day
UTAH SKI AREA PARKING INFO AT A GLANCE
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- Alta Ski Area —reservations required Friday-Sunday and holidays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., altaparking.com; early morning reservations are required Monday-Thursday, 6 to 8 a.m., Friday-Sunday and holidays, 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., altaearlyparking.com.
- Brighton —reservations are required Friday-Sunday and holidays in all Brighton lots with a discounted rate for vehicles with 4+ passengers, brightonresort.com/parking.
- Deer Valley —no reservations required, no fee for parking. Vehicles with 3 or more passengers get priority parking on the weekends at the Snow Park Base in Lot 2
- Park City Mountain — parking reservations are required daily at all of Park City Mountain's Mountain Village lots — Mountain Village Parking Garage and the Main, First Time, and Silver King surface lots — between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Parking reservations are free for vehicles with 4 or more passengers. At Canyons Village, parking in the Cabriolet lot will be available for free on a first-come, first-served basis. There are also paid lots in the Upper Village and Pendry, available on a first-come, first-served basis. parkatparkcitymountain.com
- Powder Mountain —no reservations required, but there there is a new per vehicle fee to park on Saturdays, Sundays and during holiday periods. Parking remains free for all vehicles arriving on weekends and holidays after 1 p.m., for vehicles with three or more passengers arriving anytime, and on non-holiday weekdays (Monday-Friday).
- Snowbasin —no reservations required, no fee for parking. Earl's A parking lot is reserved for carpoolers with three or more people, while availability lasts
- Solitude — parking reservations are required prior to 11 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday periods. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., parking at Solitudes is first come first served, fee-based parking. After 1 p.m. all parking is free, every day. On weekdays (Monday though Friday, excluding holidays), there is no reservation required, but a parking fee is required for vehicles with 2 or fewer passengers. Vehicles with 4 or more passengers park free every day, but are required to make a reservation on weekends. parksolitude.com
- Snowbird —parking options include free, no reservation required; day-of paid parking (on a space-available basis); pre-reserved paid parking; and valet parking. For the 2024-25 season, Snowbird has more than doubled the free carpool parking, available for vehicles with 3+ passengers, snowbird.com/parking
- Sundance —no reservations required, fee-based parking on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays until 2 p.m. All vehicles with 4+ passengers park free anytime.
I fail to see any difference between destination ski resorts in Tahoe, I-70 Colorado, and Utah - all are adding new barriers to enjoyment.
25 bucks a day for 4 people certainly doesn’t negate the benefit of a Mountain Collective pass.
But I get your overall point.
What is a nightmare is being talked into buying 5 nose bleedingly expensive plane tickets to spend Christmas with relatives and then having to fight the crowds at ski hills. I suggested we go a couple of weeks later. But Christmas.*
*We’re in no way religious.
jimk
Active member
Next time see if you can get them to switch to Easter
A lot of American schools districts get a week off around Easter, but don't think of going skiing then. It's a much better time than Christmas to go on a ski trip to a higher elevation resort in the Rockies.
One difference between Colorado and Utah is that there are functional bus options for parts of Colorado. Don't need to drive around Aspen/Snowmass or Steamboat Springs. Can stay in Frisco, Dillon, or near Keystone, and get to ABasin or Breck on a bus that runs reasonably frequently. The free bus system around Vail works pretty well based on my experience checking out the area for a few days during early season last December. I made use of an Epic pass to check out VR resorts in Colorado last season for the first time.
In SLC, UTA cut the number of buses last season. The schedule wasn't the best even before the pandemic. For 2024-25 UTA is working together with a contractor to supply drivers during busy periods.
From what I've read, most regulars who drive up LCC to Alta appreciate the new parking approach. Saw somewhere that complaints were happening last season on some days when parking was free and that meant extra traffic. The confounding factor is that Snowbird had some free parking spaces along the roads and refused to consider a reservation system.
Another difference these days is that driving up before the road closes at 6:00am for avalanche mitigation over the road is no longer allowed. So plowing the Alta parking lots after a big dump is straightforward without cars parked in them.
What has happened is that more people carpool in LCC. Alta is increasing the number of spaces set aside for carpoolers.
What has happened is that more people carpool in LCC. Alta is increasing the number of spaces set aside for carpoolers.
+1 When Adam was in K-12 school, his spring break was the week containing April 1. That was our destination ski trip in 10 seasons, and there were 3 more during his college late March spring break.
But recall sbooker lives in Australia, where summer school vacation is mid-December to the end of January. That's why most of his TRs here are in January. Obviously the SLC relatives are insisting on Christmas 2024.
ChrisC
Well-known member
The busiest, record-setting days are a few days after Christmas: December 27, 28, and 29. You better lock down your plans that weekend in Utah. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day can be relatively quiet since people are celebrating. Christmas +/- 1 day can be very quiet too.
Yes. We’ve used our Easter school holidays to travel to North America a number of times. They have all been wonderful holidays.Next time see if you can get them to switch to Easter
A lot of American schools districts get a week off around Easter, but don't think of going skiing then. It's a much better time than Christmas to go on a ski trip to a higher elevation resort in the Rockies.
We’ll ski at LCC the few days up to Christmas then head north the day after the fat man comes. We’ve pegged Snowbasin and Grand Targhee and Jackson between Christmas and new year. Then New Year’s Day at LCC and Park City (our first ever Epic purchase) on the 2nd or 3rd. Myself and my daughter then fly to Seattle and will road trip BC for a little while before heading home. I think Sun Peaks, Revelstoke and Silver Star should be relatively quiet early January.
ChrisC
Well-known member
I am unsure if this has already been discussed, but there are a couple of smaller, off-the-radar ski areas between SLC and Jackson, Wyoming - specifically Beaver Mountain, UT, and Pebble Creek, ID. Unfortunately, the few times I have driven this route, I generally skied an SLC area all day before getting on the road to Jackson and never stopped.
Beaver Mountain looks most interesting to me. Not huge, but not small. It looks broad enough that there might be unskied within its boundaries days after storms.
There was a Beaver Mountain, UT report a couple of years ago during January: Beaver Mountain, Utah: Jan. 18-20, 2020
And, of course, Tony has one from last year during March: Beaver Mt., UT, Mar. 17, 2024
Beaver Mountain looks most interesting to me. Not huge, but not small. It looks broad enough that there might be unskied within its boundaries days after storms.
There was a Beaver Mountain, UT report a couple of years ago during January: Beaver Mountain, Utah: Jan. 18-20, 2020
And, of course, Tony has one from last year during March: Beaver Mt., UT, Mar. 17, 2024
baldyskier
Member
I skied the year before last in the SLC area for the first time in 3 years (Covid). Had a few powder days with a friend. Disappointed by the crowds at the big name areas. I did not ski last year, and didn't miss it as much as I thought I would. I've been considering getting back out there this year, although posts like this give me serious second thoughts. Seems to me skiing is getting way too crowded, and too expensive. Anyone found reasonable workarounds to improve the powder/crowds and expense ratio? I've looked into the Indy Pass, but slim pickings when driving from Southern California. I have a place to stay near Ogden, UT, but not many choices near there with the Indy Pass.
By reputation there's crowd vulnerability there. It's not an efficient lift system and I suspect the tram wait could be an hour, which is very unpleasant in the shade with Jackson temperatures.
Good for terrain, but not a good reputation for snow. So you need a very big season to be worth going there in December I suspect.
Overcrowding is, as ChrisC and I have noted, a local's phenomenon specifically in the SLC area, I-70 Colorado, Seattle and Tahoe.
The only impact I see in SoCal is that now most areas are charging for parking. A parking reservation is needed weekends and holidays at Big Bear for the slopeside lots.
At Mammoth I see zero effect midweek. Even though I'm not skiing there on winter weekends, I'm confident that the lift system in full operation can handle weekends because skier visits AFAIK are at most comparable to the peak 2005 and 2006 seasons when I was still working and skiing weekends. Weekends have not reached the point of needing pay or reservations for the vast majority of parking. Mammoth has lucky topography with so many entry points to the mountain. Contrast with Palisades, which has terrain as expansive as Mammoth but sprawls upward from a single base.
For the 4 regions mentioned above with the explosive population growth, the best advice is to ski midweek and avoid competing with those locals on the weekends.
Go more remote like the Interior Northwest or western Canada, or Colorado west of Vail, and I don't think the ski experience has been degraded at all. Lift ticket cost these days means committing to at least one of the multiarea passes.
EMSC
Well-known member
I70 resorts are getting close to too busy on Fridays and some Mondays too now...
Ajax and Snowmass have plenty of crowding on weekends. That said, go to Highlands and avoid one lift is all it takes.
jimk
Active member
I've skied Snowbird frequently from Jan to May the last six seasons. April is really nice. Crowds gone, snow still good and decent chance for occasional powder. No problems getting free, unreserved, slopeside parking. Motel prices in the valley very reasonable.
Took these photos of a buddy in Snowbird's Middle Cirque area Apr 27, 2021:
Bonus late spring photo, yours truly 6 May 2024, Snowbird:
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Lovely pics. The scenery in that canyon is next level. The combination of canyon/bowls and some trees..........
For Park City, how bad the lift lines get really depends on how many lifts are open on each side. My ski buddy was invited to join a small group of friends several years ago for a few days just after Jan. 1. It was a low snow season. They were staying on the Canyons side. Instead of taking the public bus between the bases, they opted to take the gondola that goes between PC and Canyons. I think he waited over an hour.
If you only have one day for ski PC, it's worth taking the gondola once to see both sides. But may not be worth the time to get back to the gondola if you start at PC and go towards Canyons. Look at the trail map and you'll see how many lifts are required to get back to the gondola loading point on the Canyons side.
I haven't skied PC/Canyons much. But enough to have an idea of how long it takes to get between sections.
The definition or weekend has evolved since COVID. We have all heard the expression "Friday is the new Saturday" and note that Alta, Brighton and Solitude consider Friday the weekend in terms of requiring parking reservations. During the 3 seasons my son Andrew was a liftie at Mammoth he thought Fridays were busier than Sundays.