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Paid Parking is coming to a resort near you.

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Well, I can't say I'm surprised: Next season Stowe will charge for parking on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and holidays at all lots except for the Toll House and XC Center, which is distant from the main resort and less than 20% of their parking capacity. They will, however, provide free parking for vehicles with 4 or more passengers, and they indicated that they will invest in more public transportation in order to increase options.

As much as I hate to see this, here's hoping it'll help ease the horrific traffic congestion that's been there this season.
 
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marzNC

Angel Diva
Alta required paid parking on weekends for the 2021-22 season. It was free for season pass holders, but not Ikon holders. Anyone who bought a day ticket got a code for a discount. Full fee was $25 and the day ticket discount was $15. The UTA bus is an option that is free for Ikon holders.

Unlike paid parking at Snowbird (a few lots) where you showed your parking reservation to a parking attendant, Alta was using a system where license plates were scanned after people were parked. The fine was $75 and doubled if not paid within 10 days.

From the comments I heard in the last few weeks skiing Alta, people around LCC seemed pretty happy with the parking system.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
For Solitude in BCC, when they started charging for parking all the fees collected went towards making Solitude season passes into UTA bus passes. The parking fees go down with the number of people in a car.
 

ilovepugs

Angel Diva
I’m glad they announced before the early season deadline elapsed. Imagine the outrage if it happened in July or October.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I am personally a huge fan of the "paid parking but free with 4 people in your car" approach. Honestly that combined with more transit (if they make it good) sounds pretty great to me.
Seems as if that was the direction some parking-constrained resorts were headed pre-pandemic. I remember getting free parking with 3+ at selected parking lots at Jackson Hole and Snowmass before 2019.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
I didn't experience traffic nightmares at Stowe, but we were there during the week and were staying partway up the hill. But I read about them, and what I read was a fright. Not only terrible traffic jams that lasted for hours, but can you imagine the pollution from all those cars idling for a couple of hours on this 2-lane road? I applaud the public transportation efforts and the carpool incentive.
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Two thoughts about this:

1) I notice that Friday is included in Stowe's paid parking days. It just sort of confirms my thinking that Friday is the new Saturday. It's routinely as busy on Fridays as it is over the actual weekend. Hence the inclusion.

2) If Vail hadn't oversold its passes, maybe this wouldn't even be an issue.
 

diymom

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I like the encouragement to carpool, but a tiered system would be nice. Say a $5 discount per person in a group until you get to free? Finding 4 friends to drive up with is not always doable. Finding 4 friends to drive up with and fit everyone's gear in the car can be more challenging. Encouraging smaller groups to carpool even if they don't have a full enough car for free parking can still help with space issues.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Here's what Solitude was doing for parking in 2021-22, I would guess 2022-23 regular parking fees will be the same. The price for the 2022-23 mid-week parking pass is set at $99.

This is the first season that Solitude decided to stay open in late April. The new GM worked quite a while at Sugarbush. She's being creative in assorted ways on how to make Solitude into more of a destination resort than a local's mountain.

After April 24, Snowbird will continue spinning a few lifts but Alta and Brighton will be done completely.

Screen Shot 2022-04-19 at 1.50.55 PM.png
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Tremblant's VIP parking pass is good for a year. 5-day weekdays$ 299, 7-day $599.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
The Snowbird parking pass for 2022-23 is $799. Unlike Alta and Solitude, Snowbird still had some free parking areas even on weekends in 2021-22.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
SAM included the Stowe parking plan in the latest e-newsletter. Carpools with 4+ people get access to any lot for free.

April 19, 2022

" . . .
Per the new plan, parking will remain free at all lots Monday – Thursday during non-holiday periods, and at all lots after 2 p.m. Paid parking will be implemented Friday –Sunday and holidays at all lots, except at the cross country center and Toll House lots, which will remain free seven days a week. Additionally, free parking will be offered at all times in all lots to cars arriving with four or more guests.

The resort is investing in a parking payment app and on-site payment kiosks. Murphy said proceeds from the paid parking will go toward additional buses and capacity for the Green Mountain Transit service and Stowe’s own resort shuttle system.

Additional details, like pricing and products, are said to be forthcoming.
. . ."
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Now I'm curious about how destination resorts handled parking for 2021-22. Parking fees of $10 or $25 are pretty common. Friday is often included as part of the "weekend." 100% paid parking is relatively rare. While bus alternatives often exist, only a few resorts have really convenient bus service. Meaning you don't have to pay attention to a schedule and can just wait for the next available bus. Having to depend on a bus that runs every 30 min or longer is not likely to be of interest to someone who is on a ski vacation that involves flying.

Most parking for Mt. Bachelor was free. However, paid parking at both lots was an option.

Screen Shot 2022-04-19 at 10.06.54 PM.png
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
I just changed the title of this thread to "Paid Parking is coming to a resort near you" to expand the conversation to include other resorts besides Stowe, because that's where the discussion has gone.

On that note, Vail announced yesterday that they'll be implementing paid parking at Park City next season. Unlike Stowe, where it will be in effect Friday-Sunday, guests will have to pay seven days a week until 1PM; after that, it's free. There will likely be incentives for car pooling.
 

ilovepugs

Angel Diva
On that note, Vail announced yesterday that they'll be implementing paid parking at Park City next season. Unlike Stowe, where it will be in effect Friday-Sunday, guests will have to pay seven days a week until 1PM; after that, it's free. There will likely be incentives for car pooling.
Will that put a dent in the lift lines? And, is PC a place with a strong culture of locals running in for a few laps?
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The Snowbird parking pass for 2022-23 is $799. Unlike Alta and Solitude, Snowbird still had some free parking areas even on weekends in 2021-22.
Exactly; and Snowbird's season pass costs $1,149. It's on Ikon, but limited to 7 days split between Snowbird and Alta. Vail could have adjusted their pass options and pricing to mitigate crowding next season, but it didn't. So now if you have an Epic pass, you'll have to pay to park but still deal with horrible lift lines and crowded trails. Vail is the George Costanza of business strategy.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Exactly; and Snowbird's season pass costs $1,149. It's on Ikon, but limited to 7 days split between Snowbird and Alta.
To clarify, Full Ikon provides 7 days that are the equivalent of a combo Alta/Snowbird pass. That means if Mineral Basin is open, it's possible to ski terrain at Alta and Snowbird on the same day. Ikon Base includes 5 days at Snowbird only, and no lift access at Alta. Ikon Base Plus includes 5 combo Alta/Snowbird days.

For a weekend, if an Ikon holder wants to ski Alta but not pay $25 for parking, it's possible park for free at Snowbird and ski Alta either by skiing over via the Baldy lift or by taking the UTA ski bus. Taking the bus between Snowbird and Alta is free in general. Ikon passes work as bus passes in any case.

In general, figuring out parking is more complicated than before for many destination resorts.
 

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