Paying to park in the East

[ski diva]

Well, I figured this was coming. Vail is expanding its paid parking system at Mount Snow next season. I know paying to park for skiing is fairly common in the West, but not in the East. My guess is it's only a matter of time til this ripples through their other Eastern resorts, too.

Here's the email they sent out about it:

 

[MissySki]

Yuck.. Doesn’t affect me in general since it’s rare that I ski at Epic resorts, but yeah definitely yuck.

 

[Jilly]

We've had paid parking for awhile at Tremblant. Why most people I know park on the North side where it's still free.

 

[Christy]

I know paying to park for skiing is fairly common in the West, but not in the East.

Not in WA it's not! But it's been creeping up, with a couple places charging for a primo lot, or making it part of a pass...

 

[MissySki]

Not in WA it's not! But it's been creeping up, with a couple places charging for a primo lot, or making it part of a pass...

We do also have two lots with the front few rows reserved for those with a pass. That’s not a big deal to me though since there’s a choice and you can still park very close to that area.

 

[marzNC]

Not just new in the northeast. Alta is going to have some paid parking for busy days, meaning weekends for sure.

 

[Tvan]

We paid to park at Whiteface.

 

[marzNC]

Stowe has some paid parking at Spruce. Was that true before Stowe was bought by Vail Resorts? The big lots at Stowe are all free.

 

[marzNC]

Looks like Stratton has "permit parking" but not sure exactly where the lot is located. There seem to be a limited number of permits sold.

 

[newboots]

Hunter has a smallish paid lot. Closest to the lodge, of course.

 

[Peppermint]

Well that stinks. We parked at upper Carinthia all season for free. Can't wait to see how much this will cost us.

 

[newboots]

Is everything getting more expensive faster than it used to? (Or just skiing?)

 

[Abbi]

Is everything getting more expensive faster than it used to? (Or just skiing?)

Like real estate??

 

[newboots]

Like real estate??

And lumber. And food.

 

[SallyCat]

That's a hard NO from me. Buying a pass is a serious budget item; if I have to pay to park, that would be a dealbreaker. We have lots of options here* for local skiing at modest prices. I'd be just as happy skiing at smaller areas than paying for parking (on top of everything else) to ski at a larger resort. Especially for East Coast skiing. Ice is ice, and when conditions are poor, they are poor everywhere. No amount of money is going to buy you reliable snow in New England. There's a point of diminishing returns with the expense of skiing here; I'm sure that point varies for everyone depending on their situation, but it's still there.

*Central Vermont/ Upper Valley VT/NH

 

[Peppermint]

It's making me reconsider buying the Epic local pass. Bad taste in my mouth. Maybe I will look into Icon instead and get to ski new places.

 

[ski diva]

Do any of you here follow The Storm Skiing Journal? It's very good. It's a podcast, but you can also subscribe to the newsletter,. Anyway, the latest issue featured their "rewrite" of Vail's new parking policy at Mount Snow so it didn’t sound like a 1950s trust-me-this-is-good-for-you TV dad whooping his kid’s behind with a leather belt:

Look, we all know this place is a mess. Skiing here on weekends is like jumping out of the back of a jumbo jet with a team of confused paratroopers who all decide to go at once. There’s no way it can work. And now that we’ve lowered Epic Passes below the price of a meal deal at Burger King, it’s only going to get worse. So we need another way to control crowds. Paying for parking is a good way of doing that. We know you are going to hate this decision. That’s why we are setting aside two parking lots in New Hampshire for your free daily use. We know it’s a long way away, but it will be worth it to have The Experience of a Lifetime. We promise.

Better? I think so.

 

[Abbi]

Do any of you here follow The Storm Skiing Journal? It's very good. It's a podcast, but you can also subscribe to the newsletter,. Anyway, the latest issue featured their "rewrite" of Vail's new parking policy at Mount Snow so it didn’t sound like a 1950s trust-me-this-is-good-for-you TV dad whooping his kid’s behind with a leather belt:

Look, we all know this place is a mess. Skiing here on weekends is like jumping out of the back of a jumbo jet with a team of confused paratroopers who all decide to go at once. There’s no way it can work. And now that we’ve lowered Epic Passes below the price of a meal deal at Burger King, it’s only going to get worse. So we need another way to control crowds. Paying for parking is a good way of doing that. We know you are going to hate this decision. That’s why we are setting aside two parking lots in New Hampshire for your free daily use. We know it’s a long way away, but it will be worth it to have The Experience of a Lifetime. We promise.

Better? I think so.

Vast improvement!!!!

 

[ski diva]

Gotta love Magic Mountain. Here's their tweet:

 

[Christy]

Gotta love Magic Mountain. Here's their tweet:

View attachment 15934

That's really sweet parking. Perhaps because most of the places I've skied most--Crystal Mt, Stevens Pass and Whistler--have such a trek to get from the parking lot to base/lifts, I think that parking close to a base lodge or lift is an amazing and wonderful luxury. (And I say this as a city person that parks on the street and walks to most errands--but not in ski boots!).