Parking is a hot topic across Park City – and most ski towns across the country. The automobile is a convenient transportation tool right up until it’s time to find a place to park, which can be a challenge on popular ski days with different alternatives based on whether it is a weekday or weekend. We’ll break down all the options here, plus a few transportation hacks:

PARKING AT DEER VALLEY

The majority of parking is located at the Snow Park Lodge base area. There are five lots and often fill up on weekends, holidays, and peak periods around 9 a.m. Plan ahead to arrive extra early, especially for guests with ski school reservations.

Download the Deer Valley app, which has a live parking lot tracker so you’ll know if it makes sense to head to the mountain or directly to one of the offsite lots where free shuttles are available.

If parking is almost full, groups of two or more skiers should take advantage of the skier drop-off, depositing the group and everyone’s gear, right at the base. The driver can look for an open spot, or if need be, head to one of the overflow lots for a free shuttle back to the base area. It’s much easier solo, especially when not hauling skis or poles left with the rest of the group.

For early arrivals via US 40, there are limited parking spots at the Jordanelle Gondola. Parking usually fills here by 8:30 a.m. on most days, and there is a coffee shop by the lift to fuel up before heading up the hill.

WEEKEND OVERFLOW PARKING

Treasure Mountain Junior High. Located on Kearns Blvd, private shuttle buses depart from this lot, depending on traffic, every 15 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The shuttle buses go directly to Deer Valley’s Snow Park Lodge – no transfer is needed.

WEEKDAY OVERFLOW PARKING

Richardson Flat. This expansive lot has the capacity for more than enough cars, even on the busiest of days. All buses from Richardson Flat head to the Old Town Transit Center, near Main Street. From there, transfer to any bus signed for Deer Valley. Keep in mind: some of these routes go to Silver Lake (Orange bus) or Empire Pass (Purple bus), which will only work for skiers who do not need the facilities (lockers, ski school, ski valet, lift tickets, etc.) found at Snow Park Lodge.

BUSES & CARPOOL

An advantage of buses and Park and Rides: buses use dedicated lanes on the road, zipping right by cars queuing up hoping there will be spots left when they arrive.

There are six bus lines that bring skiers to the Snow Park Base: Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Teal, and Spiro 101. All buses inbound to the resort will display “Deer Valley” on the sign. Buses headed in the opposite direction on the route will say Outbound and where it is headed.

Most bus routes are designed to stop near lodging properties, which makes it easy to leave the car behind and hop a free ride to the resort. Many lodges even offer complimentary shuttles that drop skiers off right at the lifts.

For those not located near a bus line, use one of the several large transit lots within and on the outskirts of town to park your wheels. Either grab a free bus ride as explained above or carpool.

Carpoolers, with three or more guests, are rewarded with reserved parking in Lot 2 on weekends.

OTHER HACKS

Plan your drive with the Summit County dashboard. This tool is much more comprehensive  than Google Maps or Waze. In addition to real-time traffic and choke points on major road segments to and from the resort, the dashboard also includes traffic cameras and variable messages on road signs – which are updated with information on where to park when lots are full.

Follow @deervalleyresort on all social media platforms for parking lot and lift ticket capacity information, plus weather and other resort info.

Sign up for text alerts, for everything from parking lot status to weather and snowfall totals. Sign up today here.

Switch up the morning routine and have breakfast at the mountain. Whether it’s coffee and oatmeal in the car, breakfast sandwiches and bars from Deer Valley Etc Grab N Go, or a sit down breakfast at Fresh Tracks Kitchen, the early birds get the parking spot.

Last chair, best chair. Arrive around 1 PM at the mountain and the chance of finding parking is much easier than in the mornings. The slopes tend to empty significantly in the afternoons, and those final laps can be the best runs of the day!