Skiers walk through the Wildcat parking lot on a snowy day at Alta Ski Area

Parking
Reservations

Navigating Alta's weekend & holiday paid parking reservation system for the 2021-22 winter.

restoring alta's weekend & Holiday skiing experience.

Mainly unchanged for 83 years, skiing at Alta still delivers deep snowfall, sweeping mountain views and a laid-back vibe that generations of Alta skiers fondly recall. What has changed is the weekend and holiday skiing experience at Alta. And while we can't go back in time, we are making changes to manage skier demand to preserve the Alta skiing experience going forward. Implementing a paid parking reservation system on weekends & holidays is a step in that direction.

We are currently working through all of the finer details of the parking reservation system that will be released this Fall. All of the information stated on this page represents our current direction but may change.

WEEKEND & HOLIDAY paid PARKING RESERVATIONs. Why?

  • Provides Alta skiers the assurance that there will be a parking space before driving up Little Cottonwood Canyon.
  • Eases early morning traffic congestion resulting from limited parking available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
    • Alta skiers will no longer need to arrive hours before first chair to secure a parking spot on weekends and holidays.
    • Ski area employees will be able to arrive on time and prepare the ski area and parking areas for you.
  • Manage the ski experience by limiting the number of skiers to available terrain and lift capacity.

How will Weekend & Holiday Paid Parking by Reservation Work?

  • Reservations required: Weekends & Holidays from 8am-1pm.
    • Weekends: Saturdays & Sundays between December 18th - April 3rd and closing day.
    • Holidays: Winter Break (December 23rd–January 2nd), MLK Weekend (January 15th–17th), Presidents' Weekend (February 19th–21st).
    • Reservations will be required on approximately 40 days during the 2021-22 season.
    • All parking in the Wildcat, Flagstaff (South Side), Grizzly and Albion lots will require a reservation on weekends & holidays.
    • All parking reservations are subject to availability.
  • No Reservations required:
    • Monday through Friday (excluding holiday periods).
    • Opening day (November 24th) through December 17 & April 4th–April 16th.
    • Any day after 1pm—including all weekends & holidays.
    • Parking will remain first-come, first-serve on 100+ days during the 2021-22 season.
  • Parking Reservations can be purchased online starting in late October of 2021.
    • An advance block of parking reservations will be released for purchase in late October of 2021.
    • For the storm chasers, the non-planners or any skier looking for some flexibility, Alta will release parking spaces weekly (exact date TBD) for that immediate weekend or holiday period.
    • Reservations will be available for $25 per day.
    • Purchasers of Alta.com lift tickets are eligible to book parking reservations for $10 per day.
  • Qualifying Alta and Alta-Bird passholders are eligible for free parking reservations.
    • Parking reservations are verified by your license plate.
    • Qualifying Alta passholders will receive code(s) that can be used to book free parking reservations. Reservation codes may be reused once the active reservation date has passed.
  • Cancellations and no-shows.
    • More information will be available this fall regarding cancellations periods.
    • The fine for parking without a reservation will be $75.
    • An appeal process will be available for dealing with extenuating circumstances.

Buy Your 2021-22 Alta Season Pass

Paid Parking Reservation FAQs

Visit AltaParking.com to help answer all of your Alta parking-related questions. 

Turning away cars on busy weekends and holidays should no longer be part of a day of skiing. Our goal is to help guarantee that skiers with a paid parking reservation will have a place to park. This should ease early morning traffic congestion resulting from limited parking available on a first-come, first-serve basis and allow us to better manage the amount of skiers on the mountain during peak periods. 

Yes, a $25 parking reservation fee applies to the Grizzly, Flagstaff (South Side), Wildcat and Albion lots on weekends & holidays from 8am–1pm. Consider carpooling or riding the UTA Ski Bus. 

Cancellations made 48-hours prior to your parking reservation are eligible for refunds.

Yes. Reservations are required overnight.

Parking reservations are now live and can be made online at any time. 

No, Alta's paid parking reservation system is only in effect on weekends & holidays (December 18 - April 3 and closing day). This means that paid parking reservations are only needed 40 days out of our typical 152-day season. 100+ Alta days are still first-come, first-served, just like it's always been. 

Yes. In addition to your parking reservations, Alta passholders can purchase additional weekend & holiday reservations for $25 per day.

Free parking reservations for qualifying Alta passholders. Qualifying Alta passholders will receive code(s) that can be used to book parking reservations. Reservation codes may be reused once the active reservation date has passed.

- Qualifying Alta passes: Family Package, Adult, 65+, 80+, 18-25, Military, Gold Card, Powder Card & 10-Day Card.

- Qualifying Alta-Bird passes: Family Package, Adult, 65+, 18-25 & Military.

If free passholder reservations are not canceled within the cancellation period then passholder reservation benefits will be paused until a $25 no-show fee is paid. More information will be available this fall regarding the cancellation periods. 

No, the parking reservation will allow the skier to park in any of the designated lots, it does not guarantee a specific parking spot or parking in a specific lot.

Reservations are verified by your license plate. It's that simple. There are no physical kiosks or booths to slow the flow of traffic in the canyon or at Alta.

Yes. Contact the ski school office to purchase a parking permit valid for the dates of your child's program.

Yes. You’ll need to secure your parking reservation before booking your private lesson on weekends & holidays. If you are not able to make a parking reservation, please call the ski school office at 801.799.2271.

If the canyon closes due to weather, you will not be penalized for a no-show. 

Yes. Please work directly with your ski lodge or lodging property and they will advise. 

Yes, parking reservations are required on weekends & holidays. Alta's parking crew will make every effort to provide our best available parking to those individuals with ADA plates or placards.