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.

WEEKEND & HOLIDAY paid PARKING RESERVATIONs. Why?

  • Provides Alta skiers the assurance that there will be a parking space before driving up the 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?

  • 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.
    • Reservations required: Weekends & Holidays 6am-1pm (40 days)
      • Saturdays and Sundays - December 18 - April 3 and closing day.
      • Holidays: Christmas Week, MLK Weekend, President's Weekend
    • NO Reservations required. First-Come, First-Serve Parking (100+ days)
      • Monday through Friday (excluding holiday periods)
      • Opening day through December 17 and April 4 - April 16
      • Every day after 1pm (including weekends & holidays)
  • Parking Reservations can be purchased online starting in October of 2021.
    • Advance Reservations - An advance block of parking spaces available each day for reservation will be released for purchase in October of 2021.
    • Week-of Reservations - The remaining parking spaces available for purchase for a weekend or holiday period will be released at least one week before the 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.
  • Free parking reservations for qualifying Alta passholders.
    • Qualifying Alta passholders will receive code(s) that can be used to book free advanced and week-of parking reservations. Reservation codes may be reused once the active reservation date has passed.
      • Purchasers of Alta & Alta-Bird Passes: Adult, 65+, 80+, 18-25, Military, Gold Card, Powder Card and 10-Day Cards
        • Two (2) active advanced parking reservations.
        • Two (2) active week-of parking reservations.
      • Purchasers of Alta and Alta-Bird Family Packages:
        • Four (4) active advanced parking reservations.
        • Four (4) active week-of reservations.
  • Cancellations and no-shows.
    • Paid parking reservations canceled 24 hours prior to the start time (6am) will be fully refunded. Unused reservations not canceled before this time will not be refunded.
    • If free passholder reservations are not canceled 24 hours prior to the start time (6am) then passholder reservation benefits will be paused until a $25 no-show fee is paid.
    • 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

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. 
  • Free parking reservations for qualifying Alta passholders.
    • Qualifying Alta passholders will receive code(s) that can be used to book free advanced and week-of parking reservations. Reservation codes may be reused once the active reservation date has passed.
      • Purchasers of Alta & Alta-Bird Passes: Adult, 65+, 80+, 18-25, Military, Gold Card, Powder Card and 10-Day Cards
        • Two (2) active advanced parking reservations.
        • Two (2) active week-of parking reservations.

No way. 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 free advance reservations and week-of reservations, Alta passholders can purchase additional weekend & holiday reservations for $25 per day.

Yes, a $25 parking reservation fee applies to the Grizzly, Flagstaff (South Side), Wildcat and Ablion lots on weekends & holidays from 6am–1pm. Consider carpooling or riding the UTA Ski Bus. 

October of 2021. 

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. Ski school will provide you with parking reservation codes that you can use to book parking reservations on the day of your lesson.  

Yes. Ski school will provide you with parking reservation codes that you can use to book parking reservations on the days of the program.  

If free passholder reservations are not canceled 24 hours prior to the start time (6am) then passholder reservation benefits will be paused until a $25 no-show fee is paid.

Yes.

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

Cancellations made 24-hours prior to your parking reservation are eligible for refunds.

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