Industry News
Palisades Tahoe’s Comprehensive Plan to Combat Traffic & Parking
Palisades Tahoe, CA, has announced its proactive approach to address the traffic impacts experienced during the past winter season. In preparation for the 2023/24 winter season, the resort will implement an innovative traffic and parking solution on weekends and holidays. The primary objective is to minimize arrival and departure traffic impacts on guests, employees, and the local community. While acknowledging the complexity of this longstanding issue, Palisades Tahoe remains committed to easing the situation for everyone involved.
- Related: Palisades at Palisades Tahoe, CA, Closed for the Season | Alpine Open Weekends Only Through July 4th
Palisades Tahoe will introduce a mix of free and reserve-in-advance, paid parking programs for all guests. There will be a few exceptions, for example, Achieve Tahoe, Palisades Tahoe employees, Ski Team families, and Village commercial tenants and their employees. This program will be in effect on Saturdays and Sundays starting from mid-December through March (extending into April depending on demand) as well as during the holiday timeframes of December 26-31, 2023, January 13-15, 2024, and February 17-25, 2024. The paid parking program will not be implemented outside of these designated dates and will be adjusted if demand is lower than expected. Notably, as guests depart early afternoon on peak days, reservations and paid parking restrictions will be lifted.
Furthermore, Palisades Tahoe is actively exploring alternative options to alleviate the need for parking reservations and paid parking. The company is studying drop-off and mass transit possibilities to provide guests with convenient alternatives. Building upon successful past initiatives and recent pilot programs, Palisades Tahoe aims to offer a range of transportation options to access the resort. Valuable insights from other resorts nationwide that have implemented similar systems are being considered to refine the solutions. Palisades Tahoe acknowledges the importance of convenient and user-friendly alternatives and is working diligently to explore all available options.
“We understand the concerns and inconveniences caused by traffic impacts, and we are committed to finding effective solutions. While we may not have all the answers at this time, we want to keep our guests and community informed of our efforts. Please stay tuned for more details as we continue to finalize the plans.”
– Dee Byrne, Chief Operating Officer
For more information, please visit the Palisades Tahoe website to learn more about the New Solutions To Traffic Impacts for the 2023/24 Season.
In response to traffic impacts experienced over the past winter, we plan to implement new traffic and parking solutions on weekends and holidays during the 2023/24 winter season. Our goal is to reduce arrival and departure traffic impacts experienced by guests, employees, and our community. Although there is not one single answer that will solve this region-wide, decades-old issue, we continue to be focused on doing what we can to ease the situation for our guests and the people who live and work in our region.
Currently, all general parking is free at Alpine and Palisades base areas. If you wanted to guarantee a spot, a limited amount of prepaid parking (75 spaces) was available at the Alpine Lodge. These premium spaces cost $40 in advance or $50 the day of. The Village at Palisades Tahoe also had a seasonal preferred parking pass available which typically went on sale in the spring and sold out quickly.
We understand that you will have questions related to exactly how things will work with parking reservations and charges for peak days.
The below information, from the resort’s blog, is intended to give you an idea of what we are working on for the upcoming season with more details to be shared as we finalize them.
GUEST PARKING
For Saturdays and Sundays starting mid-December through March (and possibly into April depending on demand) as well as the holiday timeframes of December 26-31, 2023, January 13-15, 2024, and February 17-25, 2024, we will be moving to a program that is a mix of free and paid reserve-in-advance parking for all guests. There will be a few exceptions, for example, Achieve Tahoe, Palisades Tahoe employees, Ski Team families, and Village commercial tenants and their employees. This program will not be implemented outside of the dates above and will be eased off if demand is less than expected. As guests depart in the early afternoon on peak days, we will remove reservations/paid parking restrictions.
PARKING ALTERNATIVES
We are currently examining what drop-off and mass transit options could be so that guests can avoid reservations or paid parking. We plan to build upon past initiatives and recent pilot programs to give our guests options to get to the resort outside of paid parking. We are also learning what has worked well (or not) from other resorts across the nation that have implemented similar systems. We realize that additional alternatives that are convenient and easy to use will also need to be implemented and we are working through all of those options.
We wanted to give you a heads-up on this change and admittedly, do not have all the answers at this time. Please stay tuned for additional information.
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
Will all parking be pay-to-park next season?
No. Parking reservations will ONLY need to be made for the Saturdays, Sundays, and select holiday periods noted above. Fees will apply from daybreak to midday; after that, all parking will be free. We ask for your patience as we continue to work through the details.
If I have an Ikon Pass, will I need to pay or make a reservation on peak weekends and holidays?
Yes, on Saturdays, Sundays, and select holiday periods, everyone will be required to have a paid reservation, regardless of what type of pass (or other product) you have.
How much will it cost per vehicle?
This is an unknown at this time. We do, however, plan to reinvest the funds generated for buses and transportation initiatives.
Is this for both Alpine and Palisades?
Yes, both mountains will be moving to this system on the dates noted above to help alleviate traffic and enhance the guest experience. This includes the Deer Park and Hidden Valley overflow lots at Alpine.
Will there be other options to get to the resort?
Yes, in addition to the number of free shuttles that are already offered, potential transportation initiatives for the public in the 2023-2024 season include:
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- Expanding the Sherwood Shuttle that services the West Shore.
- Introducing carpool incentives
- Working with local agencies to advance transportation options for our guests and employees
Does this impact people who are willing to get to the resort very early in the morning?
Yes, this program will apply and be in effect for all guests on the dates noted above to help alleviate traffic and enhance the guest experience.
