Stowe, VT (Vail Resorts) to Charge for Parking Next Year

The days of rolling up to Stowe Mountain Resort at a time of your choice and arriving to non-paid parking spaces are dead and gone.

Sort of.

Starting next season, Stowe will charge for parking on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and holidays at all lots minus the Toll House and XC Center, according to a letter shared today by Bobby Murphy, Stowe’s general manager. This means that on weekends next season, 80% of parking spaces at Stowe will require payment unless you:

1. Ride with four or more people, which lowers your cost of parking to 0$ as an incentive to promote carpooling
2. Show up after 2 pm
3. Park at the Cross Country Center or Toll House (these lots make up approximately 20% of Stowe’s parking)
4. Are there Monday-Thursday

Paying for parking next season can be done via a smartphone app or on-site kiosks in order “to help ensure faster, more efficient parking, especially at our busiest times.”

The full letter from Stowe’s GM is attached below. 

I’m Bobby Murphy, general manager here at Stowe Mountain Resort, and I’d like to share an update on a topic that’s been on a lot of people’s minds this season.

We are proud to be a popular destination for skiing and riding, but we recognize that traffic is a key challenge. I’ve been asked what we can do to improve the flow of guests into and out of the resort. What can we do to help reduce traffic congestion, increase carpooling, and increase the use of public transit to the resort? How can our operations help change behavior? In response to this, Stowe Mountain Resort will implement a new parking plan for the 2022-23 winter season which includes free and paid parking, new payment strategies and special incentives for those who choose to carpool.

Parking will remain free at all lots Monday through Thursday during non-holiday periods, and at all lots after 2pm. Paid parking will be implemented Friday through Sunday and holidays at all lots, except at the Cross Country Center and Toll House area lots which will remain free seven days a week. Free parking will also be offered at all times in all lots to cars arriving with four or more guests, which we hope encourages carpooling. Additionally, payment can be made via a smartphone app or on-site kiosks to help ensure faster, more efficient parking, especially at our busiest times.

By encouraging more people to use public transport, carpool or visit during non-peak times, we hope to move congestion off of the two-lane road leading to the resort and from our main lots.

In addition, we are ramping up our partnership with Green Mountain Transit, with proceeds from our paid parking going toward additional buses and capacity as well as toward our own resort shuttle system to improve public transportation in and around the resort.

We thank you for your understanding as we strive to create smoother arrivals and departures at our resort. We’ll be releasing additional details about the plan soon.

Thank you,

Bobby.