Stowe Implementing New Paid Parking Policy Covering Most Lots for 2022-23
Earlier today, Stowe made a major announcement about changes to the parking policy for the 2022-23 season. To address access road traffic, increase carpooling, and increase public transit use, the Vermont resort has made the decision to implement paid parking on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays at all lots except for the Cross Country Center and Toll House area. Parking will remain free on Monday through Thursday across all lots.
To encourage carpooling, cars carrying four or more individuals will be exempt from paid parking through this policy. The resort says proceeds from the paid parking revenue will go towards funding increased public transportation around the resort area.
A map of Stowe’s parking options for the 2021-22 season. The Mount Mansfield, Gondola-Midway, and Mansfield Overflow lots will become paid for the upcoming winter.
Our Take
Stowe now becomes the third resort in Vermont to institute tiered paid parking for a significant portion of lots on weekends and holidays, following in the footsteps of Stratton and Mount Snow. However, Stowe is the first northern Vermont resort to launch such a program, requiring much more of a commitment to reach from most major Northeast metropolitan areas than the other two resorts.
While this change will likely result in a number of unhappy guests, Stowe’s access road has become home to notorious traffic jams during peak times, the likes of which are arguably even worse than the lift lines. On the busiest days, guests can expect bumper-to-bumper traffic as early as 7am. Hopefully, the loss of free convenient parking will deter a considerable chunk of guests from driving to the resort or even visiting altogether.
Free parking will still be available at the Cross Country and Toll House lots, although these lots are extremely inconvenient compared to Stowe’s other parking options. Despite their less-than-central locations, we imagine these lots will fill up quickly on busy days as the only non-paid options at the resort. It is possible that the Stowe access road traffic jams will just end up getting pushed back to these lots, but we wouldn’t be surprised if enough guests end up opting for the paid parking lots to even things out.
While those parking in the Cross Country lot will need to ride a shuttle to reach the slopes, those who park in the Toll House lot may opt to take the Toll House Double to get to Stowe’s main terrain zones. However, guests who opt to ride this antiquated and out-of-the-way lift should prepare for extremely long waits next winter. This low-capacity double chair has seen very little traffic in past seasons, but with more people driven to the vicinity by paid parking, the lift is likely to be overwhelmed on weekend and holiday mornings. There are few facilities and nonexistent intermediate-plus terrain options in the Toll House area, making the zone undesirable to spend time in, even absent the expected uptick in crowds.
Considering a trip to Stowe next season? Check out our comprehensive mountain review. Additionally, check out our full Vermont and East Coast rankings.
