For years, Canyons Village was the free-parking side of Park City Mountain. Silver Springs sits just down SR-224 from it. Last winter, the first two levels of the new Canyons garage opened at no cost, with more than 650 spaces and no reservations needed. Starting this season, the finished five-story structure charges $29 a day before noon.
High Valley Transit is also finishing the stretch of bus rapid transit that passes Silver Springs Drive this winter. Paid parking at the base and a faster bus on the corridor arrive the same season. Together they change the math on the drive to Canyons more than any lift opening will.
Two Arrival Seasons at One Base
Park City Mountain is targeting Friday, November 20, 2026, for opening day, subject to weather and conditions. The new 10-person Canyons Village Skyway replaces the Cabriolet. It runs from the garage to the Canyons Village Forum, with a mid-station in the village. The Park Record reported in August that the gondola is set to start running on opening day, even though the garage will still be under construction.
That gap splits the early season in two. The resort's parking page says the garage is "scheduled to open in early December." Its garage FAQ is more cautious, saying "early to mid-December 2026," pending construction.
| Opening day until the garage opens | After the garage opens | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you park | Free Surface Lots 2, 3 and 4, with attendants directing cars | Canyons Village Parking Structure, plus a limited free surface lot next to it |
| Cost | Free | $29 a day, free after 12 p.m., free for vehicles with four or more people as space allows |
| Getting to the village | Shuttle or walking routes to the upper village | Skyway from the garage to the Forum |
| Lots 2, 3 and 4 | Open | Closed |
The free window could last about two weeks or close to four. It depends on which end of "early to mid-December" the construction crews hit. When the garage opens, Lots 2, 3 and 4 close for good, according to the resort.
What the $29 Is Measured Against
Mountain Village is the baseline. Paid reservations have been required there for years, with rates of $29 or more for surface lots and $50 or more for its garage. At $29, Canyons now costs the same as the cheapest surface parking at the other base. TownLift described the switch as the end of "the free parking era" at Canyons.
Some free parking is left. The resort says Canyons will "continue to offer limited free, first come, first-served day-skier parking in the surface lot adjacent to the parking garage." Garage parking is free after noon, and carpools of four or more park free when there is room. A morning departure from Silver Springs with two people in the car is the trip that changes most. An afternoon run after 12 p.m. doesn't change at all.
The season pass fine print
Season parking passes cost $825 for each garage, and they went on general sale September 1. The rules on the resort's pass page are stricter than many locals may expect:
- You need an active 2026/27 Epic Pass that includes Park City Mountain to buy or use one.
- Each pass works only at the garage chosen at purchase. A Canyons pass doesn't get you into the Mountain Village Garage.
- Garage access requires a free daily reservation through a portal run by Interstate Parking. An account can hold up to five reservations at a time, for the 8 a.m. to noon window.
- A pass doesn't guarantee a reservation on any given day. The resort says more reservations may be released as capacity changes.
- Overnight parking isn't included.
The reservation rule has changed during the summer. On August 21, the Park Record reported that Canyons reservations would be "requested for pass holders but not required for anyone." KPCW published its own story on August 24, then corrected it on August 25 to say the $825 passes "also require reservations." The resort's current pass page says a reservation is required for garage access. That page is the one to check before the first powder morning.
The Corridor Outside Silver Springs Drive
The paid garage makes the bus more appealing, and the bus is improving at the right time. High Valley Transit's construction update lists finished work on the Olympic Boulevard to Canyons Resort Drive segments. That includes improved intersections and signals at Old Ranch Road, Silver Springs Drive and Olympic Boulevard, and construction started on the Bobsled and Cutter Lane BRT stations.
In October, KPCW reported that the project is ahead of schedule. Gabe Shields, High Valley's chief development officer, said the orange cones will come off the road heading into winter and some sections will have dedicated bus lanes.
"Where we've completed work between Olympic [Parkway] and Canyons [Drive], we're essentially going to have the BRT running just about fully complete." Gabe Shields, High Valley Transit, speaking to KPCW
That stretch is the one directly outside Silver Springs. High Valley's routes are free seven days a week. Route 101, the Spiro / 224 Local, runs every 20 minutes daily from 5:27 a.m. to 11:58 p.m., between the Jeremy Ranch Park & Ride and the Old Town Transit Center. Along the way it serves the Canyons Village Transit Hub. From the hub, Route 105, the Canyons Village Shuttle, also runs every 20 minutes, from 6 a.m. to 11:55 p.m. It starts at the Transit Hub / Cabriolet Lot. The posted Route 101 timetable doesn't name a stop inside Silver Springs or Bear Hollow. High Valley's live map is the place to find the nearest stop.
The full project, with dedicated bus lanes along SR-224, is scheduled for completion in fall 2028. This winter is the first season the Silver Springs section will operate close to its finished form.
The Trail Reopens When the Snow Arrives
For anyone who walks or rides to Canyons, the McLeod Creek multi-use trail on the east side of SR-224 has been the casualty this year. High Valley lists two restrictions near the neighborhood for the April to November 2026 construction season:
- North of Silver Springs Drive and Bear Hollow Drive to Canyons Resort Drive and Village Round Drive: restricted. The detour uses the Millennium Trail on the west side of SR-224, via Bear Hollow Drive to Cooper Lane and the Frostwood Trail, then to Canyons Drive.
- Silver Springs Drive to Cutter Lane: restricted. The detour crosses to the Millennium Trail at Cutter Lane or uses the underpass near Newark Boulevard.
For the winter months, High Valley says traffic control will be removed and trails will reopen. Crews will keep working on local bus stops as weather permits. Work resumes in spring 2027. Next year the southbound side of SR-224 gets widened between Bear Hollow Drive and White Pine Canyon Road, and BRT stations get canopies, real-time information boards, lighting and landscaping. High Valley's update doesn't give a date for that construction, so spring is the only timing available.
What's at the Top of the Skyway
The new arrival leads into a village with a few new additions this season. Build-A-Bear Workshop is coming to Canyons Village this winter. The complimentary orange, rosemary and honey-glazed Orange Bubble Bites are back, served daily at 3 p.m. in the Forum. Après at the Airstream has weekly live music, and Silver Sky Nights bring music on the Forum Stage and fireworks after sunset on select evenings. The Canyons Village Tree Lighting is the day after Thanksgiving, and the Canyons Village Torchlight Parade is December 24.
Most of these events happen in the afternoon or evening, after the garage turns free at noon. A Silver Springs household going up for donut bites at 3 p.m. or fireworks after dark won't pay the $29 morning rate. The Snow League runs January 21 through 23, 2027. After that, the 22-foot Eagle Superpipe stays open as a terrain park feature.
The bigger lift changes are on the Mountain Village side and a year away. TownLift reported in September that Vail Resorts plans to replace Silverlode Express with an eight-passenger chairlift, and Eagle and Eaglet with a single six-passenger lift, for the 2027-28 season. A separate court challenge to the city's approval is still pending. At Canyons, the garage, the Skyway and the bus outside Silver Springs Drive are the changes for this winter. For more on the opening-date outlook, see our look at Park City Mountain's November 20 target. For the neighborhood itself, see our Silver Springs guide.
Living just down SR-224 from a ski base is part of what a Silver Springs address is worth, and this winter changes how that access works. If you'd like to talk about how the new Canyons arrival and the SR-224 corridor fit into owning, buying or selling in Silver Springs, Timeless Properties and Jake Doilney are glad to walk through it with you. Schedule a free consultation.
