Cypress Mountain Resort, a popular ski resort near Vancouver, British Columbia, will introduce a paid parking program on opening day in 2024.
Holders of a 2024-2025 season ticket or a three, four or five day Sky Card can still park for free. Holders of a one or two day Sky Card who bought their Sky Card before the paid parking announcement are also safe. These groups will need to register their number plates before October 9, 2024 to secure their free parking spot.
Paid parking costs $10 per day.
Parking remains free in Lot 3B and on the Nordic Area access road from Cypress Bowl Road to the BC Parks Nordic Area Kiosk. A fee applies in all other lots.
Dgu/Shuttestock
In an FAQ posted on the company’s website, Cypress Mountain writes that the company is introducing paid parking to improve the guest experience.
“Demand for parking exceeds available spaces. People wait and circle for parking spots, causing long traffic jams on Cypress Bowl Road during peak hours. Our goal is to improve the guest experience by providing incentives to use other options, such as a ride-sharing app or bus transportation,” the FAQ states.
Paid parking and reservation systems have caused problems for skiers and sparked controversy on more than one occasion, but in some cases the masses seem cautiously optimistic about the redesign of ski resort parking, especially in areas where traffic congests during the winter.
In May, Solitude Mountain Resort in Utah boasted on Instagram about the success of its parking system, which uses a mix of reservations and payments. There was a significant amount of positive reaction, mixed with some negative backlash. If parking programs do indeed reduce traffic, it seems many skiers are on board.
When asked about the Instagram post earlier this year, Jeff Carroll, Solitude’s vice president of marketing and guest experiences, told me it was “the first time since 2019, I believe, that we posted anything about parking on our social media feeds (where) the comments were overwhelmingly positive.”
Following Cypress Mountain’s announcement, a post shared on the Vancouver subreddit sought public opinion on the paid parking program.
“Nobody likes paying for parking, but the crowds/lines at Cypress are unbearable,” said one comment. “We’ll see if it has any effect compared to Mt. Seymour’s reservation system.”
“Honestly – necessary. The parking lot is a mess (bad word),” said another. “Hopefully this will encourage more shuttle services.”
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