Salt Lake City (November 30, 2023) — After a successful inaugural season, the Cottonwood Connect ski shuttle will return by popular demand for the 2023-24 season. The goal of the Cottonwood Connect ski shuttle is to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and enhance the visitor experience.
Cottonwood Connect will begin operations on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, and run every day through Jan. 1, 2024. The program will then run Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays from Jan. 5 through April 14, 2024. Reservations for rides to Alta, Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude are now being accepted. Full details, including routes and days of operation, are available at visitsaltlake.com/cottonwoodconnect.
Passengers will pay $10 one-way or $20 for a round-trip service and reservations will be required through the online booking portal This public, private partnership was established in part by Salt Lake County, Visit Salt Lake, Utah Transit Authority (UTA), Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), with supplemental support from Ski ‘N’ See. Cottonwood Connect will participate in Sandy City Police Department’s Ski Bypass Program on canyon closure days in Little Cottonwood Canyon, allowing public transportation
providers to skip ahead of queued cars once the canyon has safely opened.
With three out of four Salt Lake area ski resorts requiring weekend parking reservations, residents and visitors are encouraged to choose alternate transportation to reach their ski destination. UTA Ski Buses, Cottonwood Connect, and the Wasatch Backcountry Alliance shuttle are smart transportation options that will reduce congestion and emissions in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. Comprehensive ski resort parking information can be found here.
Areas served by Cottonwood Connect include Midvale, Cottonwood Heights and Sandy, with stops at area hotels and public park & ride lots. The Driver Provider was selected as the service provider after a request for proposal process by Visit Salt Lake.
"Last season, the Cottonwood Connect was a big hit, showing that skiers and snowboarders are up for finding common sense ways to beat the traffic in our canyons," said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson. "I'm excited to team up again to roll out this solution once again. It's not just about enjoying our canyons, but also about giving everyone else a break from the traffic."
“The Cottonwood Connect service is an essential component to easing the winter traffic challenges in Little Cottonwood Canyon,” said Sandy City Mayor Monica Zoltanski. “With our new Sandy Ski Bus Bypass Service, riders on Cottonwood Connect shuttles, along with UTA buses, essentially have a “fast pass” to get to get to the front of the line on busy ski days.”
“The key to cleaner, more efficient transportation to Utah’s ski resorts is collaboration,” said UTA Executive Director Jay Fox. “We appreciate our community partners coming to the table to find creative solutions for moving skiers, boarders and other visitors up and down the canyons. We see Cottonwood Connect as a complementary service to UTA’s Ski Buses and employee vanpool program to reduce single-occupancy vehicles and congestion.”
"We appreciate the opportunity to partner with the community on this program and are excited to support transportation options that reduce vehicles in the Cottonwood Canyons,” said UDOT Transit Project Manager Devin Weder. “We continue to work towards implementing Phase 1 improvements such as increased and improved bus service and hope that everyone takes full advantage of this great shuttle service as we transition to transit oriented travel in the canyons."
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Visit Salt Lake is a private, non-profit corporation responsible for the promotion of Salt Lake as a convention and travel destination. In partnership with Salt Lake County, Visit Salt Lake improves the. area economy by attracting and providing support to conventions, leisure travelers and visitors with a strong commitment to sustainability and stewardship of the area’s natural environment. Through its sales and marketing programs, Visit Salt Lake’s impact on Salt Lake’s annual $5.4 billion visitor economy equates to $1,801 in tax relief for each household within Salt Lake County. For more information on all that Salt Lake has to offer, go to visitsaltlake.com.
