The Cabriolet Is Gone: How Canyons Village Gets to the Lifts This Winter

This winter, Canyons Village gets a new front door, and it doesn't all open on the same day. Park City Mountain is scheduled to start the free Canyons Village Skyway on Nov. 20, the day the resort hopes to open for the season. The new parking structure the gondola was built to serve isn't expected until early to mid-December.

So the first few weeks of the season run on a temporary setup of surface lots, shuttles and a gondola ride with a new stop in the middle. After the garage opens, the setup settles into a pattern that matters more to anyone living in the village than the $29 headline price. Parking costs money for four hours each morning. The gondola, the buses, afternoon parking and full carpools are all free.

A Gondola Before Its Garage

The Cabriolet ran its last day in late March. Park City Mountain and the Canyons Village Management Association marked it with donuts at the top terminal and a Cash Cab Giveaway. The next Monday, crews started on the 10-person gondola that replaces it and on the final three levels of the parking structure, which master developer TCFC is building. The first two levels of the garage were open last season. They closed to the public when construction resumed.

Here's the order things are scheduled to happen, based on what the resort has published so far:

All of these dates are targets. Park City Mountain lists Nov. 20 as the start of operations, depending on weather and conditions. The resort's hours page schedules the Skyway from that date. No published update so far reports the gondola as finished. The resort's FAQ also covers the case where the garage isn't ready. In that case, free parking stays available in the surface lots within Canyons Village until the garage opens.

The Stop in the Middle

The Cabriolet was a two-point shuttle from the lower lot to the base. The Skyway follows the same route but adds a mid-station. Park City Mountain says the stop is meant to improve access for homeowners, lodging properties and guests. The cabins are enclosed, with floor-to-ceiling windows, and the ride is free.

The most specific location on record comes from a July 2025 open house on the proposal. KPCW reported then that the planned on-and-off station sat just west of Red Pine Road, where Canyons Village Drive bends left. The resort's current materials confirm there is a mid-station but don't repeat the exact site. Treat Red Pine Road as the planned spot until the lift is running.

If the station ends up there, the change for anyone staying or living in the middle of the village is simple. A walk uphill to the Forum or downhill to the transit area becomes a short ride in a heated cabin, in either direction. On opening day, it may matter more that the Skyway is scheduled to carry people between the lower lots and the Forum before the garage is ready.

Four Hours That Cost Money

When the garage opens, the price is $29 a day. The resort's FAQ adds conditions that matter more than the price.

• Paid window. Vehicles with fewer than four people pay only between 8 a.m. and noon, and the resort notes those hours could change. Arriving after noon costs nothing.
• Hours. The garage is generally open 7 a.m. to midnight and closes overnight.
• Carpools. Four or more people park free with a reservation. You still scan the QR code on the garage signs and enter your vehicle details, and an attendant gives you a code for free parking.
• Drop-off. Two lanes on Level 2 are set aside for drop-off. Follow the signs to the east entrance. You don't pay if you aren't using a space during the paid hours.
• Free surface spaces. A limited number of first-come, first-served spaces sit in a surface lot next to the garage. High Valley Transit Park & Ride lots are also free.
• ADA. Reserving an ADA space is free. Plates or hang tags are checked on the day you park.
• EV charging. Chargers are on Levels 1 and 2. Charging is free with a season pass or a paid reservation.

Season passes cost $825 and are sold separately for the Canyons Village garage and the Mountain Village garage at the top of the First Time lot. Each pass is valid only at the garage you choose when you buy it. A pass requires an active 2026/27 Epic Pass that includes Park City Mountain, plus a free daily reservation, and the Canyons pass doesn't allow overnight parking. The resort says buying a pass doesn't guarantee that a reservation will be available on any particular day. Pass access starts when construction is finished, not on opening day.

Taken together, these rules charge for one thing, which is a solo or two-person car parked during the morning rush. Being dropped off is free. So is an afternoon session, a full car with a reservation, or a ride on the bus. Mountain Village keeps last season's setup, with paid reservations at every surface lot and free parking for carpools.

Leaving the Car at Home

The garage plan includes a ground-floor pedestrian plaza with transit access, and the resort says rideshare and transit drop-offs will improve. None of the published schedules show a redesign of the routes that already reach the Canyons Village Transit Hub.

1. High Valley Transit 105, the Canyons Village Shuttle. Free and daily. It starts and ends at the Transit Hub by the Cabriolet Lot. HVT's current route page lists buses every 20 minutes from 6 a.m. to 11:55 p.m. An older CVMA page lists 15-minute service until midnight. Check HVT's page before you plan around the timing.
2. HVT 101, the Spiro/224 Local. Every 20 minutes, 5:27 a.m. to 11:58 p.m., with a stop at the Transit Hub.
3. HVT 10X, the High Line Express. Every 20 minutes until 8 p.m., running from 5:52 a.m. to 12:05 a.m., also through the Transit Hub.
4. Ecker Hill Park-and-Ride. Park City Mountain sends Canyons-bound riders here to catch the free 10X and 101.
5. Canyons Village Connect. CVMA's free on-demand winter shuttle, running daily from 7 a.m. to midnight between the scheduled opening and closing days.

The garage closes overnight and charges in the mornings, so these routes matter most for evenings in the village and for early starts. Connect runs until midnight, and the 105 runs almost as late, well after the Skyway's 6 p.m. close.

The First Weekends on the New System

The first big gatherings of the season are scheduled during the gap or just after it. The annual Canyons Village Tree Lighting is the day after Thanksgiving, which this year is Friday, Nov. 27. That's a week after the target opening day and probably before the garage opens. The Canyons Village Torchlight Parade is set for Dec. 24. If the garage opens on schedule, the parade will be its first holiday crowd, although overnight closing and morning fees don't affect an evening event.

What Waits for 2027

This season's change is the arrival system. The work on the mountain comes next. Vail Resorts' Sept. 28 announcement targets the 2027-28 season for the Silverlode, Eagle/Eaglet and Crescent lift projects. The same release confirms the Sunrise Gondola opened last winter. Below the village, The Ascent, the unfinished condo-hotel in Frostwood Village, is under new ownership. KPCW reported in August that the owner says Hilton remains committed and gave October 2027 as a reasonable opening date.

For now, the details worth tracking are the dates. The Skyway is scheduled to start Nov. 20. The garage is expected in early to mid-December. Parking is paid from 8 a.m. to noon, and every other way into the village is free.

If you own in Canyons Village and want to know how the Skyway mid-station and the new garage could affect the way guests and buyers see your address this winter, Hudgens | Harrison is happy to walk through it with you. Schedule a concierge consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.