6 Ski Towns With Fare-Free Public Transportation

If you're not staying at a ski-in/ski-out hotel, figuring out how to get to and from the mountain will be another consideration when planning your ski trip. Visiting ski towns that offer fare-free public transportation will make your trip greener and easier.

No one wants to spend more time than they have to hoofing it around in their ski boots. To the delight of skiers and snowboarders, many ski towns have invested in free public transportation.

You can leave your car parked if you visit these six ski towns with fare-free public transportation.

Stowe, Vermont

From late November through early April, Stowe Mountain Resort offers fare-free public shuttle bus service from Stowe Village to Stowe Mountain Resort and many other attractions, dining, and shopping locations throughout town with the help of Green Mountain Transit (GMT).

The Mountain Road Shuttle is available from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily during ski season and runs every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes otherwise. This is the smart choice if you want to avoid paying for parking at the resort.

The Mountain Road Shuttle's 24 stops include in-town locations like the Commodores Inn, Stowe Town Hall, and Cape Cod Road, as well as four different Stowe slope-side stops. The bus schedule and other important information, such as real-time bus status and transit maps are available on gostowe.com/mountain-road-shuttle . The Mountain Road Shuttle also offers complimentary paratransit services.

Banff, Alberta

Visitors to the town of Banff can take a free daily shuttle to Banff Sunshine Village from several hotels and other points of interest, including Canalta Lodge, Banff Caribou Lodge, Fox Hotel and Suites, High Country Inn, Ptarmigan Inn, Banff Springs Hotel, and the Banff Park Lodge. There are seven Banff to Sunshine Village Departures and one bus running from Sunshine Village to Banff. The schedule changes depending on the time of year. Check the skibanff.com site for details. The winter schedule usually begins service at 7:50 a.m. and runs from the Sunshine Village back to the hotels until 6:30 p.m.

Aspen, CO

The city of Aspen offers fare-free shuttle routes through the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) bus system. You can easily get anywhere in town or between the four ski resorts: Ajax, Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass. Parking spots can be hard to come by or expensive in Aspen, so taking the RFTA, colloquially called VelociRFTA, is a no-brainer. Eight lines run all over the town of Aspen starting as early as 6:15 a.m. during ski season. RFTA also operates routes that go all the way to Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, but those routes are not free.

You can use the trip-planning tool, check schedules, and use the bus tracker on the RFTA.com site .

RFTA also provides complimentary paratransit to individuals with disabilities who are unable to access or navigate RFTA fixed-route services.

In addition to the free bus service, visitors can also take advantage of the free Late Night Taxi Service provided by High Mountain Taxi from Rubey Park every half-hour starting at 12:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. These taxis will drop you at any Aspen bus stop, but riders should know this is not a door-to-door service. Call 970.925.TAXI for more info.

Park City, UT

The town of Park City offers free public transportation to and from Park City Mountain and Deer Valley Resort, which is just two miles away from Park City. Park City is covered by two bus services operating under Park City Transit Routes and High Valley Transit Routes. The Park City Transit Routes bus system includes 11 bus routes, each with a color-coordinated route and name on the transit map.

The bus system includes stops from Jeremy Ranch to Richardson Flat Park and Ride with many stops around popular locations like the Park City Mountain Village, Prospector Square, and the Snow Creek Shopping Center. The High Valley Transit Route system has six number and color-coordinated routes that service locations in Park City, including Park City Mountain and Deer Valley Resort. More information on these routes can be found on High Valley Transit’s Website . In addition to bus lines, High Valley Transit also offers Micro, a free van service that comes when you want and where you want for short-distance transfers, and Valley Ride, an ADA paratransit service for people who are unable to use the fixed route bus system because of a temporary or permanent disability.

For routes and schedules, you can visit parkcity.org/departments/transit-bus . The site also has bus tracker information, an interactive map, and park and ride locations.

Telluride, Colorado

The town of Telluride has fare-free public transportation on its Galloping Goose bus system and the Telluride Gondola .

The Gondola takes passengers from the town of Telluride to the Mountain Village and back down so visitors staying down in the town or at the ski base can easily commute back and forth. The Gondola runs daily from 6:30 a.m. to midnight. The 13-minute scenic ride travels at 11 miles per hour and tops out at 10,540 feet. You can load and unload the Gondola on Oak Street, at the mid-mountain St. Sophia station, and at the Mountain Village Station.

Telluride’s Galloping Goose Bus system services downtown Telluride and takes passengers in a loop along Colorado Avenue, Pacific Avenue, Oak Street, and Willow Street. The Galloping Goose schedule usually runs from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., depending on the season. Check the Galloping Goose site for the current schedule.

North Lake Tahoe, CA

The Tahoe Truckee Regional Transit (TART) offers fare-free bus services in North Lake Tahoe and Truckee, Park and Ride ski shuttles, night shuttles, and year-round special event shuttles. Riders can download the Transit app for smartphones to get schedule information and step-by-step trip planning information. Schedules vary by season so check the website tahoetruckeetransit.com or app before you head out.

Visitors can also use the Mountaineer system, a free on-demand shuttle service that provides rides anywhere within Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows. They operate from early December through early April. Wait times are usually less than 15 minutes. For more information, you can download the app for smartphones. The shuttle is a dog-friendly, 10-person, 4WD sprinter-type van equipped with ski and snowboard racks.

BONUS -- Sun Valley, ID

Mountain Rides offers fare-free public transportation in the Sun Valley area. It runs every day of the year and has ski and bike racks so you can stow your gear. Mountain Rides is the official transportation provider for Blaine County, which includes Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue, and Carey. The shuttle routes make it easy to get to and from Sun Valley Resort 's two base areas -- the River Run base, near the center of Ketchum, and the Warm Springs Lodge at the base of Bald Mountain. The blue route goes from Elkhorn Springs to Dollar Mountain to the Sun Valley Village and Lodge and goes through Ketchum past River Run Lodge, then to Warm Springs.

The free town bus has three year-round routes and four peak-season routes for Ketchum and Sun Valley. There's even a route that will take you to the Hailey Airport. Mountain Rides also provides complimentary paratransit (ADA) services for people with disabilities. The Mountain Rides site has a live shuttle tracker and up-to-date information about schedules and other transit options.

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