Mid-Winter Parking Update 2026

Mill Creek Shuttle

Millcreek Canyon is often overlooked when it comes to transit planning in the Central Wasatch. That’s why we’re grateful that a shuttle has long been a priority for the Central Wasatch Commission.

The Commission recently updated the Mill Creek Shuttle Feasibility Study and submitted a Request for Appropriations to the state to fund a three-year pilot program for a summer Millcreek Canyon Shuttle. We’re excited to share that the Transportation Appropriations Committee is moving through committees!

While we’re very supportive of this progress, we do wish the pilot program included winter service — which it currently does not.

Because of that, and due to limited parking near the Winter Gate this season as a result of construction, WBA will be moving our Backcountry Shuttle to Millcreek Canyon this winter starting February 21, 2026! You can learn more by checking out our shuttle page. We hope you’ll ride with us and help demonstrate the demand for a winter “transit-to-trails” system in Mill Creek Canyon.

Guardsman Interactive Parking Map

Over the past month, WBA has also been working to address the parking designation on the east side of Guardsman Pass, which was incorrectly shown as “no parking” on the interactive map, managed by Interstate Parking (the private company that manages the Town of Brighton, Brighton Resort, Solitude Resort, and Alta parking reservations). We reached out to the Town of Brighton, UDOT, and Interstate Parking to clarify the discrepancy and sent multiple follow-ups requesting clarification. While we never received a response from any of the agencies, we recently noticed that the map has quietly been corrected. The area is now marked in yellow, indicating that daytime parking is allowed (but not overnight parking). We’re glad to see the fix — even if it came without explanation — and will continue pushing for clearer communication moving forward.

Grizzly Gulch Parking

We were surprised to hear that people began receiving tickets near the Summer Road area this winter. As a reminder, north-side parking is permit parking only for employees and residents/ vacation home owners (permits require an annual per-vehicle fee). While this policy has technically been in place since 2021, enforcement ramped up really for the first time this season. We’ll continue working with the Town of Alta and Alta Ski Lifts to address ongoing backcountry parking concerns and hopefully work out some solutions for backcountry users.

How to Park on Storm Days

As a reminder with the incoming snow (finally!) if you park before the plows have done their sweep, please park in the corners and park near other cars rather than spreading out. If you arrive while the plows are clearing a lot, please give them the extra time to finish the job before parking. Here’s where you should park if you arrive before the plows:

White Pine: Northwest corner of the lot by yellow sign so the plows can push the snow to the East end of the lot.
Spruces: Either corners on the West side of the lot.
Cardiff: on the North side of the street.

White Pine Parking Tickets, Signage Errors & What Happens Next

A few weekends ago, a number of backcountry users received parking tickets along the roadside at White Pine, despite somewhat incomplete/ incorrect parking signage. WBA and other community members pushed hard for a meeting with UDOT. WBA has been trying to meet with the UDOT team that manages parking in the Cottonwoods for over a year. We finally got that meeting we’d been requesting with UDOT, plus these other stakeholders: The Unified Police Department (Town of Brighton’s police unit), Salt Lake County, the Country Special Ops Sheriffs (police who manage parking issues on unincorporated lands), Salt Lake Climbers Alliance, and the Forest Service.

Here’s what happened… There is supposed to be legal roadside parking between the 100-foot line-of-sight no-parking zone near the White Pine lot entrance and the Little Pine East slide path (which is only room for 3-4 cars). UDOT has multiple sign installation crews, and one crew installed a green “Parking Allowed” sign up-canyon from the lot (purple pin on the screenshot below). However, there was no corresponding sign marking where the allowed parking zone ended near the slide path.

In short: the signage was incomplete on the up-canyon side of the road. UDOT acknowledged this was an error on their end.

However, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office — whose Special Ops team issued the tickets — said that the citations were valid because a yellow “No Parking – Avalanche Zone” sign exists on the opposite (downhill) side of the road (yellow pin on map).

We pushed back on this. Expecting drivers to scan across the highway for parking restrictions is unreasonable. Most people are not trying to break the rules — and certainly not trying to get ticketed 150 bucks! They simply had no idea the rules had changed midseason. Frankly, neither did we. To further complicate matters, once a ticket is issued, it is processed through the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District (MSD), and out of the police’s or UDOT’s hands. It’s up to the MDS to appeal tickets.

We also requested that when signage changes occur in the future, officers issue warning tickets first — similar to how the Forest Service handled the rollout of Recreation Area Fees. We believe this is a more fair and reasonable approach.

Who Actually Issues Parking Tickets?

As usual in the Cottonwoods, it’s complicated. Parking enforcement depends on exactly where you are:

Town of Brighton (BCC): Unified Police Department
Unincorporated Salt Lake County lands: Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office Special Ops
Near the mouth of LCC: Sandy Police
Near the mouth of BCC: Cottonwood Heights Police
Resort and reservation parking systems: Interstate Parking (private company)
Town of Brighton and Alta reservation systems: Also managed by Interstate Parking
Cardiff, White Pine, and Spruces parking lots: The Forest Service

It’s a true patchwork of jurisdictions — which makes communication and consistency even more critical.

The Bigger Picture: Finally Getting a Seat at the Table and Future Conversations

As mentioned, WBA has sent dozens of emails over the past year trying to get a meeting with UDOT about parking changes. Unfortunately, it took this signage mistake (and strong advocacy from a community member) to finally get the right people in the room.

The good news: the meeting was productive. We believe it’s always worthwhile to put faces to names and build working relationships. UDOT expressed openness to holding quarterly or biannual meetings specifically focused on Cottonwood Canyon parking.

Here are some of the positive meeting outcomes:

No-mid season changes: UDOT seemed receptive to implementing parking changes at the start of the season, rather than midseason and establishing a moratorium on midseason changes to reduce confusion. We also want the resorts to agree to this approach.
Slide zone improvements: UDOT seemed open to moving avalanche-related “No Parking” signs to the uphill side of the road (or at least to the side where people are actually parking). UDOT is willing to explore making avalanche parking restrictions more flexible rather than sticking to a rigid November–May timeline. While it would not be as dynamic as the signs installed along the roadside parking at Snowbird (shutter signs that say whether roadside parking is allowed that day), some increased flexibility may be possible for dry spells when there is essentially no avy danger — which would be a benefit for climbers too! They also claim to be open to reevaluating avalanche slide paths uphill of White Pine, which could potentially allow for more roadside parking.
Parking Lights: An idea raised after the meeting was installing red/green light indicators at roadside parking areas to clearly signal whether parking is allowed that day. This would allow UDOT to safely manage roadside parking dynamically and equitably — without prioritizing resort users at Snowbird over backcountry users at White Pine.
Allowing left-hand/down-hill turns: Lastly, we expressed our desire for UDOT to consider safe alternatives that would allow vehicles to turn downhill out of the White Pine lot, which could potentially be incorporated during Phase 1 of UDOT’s planned reconstruction of the White Pine lot, which is intended to improve bus stop infrastructure alongside BCC bus improvements.

Communication Is Key

We emphasized that WBA needs to be kept in the loop when parking changes are made so we can help communicate clearly with our members. Better communication leads to better compliance.

UDOT says they are committed to improving coordination. As always, actions will speak louder than words.

We also discussed UDOT’s potential plan to develop an interactive roadside parking map that would include resort policies. This could be a helpful tool. WBA has considered building something similar for backcountry users, but when rules are changing unpredictably, it would be challenging to maintain a reliable product.

Where We Go From Here

This situation was frustrating. No one wants to get ticketed because of confusing or incomplete signage. That said, the meeting itself was constructive and we’re hopeful this leads to more consistency, fewer midseason surprises, and better collaboration moving forward. We will continue advocating for fair, transparent, and predictable parking policies for the backcountry community.

Not to fear monger, but we advise that you are vigilant about checking for new or missing signs mid-season. If you experience signage inconsistencies or enforcement issues, please continue to let us know and be sure to CLEARLY document any tickets you received with photos/videos to better aid your appeal process. Your feedback matters — and it’s what got us into this meeting in the first place.

If you support this kind of advocacy work, please consider supporting WBA by becoming a member or making a donation.