© 2024 KPCW

KPCW
Spencer F. Eccles Broadcast Center
PO Box 1372 | 460 Swede Alley
Park City | UT | 84060
Office: (435) 649-9004 | Studio: (435) 655-8255

Music & Artist Inquiries: music@kpcw.org
News Tips & Press Releases: news@kpcw.org
Volunteer Opportunities
General Inquiries: info@kpcw.org
Listen Like a Local Park City & Heber City Summit & Wasatch counties, Utah
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Park City
Everything to do inside of Park City proper.

Free Park City Transit to Trails Service to Run Through September 12th

Sean Higgins

Park City kicked off a free Transit to Trails shuttle over the weekend. The service takes hikers and bikers from the site of the proposed arts and culture district at the corner of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive up to several popular local trailheads.

 

The Transit to Trails service provides free rides for hikers and bikers from the parking lot on Munchkin Road to the Mid-Mountain, Bonanza Flats, and Blood Lake trailheads. Shuttles will make four trips between 8:00am and noon every Saturday and Sunday until September 12th. 

 

Funding for the service was provided by a grant from the Central Wasatch Commission. Park City Trails and Open Space Manager Heinrich Deters told the Park City Council earlier this month the program is a great way to test out the popularity of a free shuttle service with minimal investment from the city.

 

“This is a pilot program,” said Deters. “Pilot programs are, hey, try them out for a small amount of money, if they don’t work, we’re fine, but if they work, then I think this meets a lot of the goals of the council as well as Central Wasatch Commission, who is funding it. If I’m back in two months and I’m like, ‘Wow, this is wildly successful, are you guys interested in putting some more money into this or adding some more stuff?’ I’d be tickled pink to be back here. I hope I am in, like, August or September and we’re having that conversation.” 

 

New parking restrictions were put in place on Guardsman Pass last week and the Transit to Trails program is an effort to get cars off the road and reduce trailhead congestion by providing an alternate way to get people up the mountain and on the trails.  

 

Jason is a shuttle driver for the program and said his first day on the job was a busy one. He took groups of hikers and bikers on each of his four trips on Saturday -- including one group of 17 people headed up to Blood Lake.

 

“It was a pretty good launch,” Jason said. “We got all the signs set up there and we’ve been watching people, there’s a lot of people up there taking pictures of it so they know about it and store it in their phones. As we go forward, I think we’re going to have a lot of people coming to this.”

 

Paul Quigley was using the shuttle to access the Wasatch Crest trail on his mountain bike. He said the shuttle is a great alternative to pedaling up by himself, paying for a shuttle, or trying to park a car at the trailhead.

 

“It should help with the traffic situation up there,” he said. “I usually do this ride on the weekends and either pedal or pay a shuttle.”

 

The shuttle runs on a reservation system, but walk ups are welcome if space is available. Reservations can be made by calling 801-808-1367 or emailing utahmountainshuttle@gmail.com.

 

You can also find a link, as well as more information on the Transit to Trails program here.

Sean Higgins covers all things Park City and is the Saturday Weekend Edition host at KPCW. Sean spent the first five years of his journalism career covering World Cup skiing for Ski Racing Media here in Utah and served as Senior Editor until January 2020. As Senior Editor, he managed the day-to-day news section of skiracing.com, as well as produced and hosted Ski Racing’s weekly podcast. During his tenure with Ski Racing Media, he was also a field reporter for NBC Sports, covering events in Europe.
Related Content