Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah — Solitude does a few things differently from other corporate ski resorts. One example of this is their annual town hall.
Since 2022, Solitude President & COO Amber Broadaway has hosted an annual Town Hall to discuss how the prior season went and what they’re planning to do in the future. I personally really like these formats and wish more ski resorts did something like this. These town halls started as more grandiose affairs, with them detailing plans for the future seasons. Over the past two years, they’ve toned down what they’re thinking for future developments, but still detail some projects.
In this year’s town hall, Solitude detailed some changes that will be coming for the 2025-26 season. The big change is that Solitude is getting rid of paid parking for Midweek dates. This is to align with other Cottonwood ski resorts, which have paid parking reservations on weekends (albeit Snowbird does still have some free parking without needing reservations). Other significant projects include building more mountain biking trails, refurbishing the disc golf course, adding a new snowmaking supply pipeline, adding four new Wyssen RAC towers (leading to earlier Honeycomb openings), and renovating the Moonbeam Lodge.
The most noteworthy project brought up by Solitude was a new parking lot. Recently, Solitude Mountain Resort purchased a plot of private land (not public) that they want to convert into a parking lot. This new area would add 593 parking spots to the ski resort’s capacity. With this addition, part of the plan would be to eliminate parking on Big Cottonwood Canyon Road (SR-190), which is a safety risk for both drivers and pedestrians. Situated across the street from Solitude, shuttles would pick up guests from the lot.
Environmentalists and some locals are opposed to the plan. With it currently being home to quaking aspens, people fear that it would lead to damage to the ecosystem, which would impact wildlife and water quality. However, Solitude is saying they have a plan to filter out water contaminants. There’s also concern about traffic, as this development would create a four-way intersection. Despite the shuttle plan, some fear that people would still walk across the street, leading to more traffic. On the other hand, you could argue that roadside parkers leads to traffic. Other concerns include the potential for increased erosion and fire danger. Its location is close to the Forest Glen neighborhood, which has drawn concern from their residents.
Ultimately, these opponents fear that Solitude is paving paradise and putting up a parking lot.
This is still a proposal and will need to receive the necessary approvals, including from the Town of Brighton. A formal timeline of development by the Utah ski resort has yet to be announced.
While all that drama plays out, Solitude will be having a busy summer. Some of their activities include lift-serviced mountain biking, hiking trails, and disc golf.
Image/Video Credits: Solitude Mountain Resort, Save Our Canyons
