DEER VALLEY RESORT, PARK CITY, UTAH — It's no mystery that the excitement and accompanying activity of the Olympic Winter Games are already upon us. The look of Park City is being altered right before our eyes as scaffolding and stadiums rise; temporary parking lots emerge; and flags raise. There's plenty of obvious activity at the base of Deer Valley Resort, host of the 2002 alpine slalom, freestyle mogul and aerial events, and Resort management wants to remind its skiing guests that the Resort is open to the public now and during the Games, and also inform them of changes in normal operations.

"Due to the Olympic contact, there will be no more public parking at the Snow Park Lodge at the base of our Resort until February 25," says Deer Valley Resort President and General Manager Bob Wheaton. "Our base of operations has switched from the Snow Park to the Silver Lake area. We are encouraging all of our guests to ride the free and frequent shuttle busses Ð either the Park City Transit or Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) busses from the US 40 Park and Ride Lot. The busses will be absolutely the most direct, efficient, convenient and pleasant way to get to Deer Valley and enjoy our fabulous skiing during the Games period. Limited paid parking will be available at Silver Lake Village. There will also be free public street parking along Royal Street outside Silver Lake Village."

Snow Park Lodge Access

Lots 1 - 4 at Deer Valley Resort's base area outside Snow Park Lodge are already closed to the public as they are being used for Olympic operations. Guests may park in lots 5, 6 and 7 through Sunday, February 3rd. Deer Valley is providing free and continually running shuttles from the parking lots to the Snow Park Lodge.

After Sunday, February 3, there will be no public parking in Deer Valley's Snow Park Lodge area. All Deer Valley Resort ski operations including ski rentals, ski lessons, and food and beverage service are already operating out of the mid-mountain Silver Lake Lodge area, so day skiers should begin their day at Silver Lake Village.

The only skier service that will remain at Deer Valley's Snow Park Lodge will be the Children's Center daycare operation. Parents with children registered in the Children's Center will be allowed to park in the designated child care parking lot in Lot 8. Free Deer Valley shuttles will transport parents and their children up to Snow Park Lodge.

Any Deer Valley guests or Olympic spectators who need to access Snow Park Lodge may take either the free Park City Transit busses or the free Salt Lake Organizing Committee busses from the US 40 Park and Ride Lot (Silver Summit Exit, #2, off U.S. Highway 40). Both busses will drop guests off at Lots 5 and 6 outside Deer Valley's Snow Park Lodge.

DAY SKIERS

The best option for Deer Valley day skiers during the Olympic timeframe is to take free Park City Transit busses to Deer Valley's Silver Lake Lodge. Guests from Salt Lake will begin their day at the US 40 Park and Ride Lot and those from Park City can take the complimentary city-wide bus to Silver Lake. Park City Transit busses and SLOC busses will transport Deer Valley guests to the Old Town Transit Center behind Park City's Main Street. Guests will then transfer to the Silver Lake busses, which will take them to Deer Valley's Silver Lake Lodge.

Park City Transit Service to Silver Lake Lodge runs February 5 Ð 24, from 5 a.m. to midnight. The Park City Transit schedule for this time frame is every 20 minutes from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. and every 30 minutes from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Any guests actually staying in the Park City area can catch a Park City Transit Bus anywhere there's a blue bus stop sign and access the Old Town Transit Center from there. Parking will be available at Snow Park beginning on February 25th.

The last day of the expanded Olympic bus service to Deer Valley will be February 24th. As of February 25th, busses will no longer run from the US 40 Park and Ride Lot.

A limited number of paid parking spots will be available at Silver Lake in the Royal Plaza underground and outside Goldener Hirsch lots. As an added benefit this winter, Deer Valley Season Pass holders will be able to park in these two lots on a first come, first served basis at no charge through March 1, 2002. In addition, the City will allow free street parking along Royal Street outside Silver Lake Village, and Deer Valley will run their parking lot trams in the Silver Lake area from February 4 through March 1.

OLYMPIC SPECTATORS

From now through February 7, SLOC busses from the US 40 Park and Ride Lot direct to Deer Valley's Olympic venue at Snow Park Lodge, will run from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m, leaving every 15 minutes between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. They will run every 30 minutes during the rest of the day.

Between February 7 and 24, the SLOC busses will increase their frequency and run every 5 minutes beginning at 5 a.m.

Pick up for the return trip from Snow Park Lodge back to the US 40 Lot will also occur in Lots 5 & 6 at Deer Valley. Return busses will be operating every 30 minutes all day, increasing to every 15 minutes between the hours of 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and back to every 30 minutes from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. The last day of this expanded bus service from the US 40 Park and Ride Lot is February 24th.

For more information about transportation to and from Deer Valley during the Olympics, please contact the Park City Transit Center at 435-615-5700 (6 a.m. to 12 a.m. Monday Ð Friday) or call the recorded information line at 435-615-5350 or visit www.parkcity2002.org; or contact the Utah Transit Authority at 888-743-3882 or visit www.utahcommuterlink.com; or Deer Valley Communications Manager Christa Graff at 800-424-DEER (3337) or 435-645-6522, or visit the Resort Web site at www.deervalley.com.

— Posted by Ari Cheren, MountainZone.com Staff