7 Things a Utah Ski Town Charges Tourists That Locals Never Pay
Jordanelle charges $20 a vehicle for peak-season day use, and a Utah resident can skip it with a $125 annual pass good at all 46 state parks.
A visitor pays the $20 every time.
That split runs through the whole town, well past the ski hill.
These are the things a Utah ski town charges tourists that locals never pay.
1. Deer Valley’s Utah-Only Pass
Deer Valley won’t sell its cheapest weekday pass to just anyone.
The Utah Limited Pass runs Monday through Thursday for as low as $1,605, but only after a skier produces a Utah driver’s license or a property tax bill.
There are no exceptions.
A tourist visiting from Nevada or Texas can’t buy that pass at any price.
That tourist is left choosing among Deer Valley’s Midweek, Select, or Unlimited passes instead, all priced higher than the resident rate.
The multi-resort Ikon Pass starts lower, at $1,449, but it caps Deer Valley access at seven days a season instead of covering the whole winter.
2. Epic SchoolKids’ Free Days
Park City Mountain gives away free ski days every season through a program Utah kids can join and out-of-state kids can’t.
The Epic SchoolKids Utah Pack covers any Utah resident in kindergarten through fifth grade, no purchase necessary.
A kid who has never skied or ridden before also gets one free first-timer lesson and rental package.
Their tickets cost nothing.
A tourist’s child the same age pays full price for every lift ticket.
Over a week-long family trip, that gap adds up one ticket at a time.
3. Bonanza Flat’s Trailhead Parking
Park City’s Bonanza Flat Conservation Area started charging for parking in June 2025, catching hikers and backcountry skiers off guard at the trailhead.
Anyone driving in from outside town now pays at the lot.
Park City Municipal residents don’t.
A household inside the city’s municipal boundary can claim up to two free permits a year for all-hour parking at the Bonanza Flat lots, proof of residency required.
Everyone else pays every time they park there.
4. Jordanelle State Park’s Day-Use Fee
Jordanelle State Park sits on the reservoir behind Deer Valley’s East Village, and it charges every vehicle at the gate.
Peak-season day use runs $20 a vehicle at Hailstone, Rock Cliff, or Ross Creek, or $10 in the off-season.
A Utah resident can skip that per-visit charge with the state’s $125 annual pass, good for unlimited entry at all 46 Utah state parks for a year.
Utah State Parks won’t sell that pass to anyone without a Utah mailing address.
No annual option exists.
A tourist can only buy the day-use fee, one visit at a time, no matter how many trips the family makes to Jordanelle that week.
Bonanza Flat’s Permit vs. Jordanelle’s Day-Use Fee
Bonanza Flat’s parking permit and Jordanelle State Park’s day-use fee both charge a vehicle to park near Park City, but two different governments run them.
Park City Municipal issues the Bonanza Flat permit, and it only works at that one trailhead.
Utah State Parks issues the Jordanelle pass, and it works at all 46 Utah state parks for a full year.
Neither fee is the canyon tolling Utah has proposed for the separate Cottonwood Canyons outside Salt Lake City.
The Utah Department of Transportation hasn’t switched that road charge on yet.
5. Park City Golf Club’s Green Fees
Park City Golf Club is the city’s municipal course, and it prices the same round of golf two different ways.
An 18-hole round with a cart costs $122 during the regular season.
Anyone who can show ID or a utility bill proving they own property inside Park City’s municipal limits pays $72 for that same round instead.
That’s a $50 gap for eighteen identical holes.
No exceptions here either.
A visiting golfer pays the higher rate no matter how many rounds they play that trip.
6. Park City Recreation’s Visitor Rates
Park City Recreation runs the Park City Municipal Athletic & Recreation Center, the city’s recreation and fitness complex, and it checks an ID at the front desk.
An adult day pass costs $24 for a visitor this season, but only $12 for anyone who lives within the Park City School District boundaries.
Every tier costs double.
A 10-visit punch pass runs $220 for a visitor and $110 for a resident.
A tourist family swimming and using the gym for a week ends up paying twice what a Park City family pays for the same visits.
Psst! This ski town’s Olympic, mining, and snow trivia trips up even regular visitors. See if you can ace it.
Quiz
Park City Ski History IQ
Answer these questions on Park City’s Olympic history, snow, and mining past. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
The Winter Olympics are heading back to Utah. What year will the Games return?
7. Park City Library's Non-Resident Card
Park City Library hands a free card to one group and a bill to everyone else.
Anyone who lives in or owns property within the 84060 zip code gets a library card at no charge and can check out up to 50 items at a time.
Everyone outside that zip code pays for the same card.
No free option exists.
A non-resident card costs $40 for 12 months or $20 for six.
A tourist staying in Park City for a single ski week pays the same $40 a full-time resident never sees on a bill.
A tourist who wants a Park City library card for a one-week ski trip can still get one.
The $40 fee just buys twelve months of borrowing privileges a Park City address gets for nothing.
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