Crystal Mountain Institutes Paid Parking Policy for 2021-22

Crystal’s A-Lot parking lot in January 2021.

In the wake of ever-increasing resort demand and access road backups, Washington’s Crystal Mountain has announced a series of changes to its parking policies for the 2021-22 season. All on-site lots have now shifted to paid parking on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with some exceptions. This policy applies to all visitors, including skiers, snowshoers, sightseers, and backcountriers.

Season passholders, including those on the Crystal Local, Hall, Anytime, and Ikon passes, are exempt from the parking fees. Passholders must register their license plate numbers online in Crystal’s system, and the resort will use license plate recognition software to verify the exempt status. Carpools of 4+ individuals are also exempt from these fees.

Crystal will not be requiring reservations to ski and ride for the 2021-22 season. The resort’s A Lot, which was previously the only paid parking on-site, will continue to only be accessible at a significant premium with a A-Plus Parking Pass. The full press release for parking updates can be found here.

Our Take

Crystal has suffered from serious crowding problems in recent years, and this is the second major change the resort has made for the upcoming season to address overcrowding on the mountain—the first was eliminating unlimited access from the Ikon Base Pass (the pass product now offers 5 days of access). On the surface, one might view the mandatory paid parking as a huge pain. However, we imagine many frequent Crystal visitors will actually appreciate the decision.

Carpools of 4 or more are exempt from parking fees, and it’s probably not too difficult to find a group that big who wants to hit this resort on the weekend. It’s also worth noting that this policy won’t have much of an impact on frequent visitors. Season and Ikon passholders will be exempt from the paid parking policy, so long as they submit their license plates in Crystal’s online system. This means it’s going to be solo or small-group day-trippers fronting the core of these new parking costs.

We’re curious to see how Crystal’s Enumclaw shuttle service turns out. While it will allow guests to avoid the paid parking fee, the ride from town to the resort will take nearly an hour—quite the trek. Personally, we believe the shuttle will be appealing to those who live directly in the Enumclaw area but passed over by most others.

Considering a trip to Crystal next season? Check out our comprehensive mountain review. Additionally, check out our Washington state rankings.