Want to ditch the car and travel green? Here are Vail, Colorado, transportation ideas that may help you spend more time playing outside and less time on the road.
Free & Low-Fee Winter Buses
Travelers don’t need a car when visiting Vail. The free year-round bus service makes it easy for everyone to travel throughout Vail (East Vail to West Vail). And, if visitors want to travel down-valley, Core Transit offers an extensive transportation system across Eagle County, connecting Vail to the rest of the valley. Core Transit offers free service on most of its routes, with the exception of trips involving Gypsum, including the stop for Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), and Leadville, where fees apply. Buses depart regularly from the Vail Transportation Center in Vail Village. View Core Transit schedules here. The town bus system also runs from West Lionshead through the entire village to Golden Peak. See Vail accessibility information and the Vail Bus Schedule.
Carpooling & Ride Sharing to Vail
There is no easier time to carpool from Denver to Vail. From ride-sharing apps to elevated bus services, many options are available to get to Vail in style.
In Colorado, options like TreadShare and Caravan launched so travelers can share a ride from the Front Range to their favorite mountain resort. These carpooling apps allow travelers to upload their upcoming trips into the system or find other travelers who would pay a fee to join them for the ride to and from — or within — the mountains.
Bustang, the Colorado Department of Transportation’s statewide bus service, picks up at several locations in the Front Range and services mountain towns up and down the I-70 corridor, including Vail. For seasonal route maps and schedules, visit the Bustang information page.
On weekends and holidays, additional transit service is provided through CDOT’s Pegasus Shuttle Vail program. Pegasus, combined with Bustang’s West Line, provides hourly service between Avon and Denver Union Station with intermediate stops in Vail, Frisco and the Federal Center in Lakewood. Bustang riders can relax and enjoy free Wi-Fi, take a nap or just soak in the view on their two-hour drive to Vail.
Travelers coming from Denver International Airport (DEN) have a variety of ride-share options, too, including Epic Mountain Express, Peak 1 Express, Blue Sky Limo and Colorado Airport Express.
More Vail Winter Transportation Tips
• When driving to Vail, consider driving an electric vehicle. Many car companies, including Hertz, are making it easier and easier to choose electric with rebates and special offers. Vail also has more than 30 public-charging ports and a variety of hotel options with places to plug in. In the Lionshead parking structure alone, you’ll find public charging ports ranging from Level 2 options to four DC fast-charging stations.
• Winter paid parking in the Vail Village and Lionshead parking structures along with Red Sandstone Garage, Ford Park Lot and Soccer Lot begins Nov. 15, 2025, at 6 a.m. and extends through April 20, 2025.
• Leave your car at home and ride the bus. Vail has added additional outlying morning buses and additional outlying evening buses to supplement the scheduled routes. ECO regional transit is running its winter schedule as well.
• Free parking along the North Frontage Road across from the West Vail Mall and on the west side of the West Vail roundabout is available daily throughout the season from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. with easy access to bus stops. Additional free parking is available on selected days at Donovan Park, 1600 S. Frontage Road.
• Free parking is offered in the Village and Lionshead structures for up to two hours (must exit within two hours) all season long as well as free short-term parking for drop-off and other short-term needs on the top deck of the Vail Village structure and the passenger drop-off in the Lionshead structure with entry and exit from East Lionshead Circle on the west side of the structure. Also, arrive after 3 p.m. for free parking in both structures until 3 a.m. seven days a week. Entries between 1 and 3 p.m. require charges.
• Never drink and drive. Enter after 3 p.m. and exit your vehicle from the structure by 11 a.m. the next day compliments of the Town of Vail. While this service is available for exceptional circumstances, please remember to plan ahead and ride the bus, take a taxi or have a designated driver. Please see a booth attendant at the exit.
Parking along the South Frontage Road is available only when the two parking structures are full. Watch the variable message signs for updates.
For Vail transit information, call 970-479-2178 or visit vailgov.com/bus-schedules; for real-time Vail transit information visit ride.vailgov.com; for ECO Transit, call 970-328-3520 or visit eaglecounty.us/transit/schedules; for parking information, call 970-479-2445 or vailgov.com/parking.
More Vail Travel Information
• Learn about non-stop flights to Vail