In its fourth year of operation, the Quandary Peak and McCullough Gulch parking reservation and shuttle program continued to work as intended, aiding public safety by reducing congestion and illegal parking, according to Summit County government staff.

Open Space and Trails resource specialist Allison Morton told the Summit Board of County Commissioners during a work session Tuesday, Nov. 5, that while satisfaction with the parking program improved compared to years past, satisfaction with the shuttle program fell.

“This is the first year where the parking reservation system ratings were actually not as terrible as in years past, where more people would actually recommend using the paid parking than not. That was good to see,” Morton said. “They’re still not super excited about the cost of reservations.”

In surveys this year, visitors gave the shuttle system an overall satisfaction rating of 6.7, a slight decrease from previous, and the parking system a 5.4 rating, a slight increase from previous years, according to a Quandary season update prepared by county staff.

Morton said she believes the decline in customer satisfaction with the shuttle system this year was due to challenges with the contractor that runs the service, SP Plus. She said that staff have discussed the issues with the SP Plus.

“We think that’s tied to some operational challenges SP Plus had leading to really long wait times for people, including them not having drivers show up for work or buses that were broken down and not really communicating that adequately with us or passengers,” Morton said.

The Summit County government first instituted the Quandary Peak and McCullough Gulch reservation and shuttle program in 2021. Amid the pandemic, visitation to the trailhead exploded — with Quandary Peak, which was then the most hiked 14,000-foot peak in Colorado — drawing nearly 50,000 hiker days in 2020. That created parking problems, with vehicles parking on the highway, in the local neighborhood and on the county road to McCullough Gulch, sometimes blocking emergency vehicles.

In 2024, the parking and shuttle program ran from June 15 to Sept. 15, and the details remained largely the same as the previous year, according to the staff memo. The parking reservations offered two options, a full-day reservation aimed at hikers attempting Quandary Peak, and a short-term reservation for those hiking McCullough Gulch. 

It cost $55 to reserve full-day parking on peak days, including Fridays through Sundays and holidays, and $30 to park on non-peak days, the staff memo states. For short-term parking, it cost $20 on peak days and $10 on non-peak days. 

For those with a Summit County library card, there is also an option to check out a parking pass for free. Morton said that that program expanded this summer with each of Summit County’s three libraries offering two parking passes at each branch, compared to just one at each branch last year. The parking passes were checked out 70 times this season, she said.

Through the summer, there were two shuttles running to Quandary Peak and McCullough Gulch, 7-days a week from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., leaving from the South Gondola Parking Lot, Morton said. 

Shuttle tickets cost $7 per passenger. Summit County residents who could provide proof of a local address could ride the shuttle for free. This year, about 8,200 people purchased shuttle tickets, a 23% increase from last year, with a total ridership of about 29,000 people and 363 dogs, Morton said. About 160 Summit County residents rode the shuttle for free.

One of the biggest improvements to the shuttle program this year was the construction of a one-way driveway for a shuttle turnaround that improved safety for visitors, Morton said. A shade structure, benches and a trash can were also added, she said. Another bear-proof trash can was installed at the Quandary Peak trailhead.

Visitors purchased about 5,800 parking reservations this year, a slight increase from 2023 and an about 14% increase from 2022, Morton said. July continues to be the peak month for the program, followed by August.

Although Saturdays were the most popular, there was very minimal variance between parking usage throughout the week. Morton said the steady usage of the parking was an indication that people were taking advantage of the cheaper parking prices during the week, helping to spread the usage out.

Summit County Commissioner Eric Mamula asked how visitation to Quandary compares to other Colorado 14ers and whether the parking system has impacted visitation.

Open Space and Trails director Katherine King said that the parking and shuttle system has had a “measurable impact,” on visitation to Quandary. King said that since 2020, data from the Colorado 14ers Initiative has shown a decline in hiker visitation since the parking and shuttle program came into effect at Quandary, though it remains one of the most popular 14ers.