Parking on ski day

** Article updated Feb 2015 and Jan 2017**
If you're staying in the mountain-side village - and particularly if you're in ski-in/ski-out accommodations - you can skip this article.  You can raise a smug eyebrow and say "we don't have to worry about parking, darling".  For everyone else, read on.

My wife and I keep things simple because we hate schlepping ski gear very far.  Our parking plan:

1. Get to the hill no later than 8:30am
2. Pay the ten  fifteen bucks to use the parking lot off of Chemin des Voyageurs. [Feb 2015 update: They have now instituted automated payment, replacing the staffed booth where the nice lady would take your money and say "Passe une bonne journee!"]

That's it.  You can see the lot at the bottom of this map, marked with P$.  Getting to the hill by 8:30 guarantees you a spot in this lot, and it's a one-minute walk to the Cabriolet gondola that whisks you to the base of the mountain.  Even on weekends, 8:30 is safe.

If you want free parking, you can find a free lot right behind the pay lot we recommend (labelled as P1), but you need to get there *early* for this one...my guess is all the seniors arrive at 7:30 for First Tracks and use up all these spots.  P2 is just a bit further up the street and we used it recently...read about the greatest parking experience ever on the dedicated post that heralds the delightful ski-in/ski-out lot.  The remaining lots are at various spots along Chemin Duplessis, and they're far enough away that they shuttle you in from them. Another idea is to try the lot on the North Side.  Just continue along Duplessis where you essentially drive around the mountain to the north.  We've seen this lot available during the day so it's worth a try, and you can buy your tickets, rent gear and hop on the lift from the north side.

In short, ample parking if you arrive early.  If you arrive late, you can still park, but be prepared for a bit more of an ordeal with shuttle buses.  [Feb 2015 update: We arrived late on a particularly busy day and decided to tough it out in one of the distant lots and take the shuttle.  It was just fine...]

Jan 2017 Update:
Further to the comment above from Feb 2015 where we said it was quite feasible to take the shuttle bus from the remote parking lots, well we did it a few times this past January and it was fine.  The buses are very frequent, every 10 minutes or so, and in fact they drop you at the top of the hill near the Casino gondola station, so you have a shorter walk to the base of the ski hill.  So experience tells us you have many more viable options than we originally thought!