A free service that takes Nordic skiers, snowshoers and fat tire bikers from Bonanza Park to Empire Pass and back has started its early winter shuttle service.Transit to Trails, which offered shuttle service part of last week, hopes to continue this Thursday through Sunday, depending on weather and groomed track conditions.The service — provided by Park City Municipal and Utah Mountain Shuttle — is designed to enrich the public, preserve landscapes and reduce congestion on roads and trailheads. The shuttles offer access to groomed trails in Bonanza Flat.The pickup location is 1376 Munchkin Road and the drop-off is Empire Pass via Twisted Branch Road. The program is currently using three 12-passenger buses to transport passengers between the two stops from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.To reserve a seat to the trailheads, go to utahmountainshuttle.com/transit-to-trails-park-city and arrive 10 minutes before the scheduled departure. Riders should email if they plan to bring bikes. To get back to Munchkin Road, they should coordinate with the driver.  Unscheduled riders are accepted based on availability. Questions and changes or cancelations should be directed to 801-298-2191 or [email protected].“This is really an awesome program,” said Logan Jones, Park City’s trails and open space project manager, adding the trail is groomed up to where passengers are dropped off.“Whether you’re walking, snowshoeing, Nordic skiing or fat biking, the trail is right there at Empire Pass,” he said.The program typically runs in early and late winter. In between, the city’s maintenance provider, Mountain Trails Foundation, focuses on grooming trails in Round Valley using a PistenBully 100 snowcat.The machine is nicknamed Roy, short for corduroy, a name picked in a community-wide contest in January 2023.This is the third year of the winter program. Transit to Trails also has a summer program popular with bicyclists and will run for a fourth year in 2025. The shuttles in both programs run at about 75% capacity, according to Jones.In the summer, the road is open and recreationists can drive up to the trailheads. But many times there are not enough spaces in the parking lots to accommodate all the vehicles, so the shuttle service is offered from July through October, Jones said.“We want to really make sure that we can continue to provide access for the community to their open space,” he said.The post Shuttle service offering free rides from Park City to Empire Pass for Nordic, snowshoeing appeared first on Park Record.