There's no bus timetable to memorize in Mountain Village this winter. The fixed-route Mountain Circulator is gone, and Skyline has replaced it with on-demand rides through the Big Sky Connect service. That means the base area no longer runs on an hourly loop. It runs on an app and a window of hours.
That window opens on Monday, Nov. 23, two days before Big Sky Resort spins its first chair. Once you know those hours, most of the rest of the season's planning around the base follows from them, including when to head up the hill and how late dinner can run.
Three dates in the next month
Until Nov. 22, Skyline is still running its fall shoulder schedule, and the fall Connect zone covers Town Center, Meadow Village and part of the canyon. Mountain Village isn't in it yet. For now, Routes 3 and 4 carry riders between Town Center and Mountain Village.
That changes between now and Dec. 10:
- Monday, Nov. 23. Skyline's main winter schedule begins and runs through April 11, 2027. Mountain Village Connect starts the same day.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25. Opening day at Big Sky Resort, with lifts running 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Mountain Village.
- Thursday, Dec. 10. M by The Alinea Group reopens in Village Center for its second winter.
The first date matters more than its place on the calendar suggests. Anyone staying in a Mountain Village condo during opening week will have van service for two full days before the lifts turn.
The van's hours come first
Big Sky Connect is free. You request a ride in the Big Sky Connect app, and Skyline takes questions about the service at 406-898-4438. Each service area keeps its own hours, and the two areas run on noticeably different clocks this winter:
| Connect service area | Winter 2026-27 hours | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain Village | 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. | Daily |
| Town Center & Meadow Village | 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. | Daily |
Down in the Meadow, Connect starts an hour and a half earlier and runs an hour and a half later than it does on the mountain. In Mountain Village, the last van call is 9:30 p.m. If you're eating late at the base, plan the ride home before you order dessert. Connect winter service runs through April 25, 2027. That's two weeks past the end of the main bus timetable, because a separate late-winter schedule covers April 12 to 25.
The winter map Skyline published this month shows Mountain Village as its own zone. Its labels include Mountain Village Center, Mountain Lodge/Hill Condos, Levinski Lodge and Lake Condos. If you live near the edge of the base area, check the map before counting on a pickup at your door.
Why the loop went away
This is the second winter without the circulator, and ridership explains why it isn't coming back. Explore Big Sky reported in February that Skyline swapped the fixed route for Connect in Mountain Village last winter. In December and January, the on-demand service logged 45% more passenger trips. The old bus came by once an hour. A Connect van can reach a rider "in a matter of minutes," depending on demand.
Across the whole system, Skyline carried 340,000 passenger trips in 2025, which was 42,000 more than in 2024. Big Sky Transportation District Executive Director Darren Brugmann credited much of that increase to Connect's results around the base of the resort. He told Explore Big Sky that the on-demand model "has definitely showed that it's much more convenient and much more liked by the public, just by the sheer numbers we're seeing."
He also described who uses it. In the same article, Brugmann said Mountain Village is different because the vans pick up at condos owned by residents or rented to guests. He added that he believes many riders are employees housed up there and headed to the resort's main entrance.
The district also has upgrades coming. Explore Big Sky reported that a federal grant awarded in fall 2025 will pay for a real-time bus tracker, automatic passenger counts and an electronic fare option.
The scheduled run to Madison Base
Connect handles short trips around the base, and the scheduled routes still serve Mountain Village Center. Route 5 is the one that links the village stops to Madison Base, and it makes a single round trip each day:
Morning: departs Mountain Village Center 7:30 a.m., Levinski Lodge 7:33 a.m., Mountain Lodge/Hill Condos 7:35 a.m., then on to Madison Base. Afternoon: departs Madison Base 4:45 p.m., arrives Mountain Village Center 5 p.m.
Skyline lists the morning arrival at Madison Base and the return stops at Mountain Lodge/Hill Condos and Levinski Lodge as whistle stops. At a whistle stop, the bus only pulls over if a rider already on board asks it to. Seats are first come, first served, and Skyline warns that seating may not be available on every route. The 7:30 a.m. departure also lines up with the moment Mountain Village Connect starts taking requests.
Going to Bozeman works differently. The Link, Routes 1 and 2, costs $5 each way, and drivers need exact change. Route 2 collects fares at Mountain Village Center, Town Center and BASE. Skyline says participating businesses sell multiple-ride passes.
Opening morning, hour by hour
Opening day is a Wednesday, and the resort has planned the morning in Mountain Village:
- 8:30 a.m. to noon: a DJ on the plaza
- 8:30 to 10 a.m.: breakfast, with a signature breakfast burrito for the first 200 guests
- 9 a.m.: the first-chair celebration on Ramcharger and Swift Current
Connect starts at 7:30 a.m., which gives Mountain Village riders an hour to get to the plaza before the burritos come out. If you drive instead, the resort's parking guidance says most parking is free. Shuttles serve the outer winter lots from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and lots fill on busy days.
After opening day, the next event on the resort calendar is the Christmas Stroll, which starts Dec. 11. The weekly live music and après series begins Dec. 17.
What changed above the plaza
The base area's daytime routine is also changing, and it starts at the gondola. The Explorer Gondola opened in December 2025 to replace the original 1973 Explorer double chair. It covers roughly twice the distance at a world-record 7.1 meters per second. Explore Big Sky noted in October that the gondola links Mountain Village to the Lone Peak Tram. Its route continues to Kircliff, an observatory at 11,166 feet with a glass floor. This is the gondola's first full winter.
The new addition this season is the Explorer Gondola Mid-Station Learning Center. It has its own surface lifts and beginner terrain next to the gondola's mid-mountain station. Beginners now load at the same gondola as everyone else and learn partway up the mountain. If a visiting grandchild is taking a first lesson this winter, the meeting point is a gondola ride up from the plaza.
Iglu Big Sky also returns with a larger footprint. It's the snow-built bar at the base of the Lone Peak Tram, and the resort says it's built with centuries-old European alpine techniques. New this year, the resort lists a dedicated staircase from the Explorer Gondola top terminal, so you can walk to it from the gondola.
Evenings end at 9:30
The evening calendar picks up on Dec. 10, when M by The Alinea Group reopens in Village Center. It runs through April 3, 2027. Chef Grant Achatz leads the concept, which launched as part of The Alinea Group's 20th-anniversary world tour. The resort's M page lists it in Village Center and says limited bar seating opens at 4:30.
Here the van's hours matter again. Mountain Village Connect takes its last requests at 9:30 p.m. In the Meadow, the service runs until 11 p.m. If you book a late table at M and live outside walking distance, sort out the ride home when you make the reservation.
The transportation district holds the schedules, and the final winter timetable was on the agenda for the Skyline board's Oct. 30 meeting. Skyline's winter page is the place to check for any updates before Nov. 23.
If you're planning a winter around Mountain Village, whether it's your first season in a condo or you're thinking about a place close to the gondola, I'm glad to walk through which buildings sit inside the Connect zone and how each one's location changes your daily routine. Reach out to Callie Pecunies to request a personalized Big Sky market valuation or explore curated listings near the lifts.
