Last winter, Route 3 left Meadow Village Center at 6:20 a.m. and reached Mountain Village at 6:57. Three more uphill buses followed before 8 a.m., at 6:55, 7:20 and 7:50. Skyline has posted a draft schedule for the winter that starts November 23, 2026. In it, those same four trips pass Meadow Village Center as whistle stops. Skyline defines a whistle stop as a stop where "the bus will not stop at this location unless requested by a passenger already on the bus."
That one row of the timetable shows the larger shift. Under the draft, Town Center keeps nearly all of its fixed-route service to the mountain. Meadow Village Center keeps its midday and evening buses and loses the early morning and the après-ski hours. For anyone in Meadow Village, the first and last leg of a ski day now runs through Town Center or through the Big Sky Connect app.
The Town Center line stays almost exactly as it was
Skyline's September 15 schedule notice says the Big Sky Transportation District board reviewed the winter season at its September 17 meeting, produced a draft, and planned to finalize the schedule at its October 15 meeting. Service starts November 23, 2026. The draft runs seven days a week through April 11, 2027. Big Sky Resort opens two days after buses start, on Wednesday, November 25.
From Town Center, uphill Route 3 leaves at 6:35 a.m. and then every 30 minutes through 9:05 p.m., with two late trips at 10:35 and 11:35 p.m. The last one reaches Mountain Village at 12:15 a.m. Last winter's Town Center column had essentially the same rhythm. Downhill, Route 4 leaves Mountain Village at 7:15 a.m., then 8:15, then every half hour until 9:15 p.m. Later trips run at 10:15 p.m., 11:15 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., and every trip stops at Town Center. BASE on Aspen Leaf Drive gets the same pattern, a minute or two behind Town Center. Local service inside Big Sky is still fare-free.
That half-hourly Town Center line is what the rest of the draft depends on. Every change below happens downhill of it.
Five named stops leave the local routes
Last winter's Routes 3 and 4 made scheduled calls at Confluence and Roxy's Market between the canyon and Town Center, and they listed Conoco as a whistle stop. Some downhill trips continued to Corral/Rainbow Ranch and Gallatin RiverHouse. The draft's Route 3 and Route 4 tables list none of those stops. Between the canyon and the mountain they list Buck's T-4, Whitewater Inn, Meadow Village Center, Town Center and BASE.
If you used to board at Roxy's Market or Confluence, Meadow Village Center becomes your closest fixed-route stop. That stop now has fewer buses.
Where the Meadow Village Center hours thin out
Here is every scheduled uphill pickup and downhill drop-off at Meadow Village Center on the local routes, last winter against the draft.
| Window | 2025-26 winter | 2026-27 draft |
|---|---|---|
| Uphill, before 8 a.m. | 6:20, 6:55, 7:20, 7:50 a.m. | Whistle stops only |
| Uphill, 8:20 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. | Hourly at :20 | Hourly at :20 |
| Uphill, late afternoon | 4:20, 5:20 p.m. | None |
| Uphill, evening | 6:20, 8:20, 10:20 p.m. | 6:20, 8:20, 10:20 p.m. |
| Downhill, morning to 2:41 p.m. | Hourly at :41, with the 1:41 p.m. trip a whistle stop | Hourly at :41, with the 1:41 p.m. trip a whistle stop |
| Downhill, après | 3:41, 4:41 p.m. | None |
| Downhill, evening | 5:41, 7:41, 8:46, 9:41, 10:46 p.m., 12:52 a.m. | 5:41, 7:41, 8:46, 9:41, 10:46 p.m., 12:47 a.m. |
Two windows account for nearly all of the loss. In the morning, the first bus you can board at Meadow Village Center is the 8:20, which reaches Mountain Village at 8:55. Last winter that first bus left at 6:20. In the afternoon, the draft drops the 3:35 and 4:35 p.m. Town Center departures that continued down to Meadow Village Center. After the 2:41 p.m. arrival, the next scheduled bus reaches Meadow Village Center at 5:41 p.m.
In practice, take the 3:45 p.m. bus down from Mountain Village and you reach Town Center at 4:00 p.m. The draft schedules no bus onward to Meadow Village Center for another hour and a half. The evening schedule is almost unchanged, and the final downhill drop-off moves from 12:52 to 12:47 a.m.
Big Sky Connect fills the gaps
Big Sky Connect is Skyline's fare-free, on-demand service. You request a ride in the Big Sky Connect app. Its winter season for Town Center and Meadow Village runs November 23, 2026 to April 25, 2027, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Those hours cover both gaps in the draft. A 6 a.m. Connect pickup in Meadow Village can get you to Town Center for the 6:35 a.m. Route 3, and a 4 p.m. arrival at Town Center can turn into a Connect ride home.
Connect's track record helps explain why. In 2025, Skyline expanded Connect into Mountain Village in place of the former fixed-route circulator. Explore Big Sky reported in February that Skyline carried 340,000 passenger trips in 2025, 42,000 more than in 2024, and that Executive Director Darren Brugmann credited much of that growth to the expanded Connect service. In the same Explore Big Sky story, Brugmann said the on-demand model had "definitely showed that it's much more convenient and much more liked by the public." The outlet reported 45% more trips in that service area in December and January. Explore Big Sky also reported that Skyline won a federal grant for a bus tracker that passengers can see, automatic passenger counts and electronic fares.
Skyline's schedule notice gives no reason for the Meadow Village changes, and the Connect comments above were about Mountain Village. The overlap is clear enough, though. The hours the draft takes from fixed-route buses in Meadow Village are hours when Connect is running.
One piece is still missing. The Connect page says to check back for the winter service-area map. Last winter's map labeled Roxy's Market, Confluence and Golden Eagle/Community Park within the Town Center and Meadow Village zone. If your pickup point is near one of the stops dropped from Routes 3 and 4, the new map shows whether Connect still reaches your door. Until November 22, the fall Connect service covers Town Center, Meadow Village and part of the canyon from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. That's a good way to get the app set up before ski season.
The Bozeman link also boards in Town Center now
The same pattern holds on the paid Bozeman routes. Last winter, Route 1 from Bozeman made scheduled stops at Meadow Village Center on its four earliest trips. Route 2 back to Bozeman picked up there at 8:46 p.m., 10:46 p.m. and 12:52 a.m. In the draft, Route 1's Meadow Village Center calls are whistle stops, and Route 2 lists no Meadow Village Center stop. Its Big Sky pickups are Mountain Village Center, Town Center on Ousel Falls Road, and BASE.
Route 2 still runs 12 trips a day toward Bozeman, leaving Town Center as early as 8:40 a.m. and as late as 12:45 a.m. The fare is $5 each way, exact change only, and seats are first come, first served. Skyline notes that seats may not be available on every trip. Out-of-town guests who fly into Bozeman and take the bus up will still find the 4 Corners Park & Ride at 269 JackRabbit Lane on the route.
What to check before November 23
The schedule on Skyline's website is labeled a draft, and the board planned to adopt the final version at its October 15 meeting. Before you plan a season of commutes around these times, compare the posted schedule with the table above. Watch for three items in particular:
- Whether Meadow Village Center has scheduled uphill stops before 8:20 a.m.
- Whether the 3:35 and 4:35 p.m. Town Center departures to Meadow Village are back.
- The winter Connect service-area map, especially around Roxy's Market, Confluence and Community Park.
Skyline invites public comment at its board meetings, in person or online, and by email at [email protected]. Route questions go to 406-995-6287.
Where you can catch a bus at 7 a.m. or 4 p.m. in December is part of what daily life looks like at any address in Meadow Village or Town Center. Life in Big Sky Real Estate follows these details closely for the clients and neighbors we serve. If you want to talk through how winter access works from a particular part of the valley, our team is happy to help. Live Big. Connect with our team.
