Heavenly - Ski Area Guide

Heavenly, United States

Ski Resort (2,000m6,562ft to 3,060m10,039ft). Rated: 4/5 (from 6 ratings)

Who is Heavenly good for?

Heavenly Ski Area

Heavenly Ski Area Height

Heavenly Summary

The American Ski Resort of Heavenly has direct access to 85 individual pistes, served by 27 ski lifts.

The ski resort itself is at 2,000m6,562ft, so skiing or boarding back to the resort is usually possible. With ski lifts as high as 3,060m10,039ft, skiing and snowboarding is assured throughout the season.

There is an airport within two hours drive, so ski weekends, snowboard breaks and short ski holidays to Heavenly are perfectly feasible.

Skiing in Heavenly

Heavenly's huge ski area takes in a vast array of terrain offering the ubiquitous something for everyone.

Beginners have gentle terrain near the base lodges and friendly Californian tuition to look forward to. The resort has recently upgraded its beginner programs in a bid to get way above the national average in North America where apparently only 12% of first timers get hooked and stick with the sport. The new approach includes shorter lighter beginner-friendly skis from Rossignol and a specially tailored package dubbed 'Learn To Ski - Easy as 1-2-3' which includes rentals, tuition and beginners' lift tickets.

Intermediates have the most to benefit from a visit to Heavenly, where they'll find they're able to tackle most of the terrain. Anyone interested in purchasing new gear, or just keeping up to date with what's on offer in the rapidly changing ski hardware market, can join in a free 90 minute Guided Demo. Groups of up to six can demo new gear in the company of a guide who will try to ascertain exactly what you want from your skiing, suggest gear to match your ideals, and then let you try it out. The scheme has been so successful that there are now Guided Demo centres on both sides of the mountain.

Advanced to expert level skiers will find just over a third of Heavenly's terrain classified for them, with famous runs like Gunbarrel, on the Californian side, is ideal for those confident enough to do some posing under the chairlift. Otherwise the Milky Way Bowl and Killebrew Canyon over on the Nevada side should provide plenty of entertainment.

There are a variety of pistes to suit all levels of skier ability, from Beginner to Expert.

Snowboarding in Heavenly

Heavenly is one of the world's leading destinations for snowboarders, with an ever growing percentage of the resort's clientele preferring to ride rather than ski - a much higher proportion than at most other major resorts. Half of all North American riders currently take their main vacations in West Coast resorts.

One of the first of the Tahoe centres to welcome 'boarders (in 1988), Heavenly has continued to invest in snowboard-oriented attractions, activities and events. The resort owns two snowboard-only retail outlets in South Lake Tahoe.

The terrain parks are spread throughout the mountain and a pipe dragon is employed to maintain the pipes. A range of events and contests are staged throughout the season to help underline Heavenly's position as a 'boarders mecca. They include half pipe competitions and boardercross.

Around 70% of Heavenly's terrain is groomed nightly, making it a carver's paradise and the resort has added a Bombadiere halfpipe grinder to its already impressive grooming fleet.

Heavenly Aprés Ski

South Lake Tahoe, where Heavenly is located, is an area choc-full of bars, restaurants and night spots, over 150 in total! Popular choices include The Pub Tahoe, Turo Pub, Mulligans and the Blue Angel Cafe. Nightclubs include Altitude in Harrahs.

Plenty of unique watering holes, including Nevada's oldest bar and saloon in the State's first settlement, Genoa, located close to the resort's Nevada base. It's a rare experience to find anything indigenous but not native that's nearly 200 years old in Western North America and well worth the visit if you have a car. As is Virginia City, 40 miles away, a well preserved former mining town.

The casinos provide their own unique form of entertainment with 24/7 gambling - and, of course, free drinks for anybody playing.

Heavenly in brief

Heavenly Ski Resort is:
Very good for Expert Skiers.
Excellent for Intermediate Skiers.
Very good for Beginners.
Very good for Snowboarding.

Heavenly Season Dates

We have no confirmed season dates for Heavenly.

 Open.

Usual opening - Late Nov.

Usual closing - Mid April.

NOTE:- Opening subject to Snow Conditions in Heavenly.

Where is Heavenly?

Heavenly Snow Making

Snowmaking :- Heavenly is able to augment natural snow, with 200 Snow Cannons.

Heavenly Ski Lift Capacity

Ski Lift Capacity :- The 27 Ski Lifts of Heavenly are able to uplift 52,000 skiers / snowboarders per hour.