Heavenly Mountain skiing resort is located in South Lake Tahoe on the California (El Dorado County)-Nevada (Douglas County) border in the United States. The resort is spread over an area of 48,000 acres making it the largest ski resort by area in California. Heavenly is the highest ski resort in Tahoe with a peak elevation of 3,068 metres and a vertical rise of 1,067 metres. South Lake Tahoe is the nearest city to the resort. Heavenly was bought by Vail Resorts Inc. in 2002.

Lake Tahoe:

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. This freshwater lake is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains along California-Nevada border, to the west of Carson City in Nevada. Lake Tahoe, with a depth of 1,645 feet, is America’s second-deepest lake after Crater Lake in Oregon. Lake Tahoe is reputed for its charming natural beauty. It is home to several ski resorts, summer outdoor activities and tourist places.

Skiing at Heavenly:

Skiing season at Heavenly usually extends from November to April-May. Heavenly ski resort has a total of 97 runs (8.9 km long Olympic being the longest) and 30 lift systems spread between California and Nevada besides four base facilities. The Tamarack Express Six Passenger High Speed ski lift is located with base at 2,785 metres. The resort witnesses 360 inches of rainfall annually and is also equipped with one of the USA’s biggest snowmaking systems.

Under a recently approved plan, Heavenly is set to witness improvement in its infrastructure, like replacement of fixed grip lifts with high speed detachables.

About 45 percent of the ski area is meant for the intermediates while 35 percent area belongs to the expert skiers and 20 percent for the starters. There are five terrain parks in the resort.

One can also rent ski gear at Heavenly. In fact, Heavenly offers one of the largest rental gear fleets in California.

Activities:

• Horse riding
• Snowmobiling
• Dog sled riding
• Back country skiing
• Hot Springs bathing at Grover Hot Spring, Wally’s Hot Spring
• Fishing and angling
• Tubing
• Lake Tahoe cruises
• Skating
• Snowboarding
• Scenic Gondola rides
• Shopping:
  (There are eight Heavenly Sports shops in and around the Heavenly Mountain Resort. Gear for the slopes and the rugged outdoor conditions of Lake Tahoe including boards, boots, apparel, eyewear are available at Heavenly Sports)
• Child care:
  Heavenly Child Care provides children care services for kids aged between 6-weeks to 6-years and is open during the entire winter season. The child care centre is located at CA Base Lodge at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

Reaching Heavenly:

• By air:
  Reno/Tahoe International Airport and Sacramento International Airport are the connecting airports from several US cities like Boston, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and several others. South Tahoe Express provides shuttle service between Reno-Tahoe International Airport and South Lake Tahoe Resort Casinos
• By road:
  Highway 50 provides direct access to the resort.

Driving Directions from some cities:

• From Reno:
  Via U.S. Highway 395 S to Carson City.
• From Sacramento:
  Via U.S. Highway 50 East to junction of U.S. Highway 89 North.
• From San Francisco:
  Via Interstate 80 East to Sacramento.
• From San Jose:
  Via Interstate 680 North to Interstate 580 East

Shuttle service:

BlueGO, a local transport body operates free shuttle system in the resort. Public can avail the service for free.

Eat and drink at Heavenly:

• 19 Kitchen-Bar (at Harvey’s Hotel)
• Bar 24
• Blu Nightclub (in Mont Bleu Hotel and Casino)
• Cabo Waba Cantina (at Harvey’s Casino)
• Café Blue
• Cafe Fiore
• Cal Bar (at Harrah’s Casino)
• California Lodge & Bar

Accommodation:

• Blue Lake Inn

• Embassy Suites Hotel
• Forest Suites Resort
• Horizon Casino Resort
• Inn by the Lake
• Lakeland Village Beach & Mountain Resort
• MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa

• Tahoe Lakeshore Lodge & Spa