Heavenly and Northstar parking plans meet goals, Kirkwood to start next winter

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The big winter of 2022/23 exposed major problems with the parking situation at, and around, Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe. As the snow melted, Heavenly staff worked with staff from the City of South Lake Tahoe to figure out a solution to the problems.

As the City implemented a seasonal Residential Parking Program and increased permanent no-parking zones, Heavenly started a new reservation-based parking program on weekends and peak periods. During specific times, cars without four people inside paid $20 to park at the resort. Northstar California Resort also began a reservation system for on-site parking.

The plans worked in addressing traffic congestion, facilitating smoother traffic flow, and promoting environmental sustainability through increased carpooling.

At both Heavenly and Northstar, carpooling was highly utilized. Of reservations available in lots with a carpool incentive, 65 percent of guests at Heavenly and 62 percent of guests at Northstar paid $0 due to carpooling with 4+ passengers per vehicle. At Heavenly, overall guest satisfaction with the arrivals and parking experience improved by 16 percent, and Northstar improved by 14 percent. Additionally, there was a 60 percent reduction in frequency and severity of travel time delays at Heavenly’s California Base Area and a 48 percent reduction at Northstar during two of the resorts’ busiest months – January and February – compared to last year.

Based on the successes of Heavenly and Northstar’s reservations-based parking programs, Kirkwood will offer reservations on weekends and peak periods next year, with a combination of free, paid, and carpool options.

Vail Resorts, the parent company of all three of these resorts, said they remain committed to reinvesting in the arrivals and parking experience for our guests, employees, and communities.

At Northstar, they were focused on the utilization of the Village Transit app, which acts as a ridesharing service for guests, freeing up parking spots. At Heavenly, they will continue to work with local partners to support the Lake Link initiative and have added more shuttles to the resort fleet, which reduced wait times, especially during weekends and peak periods.

“We have witnessed firsthand the positive impact of the parking initiatives introduced by Heavenly Mountain Resort this season,” said South Lake Tahoe Mayor, Cody Bass. “Through ongoing collaborative efforts and innovative solutions such as reservations and carpooling-based parking on weekends and holidays, Heavenly’s new program has notably helped to alleviate congestion and improve traffic flow in our community."

Heavenly spokesperson Cole Zimmerman said they received a lot of constructive feedback on the reservations-based parking program at Heavenly and Northstar early in the year. He said education was an important aspect of rolling out the program, and once their guests had a better understanding of the free, reservation, and carpool options it became a smooth process and we saw a lot of success.

"We are sincerely grateful for the support and active participation from our guests, employees, and the community as we implemented these changes," said Tom Fortune, vice president and chief operating officer of Heavenly and the Tahoe Region. "It's humbling to witness the collective effort that has made such a notable impact across the region, and we take pride in the positive outcomes we’ve achieved through our shared commitment to addressing traffic and parking challenges. We continue to review our approach, always in service of improving the experience. We are excited for our ongoing collaboration to continue improving the experience for everyone.”

"We have been so fortunate to have the opportunities to collaborate closely with our community partners and lead discussions alongside industry experts in our ongoing commitment to finding innovative solutions for complex traffic issues," said Amy Ohran, Vice President and General Manager of Northstar. "Through collective efforts, we have not only made a quantifiable difference but also achieved many of our parking and arrivals goals this winter. This collaborative spirit remains crucial as we continue striving for improvements and positive impacts in the Northstar community and beyond."

The successes of the Heavenly and Northstar new parking programs reflect on the effectiveness of practical solutions in addressing longstanding regional challenges.

Building on insights gained from these two resorts’ reservations-based parking initiatives, Kirkwood Mountain Resort will implement a new reservations-based parking program of its own, beginning in Winter 2024/25. Kirkwood’s revised parking approach will include required reservations for all lots during weekends and peak periods until 12 p.m., with a mix of free, paid, and free carpool (4+) options. More details can be found on the “Getting Here & Parking” page of the Kirkwood website.

Parking at Kirkwood on non-peak weekdays, and after 12 p.m. on weekends and peak periods, will not require reservations and will remain free in all lots. Free parking will still be accessible at Kirkwood on weekends and peak periods, in addition to weekdays and non-peak periods.

Shuttle services to and from Kirkwood will also continue running from both the Bay Area and Sacramento. As this will be the first year of parking reservations for Kirkwood, their team may make some adjustments based on feedback about the efficiency of operations and the experience.

This new parking plan integrates insights from Kirkwood traffic patterns, parking capacity and constraints, and existing policies, while also leveraging effective strategies observed at various mountain resorts and across the ski industry. Carpool incentives reduce vehicle volumes even with similar resort visitation by encouraging more people per vehicle – behavior that has been positively changing in Tahoe, especially at Heavenly and Northstar. Additionally, reservations have been shown not only to distribute arrival times because guests have an assurance of available parking at their preferred times, but they also reduce roaming traffic, which leads to fewer vehicles searching for parking spots and contributes to a reduction in overall congestion. Kirkwood will continue to assess the program throughout the season, with the reassurance of making changes as needed along the way.

“We are focused on enhancing the arrivals and parking experience for our guests, employees, and community, which is why we are implementing these changes next season,” said Ricky Newberry, vice president and general manager of Kirkwood. “Kirkwood remains steadfast in our dedication to collaborating with local partners, organizations, and fellow Tahoe-region resort leaders to identify solutions that positively impact the entire community. We anticipate notable improvements to traffic and parking availability next winter, and we are deeply grateful for the support from our community partners across the region.”

Parking on SR88 will still not be permitted and the California Highway Patrol will continue to ticket and tow cars parking illegally.