Crowds flock to South Lake Tahoe; Heavenly opens Stagecoach

If you have driven anywhere in South Lake Tahoe this week, you'll know that droves of visitors have decided to come to town for the holidays. With both Christmas and New Years Day on a Thursday many have made their visit a four or five-day long weekend.

Highway 50 from Meyers to Camino has seen heavy traffic in both directions. According to travelers, Sno-Parks at Strawberry and near Echo Summit caused traffic to come to a halt as far away as Kyburz as dozens of cars lining both sides of the highway.

Heavenly Village has been full of people enjoying the restaurants, shopping and gondola. Most restaurants in the Village have had waiting times of almost two hours to be seated. The parking garage was full by 1 p.m. Friday and will see more of the same all week.

With the gondola having been the only access to the Heavenly Mountain Resort there have been free shuttles from all lodges to Heavenly Village: the California Lodge, Stagecoach and Boulder. To alleviate some of the gondola congestion and add more ski terrain, Heavenly has opened a second access location, Stagecoach Lodge.

“These cooler temps have come at a crucial time, allowing us to expand terrain during the holiday period and provide a second base area and access point to the mountain,” said Pete Sonntag, vice president and COO of Heavenly. “Looking forward, we hope to offer limited operations at the base of the California side for beginner skiers and riders, and if these ideal weather conditions continue, should have access to more terrain open for the public soon.”

In order to reduce the wait time at the ticket booths at all resorts, it is recommended to purchase lift tickets on line.

Many "No Vacancy" signs could be seen through South Lake Tahoe this weekend, something that is always nice to see. With SnowGlobe attendees heading to town for the three day festival starting Monday, more of the same is expected.