Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar announce winter opening dates

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It is still beach and hiking weather and the calendar says it is summer, but Vail Resorts is sharing its opening dates at Lake Tahoe. Heavenly Mountain Resort, Northstar California, and Kirkwood Mountain Resort have announced their planned opening dates for the upcoming 2023-2024 ski and ride season. Heavenly and Northstar will target opening on Friday, November 17, and Kirkwood will target Friday, December 1.

After a historic 2022-23 season that led to new snowfall records of 592” at Heavenly and 727” at Kirkwood, as well as 50th-anniversary celebrations at Kirkwood and Northstar, Vail said its Tahoe resorts are looking forward to another unique season of new memories.

“We are always looking forward to the next ski and ride season, getting more snow, and breaking out our skis and snowboards,” said Tom Fortune, VP and COO of Heavenly Mountain Resort and the Tahoe Region. “Coming off a truly historic winter, the bar is high this year, and I know it will be another amazing ski and ride season for our resorts across the Tahoe Region. The teams at Heavenly, Kirkwood, and Northstar have remained dedicated and focused throughout the summer and will work incredibly hard in preparation to deliver another excellent ski and ride season to our guests.”

The best value for the Epic Pass ends on September 4. New this season is Mobile Pass & Mobile Lift Ticket technology that will be available to guests on the new My Epic app. With this technology, guests will be able to store their pass directly on their phone, put their phone in their pocket, and get scanned, hands-free, via Bluetooth® Low Energy technology. This eliminates the need to wait in the ticket window line or wait for your pass to arrive in the mail. It will also help reduce plastic and RFID chip waste. Plastic cards will still be available to our guests who cannot or do not want to use their phone as their pass. Mobile Pass will be available on the new My Epic app this fall 2023.

Guests are still encouraged to purchase their Epic Pass product or lift tickets in advance, especially as lift tickets will be limited every day, across all resorts to prioritize the guest experience.

All winter opening dates are condition-dependent. The resorts will begin making snow as soon as the weather will allow in the fall. More details to come about what’s new and what to expect for the upcoming ski and ride season at Heavenly, Northstar, and Kirkwood will be shared closer to November.