Heavenly opens on Tuesday, Northstar on Thanksgiving

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The day Vail Resorts announced a delay in opening their two Lake Tahoe resorts due to warm temperatures, a weather system came through and dropped much-needed snow on the slopes and dropping temperatures making it more conducive to snowmaking.

Heavenly Mountain Resort will now open on Tuesday, November 21, with Northstar California to follow on Thursday, November 23. Kirkwood Mountain Resort is still scheduled for a December 1 opening date, conditions permitting.

Limited early-season terrain will be accessible, with more to follow as conditions permit. Lifts start spinning at 8:30 a.m. at both resorts on opening day and include:

- Heavenly: Tram, Patsy’s, Powderbowl
- Northstar: Big Springs Gondola and Vista

Guests visiting Heavenly for opening day on Tuesday can enjoy skiing and riding with an opening day footprint on the California side, along with sightseeing via the Gondola to take in the iconic Lake Tahoe views the resort is known for. Enjoy good eats and après at California Lodge, Umbrella Bar, Stein’s, and Tamarack Lodge. The resort will also have DJs on-mountain and at the base to bring the beats and celebrate the start of the season.

In addition to spinning lifts on Thursday, Northstar will be hosting a grand opening for VOUS, its new café in the Village, on Friday, November 24. After a day on the slopes, guests can enjoy a yummy meal at Wild Pine and opening day après with a drink from Rink Bar and s’mores by the fire. The ice-skating rink will also open on Wednesday, November 22.

While Kirkwood won’t spin lifts just yet, guests can expect The Wall Bar and Monte Wolfe’s to be open, along with K-Bar, located at the center of Kirkwood Village, to be open on December 1. Ski and Ride School has limited private lessons available for booking and will begin scheduling group lessons once terrain begins opening up beyond the early season footprint.

All three resorts will continue to make snow and monitor conditions to determine when to expand terrain and lift offerings following their official opening. The My Epic app also offers a range of guest-favorite features, including interactive trail maps with GPS location tracking, and mountain and resort alerts, including operational information like grooming updates, terrain status, snow reports and conditions.

“We have been waiting in anticipation to pull out our skis and snowboards again, and the time is finally here,” said Tom Fortune, VP and COO of Heavenly and the Tahoe Region. “Our committed teams have been working in high gear as we ramp up operations, and I am so thankful for all their contributions as we inch closer to ski and ride season. We cannot wait to welcome all our guests back to our mountains to get back to doing what we all love.

Importantly, new this year, Heavenly and Northstar will be offering guests several choices for parking this season, with a combination of both free and paid parking options, including a new reservations-based paid parking program starting mid-December on weekends (Saturday - Sunday) and peak periods at select parking lots – more details can be found on the “Getting Here & Parking” pages on the Heavenly and Northstar websites. As always, they highly encourage carpooling any time you visit our resorts.

There is a new My Epic app this year with Mobile Pass and Mobile Lift tickets that can be downloaded.