Suggestions for staying at Heavenly

[vanhanbr]

We have a group of ten (mostly couples) planning on skiing together at Heavenly the last week of February. I haven't booked lodging yet and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what area (CA or NV side) would be better to stay at and/or how the parking situation is. I see many homes for rent, but very few ski-in/ski outs. We will be skiing Sunday through Wednesday. Thanks.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I'll defer to local tseeb on this, but there is very little ski-in ski-out lodging at Heavenly. And even if you get that you still need a car to go to restaurants, stores, the casinos, etc. Your should also ski Kirkwood and perhaps Sierra-at-Tahoe while in the area. Tahoe evolved as a weekend destination from the Bay Area. I strongly recommend having a car for flexibility and convenience.

The Stateline casino core area is walking distance to Heavenly's gondola. That is the only location you could get away without a car, but even there. I'd recommend having one.

 

[vanhanbr]

Thanks, we will have several vehicles. I was more concerned about how to get the chairlifts/gondola from our rental property. We have a mixed group of abilities and I'm sure people are going to want to go back and forth to the rental at various times throughout the day. Is there a sizeable parking lot near the gondola?

 

[tseeb]

There is a paid parking garage near gondola, but if you leave to return to your lodging and come back you would have to pay again. The big problem with the gondola, besides the morning rush and that 99% of the time you are downloading it so there is also an afternoon rush, is that it does not run if winds of 35 mph are predicted, then the shuttle to CA base cannot handle all the people staying near there without cars.

Both routes to CA base are steep enough during/after storms to require chains or 4WD with decent tires with recent, but it's not enforced so they often get closed while stuck vehicles are removed. Heavenly CA (edit not NV so far) bases are going to paid and reserved parking on weekends and holidays starting next winter. See

Getting Here & Parking | Heavenly Ski Resort

Whether you're flying, driving, or trying to catch a local shuttle, this guide is the best place to research how to navigate to and around South Lake Tahoe

www.skiheavenly.com

Heavenly is problematic and hard to figure out. I nearly always start from CA base as it's a mile from our cabin (a little further than gondola that I only start at if it's the only options and I would try to get dropped off), not using a main road. But if Sky chair is closed, you are stuck in CA and then first Canyon chair, assuming it stays open, and then a little later Powder Bowl chair will become overloaded. Stagecoach base in NV is usually the last intermediate chair to stay open during storms, but parking fills there first of any base. They run shuttles between Boulder and Stagecoach base and there is a lot of lodging on shuttle routes near Stagecoach. But most restaurants, stores and the casinos are ~5 miles away and 1000' downhill on road with less problems than getting to CA base.

My friends stayed at Tahoe Seasons in early April and it was very reasonable. It is walking distance to CA tram (not gondola). The only nearby restaurant that is not onsite is Himmel House (German). Rates for 1 bedroom that has two separate sleeping area is under $100 the last three nights of Feb. One bedroom units only have small fridge and microwave. I'm not sure about bigger units or if some of the units have not been remodeled and still have hot tubs in living room. I hope you are not going between Feb 11-25 when it's over $300/night.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Perhaps vanhanbr would find this TR from our last visit to Heavenly informative. I was there every season from 1979-1985 and it was my 3rd most skied area until 1987.

BUT:

Heavenly is problematic and hard to figure out.

It's very unpleasant when crowded due to numerous choke points in lifts and topography. Heavenly is also a terrible mountain for beginners even though it has lots of great intermediate runs with some of the best views in North America. Weather severing the California from the Nevada side is also a difficult situation; I recommend skiing Nevada in that scenario if you aren't going somewhere else more sheltered, like Sierra-at-Tahoe or Northstar.

With all of these negatives, there is absolutely an upside, which I why I posted that link to those excellent 2 days from 2016.

 

[vanhanbr]

Thanks for the guidance. I knew ahead of time that Heavenly is not a perfect resort, but its been an area I've always wanted to visit nonetheless. We will be skiing Sunday through Wednesday which I hope help with the crowds. Several in our group are not serious skiers and are going more for the view and experience anyway. Some of us will probably drive to Kirkwood one of those days.

 

[vanhanbr]

Would it be a terrible idea to try to stay on the Nevada Side (close to the Stagecoach or Boulder lift) and then either walk or have a quick drive to the parking lot? We could drive to the shops/casinos at night of course.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Would it be a terrible idea to try to stay on the Nevada Side (close to the Stagecoach or Boulder lift) and then either walk or have a quick drive to the parking lot? We could drive to the shops/casinos at night of course.

No, it's definitely less crowded over there, but part of that is due to limited parking as tseeb mentioned.

Several in our group are not serious skiers

That might be an issue with getting out early. If "not serious" means beginner in ability, that's a much bigger problem. Of course the casinos/nightlife are a key attraction for not serious skiers. If there are beginners, take them when you go to Kirkwood.

 

[vanhanbr]

No, it's definitely less crowded over there, but part of that is due to limited parking as tseeb mentioned.

Yes, I was thinking that staying close would give us an advantage in securing a spot and if nothing else one person could drop the group/gear off and hike back to the lot.

If "not serious" means beginner in ability, that's a much bigger problem.

I would rate the worst of us as solid intermediate. By not serious, I meant not concerned with racking 30k+ daily vert, jumping cliffs etc. They would be content to ski easy blues and take a few pictures during the day.

 

[tseeb]

I've stayed at friends' World Mark timeshares between Boulder and Stagecoach. Location is good, but it would be best if you were on shuttle route so if people wanted to go in early/come out late you wouldn't have to give up parking.

Location makes Kirkwood slightly farther, but also gives the option of dropping down Kingsbury (NV207) to the W side of Carson Valley then going up Carson River to get there (NV 206, NV/CA 88). Besides cheaper NV gas and some hot springs near Markleeville and Genoa, there is a good historic Basque family style restaurant (J&T) in Gardnerville.

One slight downside is that CA faces more W so it gets better light at end of day vs. NV which faces more N and gets darker at end of day. Another +/- is that NV bases are over 7000' so even though they are on drier E side of Lake/Sierra the altitude can mean more snow.

 

[vanhanbr]

Thanks for all the guidance! I reserved a house on Benjamin Dr that's 200' (measured on google maps) from the Boulder lot.

 

[tseeb]

Wondering how it worked out for you, realizing your trip was before the big storms in early March.

Somebody on SkiTalk is asking Heavenly and before I give them advice, I would like to know what you thought.