Heavenly Mountain’s location is one that many ski areas wish they had—just mere footsteps from a buzzing downtown corridor filled with lodging, restaurants, and other amenities. It straddles both Nevada and California, providing visitors with a unique opportunity to ski from one state to the next. However, this prime location might introduce a new wrinkle to parking at Heavenly Mountain this season: there will be no parking on Ski Run south of Pioneer Trail.
An Island Surrounded By City
Spread across 4,800 acres and overlooking the cities of South Lake Tahoe and Stateline, Heavenly has four main base areas that provide access to the resort, two of which are in California. Although Heavenly borders the city of South Lake Tahoe on the California side, the resort itself is outside city limits. Accessing these bases requires taking city streets, even though they are outside the city proper.
The Crux of the Issue
Although the California Base Lodge offers the most parking, it often exceeds capacity. This forces visitors to park on Ski Run Boulevard and sometimes in nearby neighborhoods. To help cover the costs of maintenance, snow removal, and other city services, the City of South Lake Tahoe is seeking to annex the land around the California Base Lodge of Heavenly into city limits. This would allow tax revenue generated at Heavenly to help cover these costs. Until the annexation is resolved, the city decided there will be no parking this winter along Ski Run south of Pioneer Trail. Additionally, parking on city streets near the resort will be restricted to residents with permits.
How Did We Get Here?
In 2013, the City of South Lake Tahoe and Heavenly Mountain reached an agreement. Heavenly was to pay $20,000 annually in exchange for using city streets, like Ski Run Blvd, as overflow parking on peak days. However, by 2017, local casinos began receiving complaints from guests who struggled to find parking in their lots year-round. In response, the casinos introduced paid parking. At the same time, Raley’s Village Center started restricting parking to customers only. As you might imagine, parking spaces became more limited, and overflow lots began filling up more frequently during the ski season.
In 2023, the original agreement was amended as Heavenly Mountain began charging for parking in its own lot. Under the new terms, Heavenly paid $54,320 to use not only neighborhood streets but also areas along Ski Run Blvd. Additionally, Heavenly agreed to assist the City with snow removal, as well as the application of deicer and abrasives on the streets covered by the agreement. Snow removal, sanding, and deicing were primarily carried out by Heavenly using its own equipment. Last year, Heavenly also contributed $106,382 as a partial payment toward the resurfacing of Ski Run Blvd.
What’s Next?
At the moment, the City of South Lake Tahoe and Heavenly Mountain Resort are at an impasse. Despite Heavenly’s pushback on the annexation, the City is planning to move forward with it. Until the situation is resolved, if you plan on using the California Main Lodge, you may need to have a Plan B in case the parking overflows.
A National Issue
Over the years, much of the focus has been on the mountain experiences themselves. But one area that doesn’t get as much attention is the shortage of parking. This challenge isn’t unique to Lake Tahoe—it’s a problem seen across North America. One solution introduced is paid parking, as discussed in our previous article: Are Parking Passes the Next Season Pass?. Ski resorts have said that this strategy is designed to encourage carpooling. According to Vail Resorts, it has helped “address traffic congestion, facilitate smoother traffic flow, and promote environmental sustainability.”
Paid Parking Strategy is Working per Vail
Of the reservations available in lots with carpool incentives, 65% of guests at Heavenly paid $0 for parking by carpooling with 4 or more passengers per vehicle. This carpooling initiative is key for their strategy to reduce parking demand and improve overall traffic conditions at the resort. In the end their hope is that this strategy will continue to provide notable improvements to traffic and parking availability.
The real solution is to do what they’ve done in many other Vail Resorts communities. Institute a proper shuttle service that respects skiers by having ski racks on the outside of the buses and stops throughout the community with a regular route every 15 minutes. They’ve been doing this for 40 years at Keystone Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Vail. Why they can’t manage to do the same thing here in Heavenly is a mystery to me.
Paid parking, oversold, rising pass prices… a money grab making it unaffordable for locals. We ski a couple hours in the morning, before work. This is not sustainable. I had a Heavenly pass every year for 30 years, until 2023.