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David
from Columbus OH
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Feb 21, 2007 |
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Overall Rating: 4.6   |
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When deciding which resorts to visit in the Tahoe area, I was nervous about spending multiple days at Heavenly due to poor reviews that it received on this site. I had reserved a week stay at Harvey's Casino (which was an excellent choice) that included discounted lift tickets at Heavenly. I am here to say that I was more than pleasantly surprised at how much I loved this resort.
I have only been to a few resorts which include Breckenridge, Mammoth, Alpine Meadows, Holiday Valley, A-Basin, and Keystone, but I would put Heavenly at the top. I consider myself a level 2-3 skiier leaning more towards the 3.
Starting with the terrain, I understand how awful the layout is for boarders, but it is terrific for skiing. I absolutely loved the tree skiing, the best that I have experienced. There were plenty of skill levels available to practice this discipline, and never another person to fight over the area. I did not venture to either of the canyons, but did enjoy the Milky Way bowl. I will also add the weather into the terrain, which was absolutely stunning over Valentines day week 2007. Warm and sunny, no ice, including overnight snowfall. The interconnecting trails were sometimes troublesome, but not impossible for skiers.
I found the service all over the mountain to be extremely friendly, be it on the slopes or in the lodges. Now, we skied during the week, and maybe this had a factor in it since the crowds weren't bad, but I was actually surprised by how nice most were.
The crowds were fine for Monday through Thursday skiing, but I would NEVER come here over a holiday or weekend, and anyone who would and then complain about it is a moron. Any resort on the weekend is trouble, and even with the numerous high speed lifts, I can see how this place could fill up.
I am a 30 year old professional male, and I loved everything about this area, as I am a gambler at heart, the casinos were more active and lively than most in vegas during the midweek, weather was terrific, scenery was beautiful. I will make this a yearly destination for sure. I might eliminate 1 vegas trip a year in fact for this place.
I received discounted lift tickets with my stay at Harvey's that brought it down to about 55-60 dollars a day, which is good for me. The food was expensive, but what else is new.
I just loved this spot, the tree skiing, the weather, and the surrounding area. I will definitely be returning in the future, just avoid weekend trips and you will enjoy it as well.
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Shawn
from Gulf Breeze, FL
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Feb 15, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.8 |
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Heavenly Ski Resort is incredible!!!! It is nice to get away from the beach once a year and head out west. Heavenly is by far one of the best resorts. It does get rather busy, but you can't beat the excellent runs and the beautiful view of Lake Tahoe
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Bill
from San Diego
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Jan 15, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 2.6 |
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Heavenly was so cold the day I went that there was no lines at all. I was really excited because I have been dreaming to go snowboarding there for so long. What a disappointment? How can you make so many connecting cat tracks that are so flat? I realize that every ski resort has them but when you label a up hill cat track as a blue on the map? What is that? I spent so much time just walking a blue. Last thing, why wouldn't you make a gondola that you can ride to the bottom of? The gondola starts in the middle of the village but it should have a point at the bottom of the hill where you can ride down and get on. I had a free ticket to ride but the price for the day was $74 which is just stupid and no way is the place worth that. I would like to try the hill on a better day so I could give it a real chance but at $74 I don't think I can.
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Q
from san diego
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Oct 29, 2006 |
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| Overall Rating: 2.2 |
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Hated it, but the views are great. I tried to ride it, but i ended up taking my board off and walking a lot (tooooo many up hill connecting trails) so I changed to my skis at midday, a little better, but this is a painfull mountain and the views just don't make up for the crowds and the layout. They need to spend a summer reshaping the mountain.
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Fang
from oakbrook, il
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Jul 9, 2006 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.0 |
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well I have only skiied heavenly once, last winter, and that was it, and btw, I stayed for a month in tahoe area. but like many people say here, you have to ski it once, for its beautiful views. yes the ski area is huge, but the real fun you have is very limited. first the huge crowd, every single lift was a jam and I had to stay in the single line. and after those high speed chairs dump people off, it was more like a waiting room than a starting area, people just hanging around there near the top of the lift. the blue runs were crowded like hell but you had to take them anyway to move around the mountain, and it was a pain due to the long, boring, narrow, and crowded connecting runs. and finally when you get to the black runs and expecting less people, and you find how brave people are here. people who cannot even ski greens right jam the blacks, skidding down on skis without ever making a turn, and people actually walking down the runs all the time and leave pot holes behind. the gondola itself was like 15 mins up the mountain and it made at least 3 sudden stops, kids activities are plenty in middle mountain, I think they even have snow bikes up there, and the tubing was very crowded too. it was a sunday but not a long weekend, i wonder what it would look like during a long weekend. price is expensive compared to other smaller resorts in the area, unless you have the colorado pass which lets you get half priced tickets for yourself. hafl day full price was $55, to ski ice. after all, I would recommend homewood for the same great views, or even diamond peaks for the vista, but at a much less expense, homewook was like 20 bucks for a day. and diamond peak even had good quality black runs and its solitude canyon was a hidden jewel. the better ski areas would be kirkwood, squaw, and mt. rose, and mt. rose is the best for me for its Chutes, an area of really steep runs without hiking backcountry and worrying about avas. and its regular price is fair and the specials real bargains. oh forgot to mention that the season pass is not expensive at heavenly, so if you plan to ski more than 5 days, consider yourself a season pass.
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Vance Barr
from Champaign, IL
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Mar 27, 2006 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.2 |
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THE GOOD: Very scenic. Lake Tahoe is a beautiful backdrop and there are some really great vistas. Chairlifts are good, well-maintained, and user friendly. The runs are of decent length and connect to make some nice, long trips down the mountain.
THE BAD: Crowds get thick. Snow turns to ice near day's end, and mountainside staff have WAY too much (bad) attitude. Too many long, connecting trails to the true ski areas, especially bothersome when icy and crowded and boarders out of control. After a recent trip to Beaver Creek, Heavenly was very disappointing in this respect.
THE UGLY: The clientelle is comprised of way too many drunken or otherwise ill-mannered shredders/skiers with something to prove. We witnessed a full-on FISTFIGHT at Snow Beach (mountainside cocktail stop) which staff was slow to break up.
THE CONCLUSION: Scenic for sure. O.K. blue/black runs. NOT a family-friendly mountain; more of an NC-17 environment.
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Ashley
from Colorado
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Mar 3, 2006 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.8 |
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Heavenly is a mountain that everyone must experience at least once in their life. The dramatic views are unforgetable! The terrain is a bit on the intermediate side but you can always find runs to suit your needs. The convenience of having the resort in town makes the day hassle free and even more enjoyable. I had a fantastic time and will definitely be back to experience Heavenly again.
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Vic
from Los Angeles, CA
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Jan 1, 2006 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.0 |
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Heavenly Valley is a place that every skier should ski at least once.
Reading the reviews here, there are apparently many who are fond of the terrain at Heavenly, but I don't count myself among them. One visit was enough for me, but I've returned several times with friends so they could try Heavenly out, and in the end, we all came to the same conclusion about the terrain and lift system ... not so good. Heavenly is big on paper, but it skis small.
The California side has mostly easy intermediate runs and Gunbarrel ... a bumpy steepis run just above the base area. For my taste, the runs above Gunbarrel weren't challenging enough to be interesting, and every time I visited, Gunbarrel itself was an exercise in ice skating.
Better terrain is available on the Nevada side via a long traverse from the summit. The runs on the Nevada side are more interesting and challenging, but the runs are short and the chairlifts are also typically much more crowded. Returning to the California side at the end of the day involves another long traverse.
The Mott Canyon area looks to be something special for double star skiers, but I've not skied it yet.
The amenities and cost are about average. Not bad ... not spectacular.
So if the terrain and amenities are ho-hum, why should everyone ski Heavenly at least once? Two reasons. The convenience and the view. Heavenly the only ski resort that is convenient to the South Shore, and the view of Lake Tahoe and the Carson Valley from the summit is incomparable.
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THOMAS
from Tucson, AZ
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Nov 7, 2005 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.8 |
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Our trip was Dec 18-24, 2004. With the volumes of early snow that season, the conditions were great. While no new snow during that time, there was plenty -- in good condition -- to make for fine skiing.
Our vacation package gave us excellent lift ticket prices in combination with airfare. Hats off to Heavenly for being so willing to cooperate that way. There are plenty of resorts that try to make reasonably-priced lift tickets an impossibility.
That new (couple of years) gondola made for quick and easy uploading to the heart of the skiing. You might expect eternal waits, either up or down, but we never queued for more than 10 minutes. Usually, it was more like 2-3.
The crowds were no problem during this "value" school vacation time.
One nit to pick -- the lift system is such that you have to do some maneuvering to get back to the gondola download if you cross all the way from west to east at the mountain top.
There are still a few ancient lifts; e.g. s-l-o-w two person chair. And the only way to access some trails requires using those slow lifts. But the sheer volume of runs means you don't even need to go there. And if you do, you'll be quite alone many times.
There's good competition among the rental shops, which keeps prices in check. Off-mountain food is reasonable in cost, too.
The best part of Heavenly is the view from the top -- makes it worth it by itself.
Overall, we had a very nice time!
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Christine
from Independence, Ohio
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Nov 4, 2005 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.8 |
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This was a great place to visit. The views were spectacular. The crowds were tolerable because there were many great lifts. Lots of terrain for everybody. Even challenging terrain for the experts. Sunny all the time. Nightlife was fun. Food was great. Want to come again real soon!
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Sharmae
from Chino, CA
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Nov 3, 2005 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.0 |
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A beautiful mountain to visit at least once because there are so many other mountains in that area to visit. Big enough for a big crowd & still not notice. Plenty of terrain for all levels to ski!
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Ken
from Washington, DC
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Nov 3, 2005 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.0 |
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Heavenly is one of my favorite resorts because of ease of access from the Bay area, wide range of activities in the city and surrounding areas, excellent views of the lake, nice people and great service, great value, and few crowds during the week. In addition, they had awesome snowfall last year. Although I must admit this year was my first time to Heavenly, having mainly skied Squaw and usually doing Utah and Washington State, I had an excellent time and would rate this among the top ski areas.
