Heavenly: the back story

About Heavenly: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Heavenly Valley opened on 15 December 1955 with two chairlifts and a dream of world-class skiing on the south shore of Lake Tahoe. In 1968 the Boulder and Dipper chairs opened the Nevada side, and the mountain became the rare American ski area that crosses a state line.

Heavenly Valley

On 15 December 1955 Heavenly Valley opened to the public, with two chairlifts above the south shore of Lake Tahoe. Its sweeping views and deep Sierra snow made it a local favourite at once, and in 1957 the first motels and lodges along Highway 50 began turning a quiet mountain community into a ski town.

Two states

The Heavenly Tramway opened in 1962 and Gunbarrel came with the early expansion of 1965. In 1968 the Boulder and Dipper chairs opened the Nevada side, linking California and Nevada skiing, a first of its kind in the United States. Today Heavenly has four base areas, two in each state.

Heavenly opened with one heck of a view of Lake Tahoe in December 1955.

A new name, a gondola

High-speed quads arrived in 1988, and in 1990 the resort took the simpler name Heavenly. In 1998 work began on the Heavenly Gondola, which climbs straight from the heart of South Lake Tahoe to the mountain, and the Heavenly Village grew around its foot, opening officially in 2004.

Vail and the Epic years

Heavenly joined Vail Resorts in 2002, bringing the Epic Pass to Lake Tahoe. The Skyline Trail linked the California and Nevada sides at the summit in 2012, and the North Bowl Express opened on 19 December 2022. In winter 2025/26 Heavenly celebrated its seventieth season with the views that started it all.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Heavenly: the back story before you go.