Skiing at Heavenly, Lake Tahoe
 

Hi,
Just in case my message title wasn't as clear yesterday, I'm seeking information about whether Heavenly ski resort at Lake Tahoe would be a great place for beginner & intermediate skiiers. If there are plenty of green & blue runs & variety for our kids....

And, in case anybody knows of the Lake Tahoe RCI Embassy Resort on Ski Run at South Lake Tahoe, I am wanting to verfiy that it's a nice place for a family to stay for a week.

THANKS, THANKS, THANKS!!!

Joy Sakura

There are a fair number of blues and greens at Heavenly and you'd definitely have a good time.

That said, Heavenly isn't my favorite place around the lake. The first issue is generally the crowds. Second, there are a lot of flat traverses, so if it snows, you seem to do a lot of walking.

I like the north end of the lake. From there, you can ski Squaw and Northstar (my favorite for beginners and intermediates) along with smaller places like Diamond Peak. From there, you can also day trip down to Heavenly if you want to try it out.

I agree with the previous poster. Heavenly has plenty of green and blue runs but there are a lot of flat traverses and you can spend a lot of time trying to get from one side of the mountain to the other. Crowds can also be an issue. Heavenly does have a good ski school. Another ski resort on the south side of LT is Sierra at Tahoe. I think it's better for beginners and intermediates. It caters more to families.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites in South Lake Tahoe, if that's the hotel you are considering. I think it's the nicest place for a family on the south end of LT. On the north side, I suggest the Hyatt or the Inn at Squaw Valley.

For our 10 day trip to LT, we split our stay between the north and south sides. We skied at Heavenly, Kirkwood, Sierra, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley.

Thanks so much for your response.

Right now there aren't any RCI condos available at the north end of the lake, & they do have this condo available in S. Tahoe. (it's hard to get a timeshare near ski areas in the winter)

So--if people think that staying at the Embassy on Ski Run in S. Lake Tahoe is okay, we could ski at Heavenly a few days & then drive to Squaw & Northstar for a few days.

Is the drive to the north side from Embassey near Heavenly about 45 minutes each way?

Thanks so much for your response & for any other help you all can give us. It's very much appreciated!

Yeah, 45 minutes to an hour depending on whether and traffic. A bit longer to get to Northstar and Squaw. So, nothing too terrible. If you rent a car, get a 4 wheel drive (they rent a lot of 4x4 crew cab pickups with a locking bed). If you don't and it snows, you may not be allowed on the roads around the lake.

We really enjoy going and sampling the different places. For example, the difference between say Heavenly and Northstar (semi-typical US skiing with runs between the trees) and Squaw (more like the Alps with many runs above the treeline) is part of the fun of Tahoe.

THANKS so much for your help.

Sounds like it's manageable to stay on the south side of Lake Tahoe, & ski at Heavenly, Squaw & Northstar.

Even our beginner skier loves skiing between the trees, so that'll be fun at Northstar.

Heavenly hopefully won't be crowded during the week in early March. Do most of the runs have the flat traverses? Less than ideal, for sure.

Glad the other ski areas are within an hour of S. Tahoe. That'll be fun to check out different areas....

Excellent suggestion about 4 wheel drive. So glad you mentioned it since we never would have thought of it.

THANKS so much for everything. And, if you or anybody else has other suggestions, we're most appreciative.

Joy Sakura

To answer your question about RCI Embassy Resort, our friends stayed there once, and it is a nice place, but it is not walking distance to the Stateline Casinos. There is a ES Hotel also, not timeshare, right next to the casinos.

Heavenly is not our family's favorite place to ski anymore, but one reason for that is we have a TS at the Hyatt in Incline. Each day we can go to a different ski area that is closer, like Squaw, Northstar or Diamond Peak. But you should drive up there part of your trip to try them out.