Just when skiers and riders who frequent Heavenly ski resort were resigned to the fact the season ended prematurely, the South Lake Tahoe resort pulled a shocker – reopening for one more weekend.
Heavenly announced Friday it would reopen Saturday and Sunday (April 18-19) in a someone unprecedented move that rarely happens.
Give Mother Nature the credit for extending Heavenly’s season by two days. Thanks to a late-season storm that dropped 25 inches of snow last weekend into Monday, Heavenly’s operations team got to work, reopening a run for skiers and riders.
The only available terrain that is open this weekend is the Upper California Trail – Tamarack Return. The Village gondola is the lone mountain access to the skiable area.
It was a bleak season in Lake Tahoe for snow totals. And making it worse was the unseasonably warm weather prevalent in late February and throughout March. That resulted in the unusual occurrence of six Tahoe ski resorts closing in March and four more (including Heavenly) shutting down April 5.
It was hardly the way to end a season, but the lack of snow and warm weather made the decisions necessary ones. Heavenly closed April 5 with a meager 190 inches of snow.
But the 30 inches of new snow after the original closing date made a difference. And now Heavenly will cap off its 70th anniversary season with an unexpected encore.
“When we got this storm after we closed, we immediately started brainstorming – ‘What can we do? Can we get something open? Can we take some snow off other runs and move it to at least one or two runs to be able to get our guests back on snow?’” Heavenly spokesperson Cole Zimmerman told the Tahoe Tribune. “So that’s what we did. We started working hard.”
Three other Tahoe ski resorts – Palisades Tahoe, Kirkwood, Mt. Rose – remain open this weekend. Palisades Tahoe has yet to announce a closing date, while both Mt. Rose and Kirkwood will have their final day of the season Sunday (April 19).
Mt. Rose: The Nevada resort near Incline Village got 26 inches from the recent storms, bringing its season snow total to 284 inches at its summit.
Even though conditions have improved, this week Mt. Rose was closed Monday through Thursday (April 16), then reopened for the final three days of the season. A pond skim is scheduled for Saturday at noon.
“This should be the final weekend at Mt. Rose. We were the first to open in Tahoe and one of the last to close,” Mt. Rose spokesperson Mike Pierce said. “We rarely end the season due to lack of coverage; it’s more the lack of interest as other spring activities tend to take over.”
Palisades Tahoe: The resort’s three-day snow total reached 43 inches, giving the resort 348 inches of snow this season.
The Alpine side of the mountain is closed for the season and many of the favorite lifts at Palisades Tahoe have been shut down, but there’s still enough runs available to keep avid skiers and snowboarders happy.
“At this time, we don’t have a set closing date. We’re ready to keep the lifts spinning as long as conditions allow,” Palisades Tahoe spokesperson Patrick Lacey said. “As one of the last Tahoe resorts open, we have many ticket offers for anyone to come and enjoy the slopes.”
Kirkwood: Located off Highway 88, 35 miles from South Lake Tahoe, the resort also was blessed, adding 42 inches to its snow total, which brings it to 324 inches for the 2025-26 season.
“The fresh snowfall has restored winter conditions across the mountain, with top-to-bottom, side-to-side coverage and all frontside lifts currently in operation,” said Kirkwood spokesperson Carly Mangan. “Cold overnight temperatures delivered the light, dry powder that skiers and riders wait all season for, setting up excellent late-season conditions across the mountain.”
Mammoth Mountain: Located on California’s Eastern Sierra range, approximately 100 miles south of the Nevada state line and 50 minutes from the eastern gate of Yosemite, the resort is currently scheduled to close Sunday, June 15.
Known for its “Second Season” (spring-summer skiing), the Mammoth generally operates through at least Memorial Day, with lift operations shifting to the Main Lodge after April 20.
Closing Dates Tahoe Ski Resorts
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- Homewood: March 17
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: March 22
- Tahoe Donner: March 22
- Soda Springs: March 22
- Granlibakken: March 22
- Diamond Peak: March 29
- Boreal: April 5
- Northstar: April 5
- Sugar Bowl: April 5
- Heavenly: April 19
- Kirkwood: April 19
- Mt. Rose: April 19
- Palisades Tahoe: TBD
