Riders flock to Heavenly for its steeps, powder-filled canyons and powder stashes in the woods. The biggest bummer is the terrain layout isn't exactly snowboarder-friendly—the traverses are flat, flat, flat and you have to do a lot of strapping and unstrapping to move around the mountain. But, all that work is worth it, especially after a powder dump.

General consensus among riders is the California side is too bumped up (stay away from Gunbarrel and East Bowl if you hate bumps like most riders do), so the Nevada side is the place to play. Mott Canyon and Killebrew Canyon have the steepest terrain at Heavenly. But beware: by steep, we mean way steep. For strictly trees, head to Dipper Knob Trees and the area known as the "western perimeter" (off Olympic Chair, ride the ridge to the trees, where you'll find natural hits, waves and lots of powder). On the California side, the best woods are Skiways and Maggie's Canyon (both reached by the Sky Express lift).

Other playgrounds include the numerous hits in Sand Dunes, the waterfall in North Bowl trees and the natural pipe left of Sky chair. Stick to Stagecoach and Olympic lifts if you want to carve your brains out. And if you must head to the terrain park, ride the trees on the northeast side of it instead. First-timers will find isolated learning terrain with its own lifts at the top of the gondola.

Parks and pipes
You’ll find four terrain parks, one lighted for night riding. The resort boasts one of the pre-eminent park builders on the West Coast.

The advanced park, High Roller California, is on the upper California side off the Canyon chair. The High Roller Superpipe is at the top of the Powderbowl chair on the California side. The resort purchased a 22-foot Zaugg pipecutter and plans to build Tahoe's largest pipe. The intermediate park, High Roller Stateline, is off the Tamarack chair on the California/Nevada border. The beginner park, Low Roller, is between Groove and Patsy's chairs on the California side.

Heavenly has South Lake Tahoe's only after-hours terrain park—with hits, rails and funboxes—lighted 5–9 p.m. every Thursday through Saturday. The High Roller Nightlife Park is off the World Cup chair next to Heavenly's California Lodge. The resort plans to have frequent rail jam competitions and DJs spinning tunes. Your season pass or daylift ticket gives you access to the park.