Homewood Mountain Resort, the lakeside ski area on Lake Tahoe’s quieter west shore, has confirmed it will reopen for the 2025–26 winter season—just without the gondola that’s been central to its redevelopment plans. The resort, which closed for the entire 2024–25 season amid financial complications and delays with its Master Plan, had hoped to have a new eight-passenger gondola installed by next winter. However, as reported by the Tahoe Daily Tribune, permitting setbacks and missed deadlines with lift manufacturers have forced the project to take a longer timeline. Homewood General Manager Andy Buckley said the lift won’t be installed this year, but operations will resume regardless. Season passes are expected to go on sale in mid-April.
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Homewood’s future has been closely watched by skiers and locals alike, especially since JMA Ventures partnered with luxury developer Discovery Land Company in 2022. That partnership fueled speculation that the resort would become a private enclave—cutting off public access to one of Tahoe’s most scenic and historically accessible mountains.
Those concerns reached a tipping point last year, when the nonprofit Keep Homewood Public called for a “hard reset” of the resort’s Master Plan. Development slowed, funding stalled, and in October 2024, Homewood officially paused all operations for the winter.
That changed in January, when the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) approved key amendments to the resort’s Master Plan. Among them: a new community access plan that guarantees public use of the ski area moving forward. The amended plan also scales back certain base area developments and includes more architectural considerations. While the gondola construction won’t begin this summer as originally hoped, TRPA’s approval clears the path for future work.
Eventually, Homewood’s full plan calls for a new mid-mountain lodge, upgraded snowmaking, and updated lifts—including the gondola replacing the Madden Chair. There are also plans for lodging, workforce housing, and a 270-space parking garage to support day visitors. For now, though, Homewood’s return next season offers a welcome dose of clarity after months of limbo. And while the high-speed gondola will have to wait, the lake views and laid-back vibe that make Homewood special are coming back right on time.
