Diamond Peak Planning & Updates
Diamond Peak Planning and Project Updates
Last updated: August 2026
Project Background
Diamond Peak/Ski Incline has served the Incline Village/Crystal Bay community since 1966. IVGID maintains and improves the existing ski area through individual capital projects intended to support safe, reliable, and efficient operations. Each project is separately evaluated through District budgeting, Board of Trustees review, design, public engagement, and applicable agency permitting.
Approved Planning Baseline
The Ski Incline Master Plan approved by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) in 1987 remains the approved ski-area planning baseline for Diamond Peak. The approved plan established the long-term physical and operational framework for the ski area and addressed lifts, trails, mountain and base-area facilities, snowmaking, utilities, parking and transit, drainage, erosion control, and natural-resource protection.
Among other facility improvements, the approved 1987 Master Plan expressly identified a ‘renovated, expanded Snowflake Lodge’ and retained Snowflake as an on-mountain food-service location. Any current project must still be compared to the approved baseline and reviewed based on its actual scope.
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Final Environmental Impact Statement
2014-2015 Historical Planning Effort
Between 2013 and 2015, IVGID evaluated a range of long-term concepts for Diamond Peak. The Board of Trustees received the planning document and directed additional community steering-committee review. Those materials were not approved by TRPA and did not amend or replace the approved 1987 Master Plan.
Related TRPA files ENVR2016-0001 and MPLN2017-0001 were withdrawn on July 20, 2016, and August 20, 2017, respectively, before TRPA completed its review or issued a decision. The 2014-2015 materials are retained as historical planning documents only. They do not establish an entitlement, approval, or current project scope.
IVGID is not advancing the 2014-2015 planning effort for approval or treating it as the current plan for resort-wide improvements.
Current Project Approach
Current work at Diamond Peak consists of separate, facility-specific capital projects. Each project has its own scope, schedule, budget, Board actions, technical analysis, and permitting path. Evaluation or design of one project does not constitute approval of another project or of a broader resort-wide program.
Snowflake Lodge Replacement
Snowflake Lodge is an existing mid-mountain winter facility originally constructed in 1966. IVGID is procuring architectural services for 30% design of a potential replacement facility. The 30% design process will define the proposed building program, footprint, capacity, access, utilities, operating assumptions, cost, and permitting requirements.
No final design or construction authorization has been approved. Any final size, configuration, uses, operating season, or service capacity will be determined through project-specific design, Board direction, public engagement, environmental review, and applicable agency approvals.
Snowmaking Infrastructure
IVGID is separately replacing and modernizing aging pumps and snowmaking infrastructure that serve Diamond Peak’s existing winter operation. Current scopes will distinguish in-kind replacement from any new or expanded infrastructure and will proceed through their own design, Board, and permitting processes.
Lower-Mountain Access Improvements
IVGID is separately completing survey and design work for lower-mountain access improvements intended to improve novice-skier circulation from the Lakeview area to the base. The approved 1987 Master Plan addressed lower-mountain circulation and teaching-area improvements. The current scope remains subject to project-specific design and applicable agency review.
Public Information and Participation
Project updates, contracts, budgets, and Board actions are presented through publicly noticed IVGID Board of Trustees meetings. Project-specific public outreach will occur at appropriate milestones as scopes and design information are developed.
Current information:
- Snowflake Lodge Replacement Project updates
- IVGID Board of Trustees meeting agendas, materials, and minutes
- IVGID Major Capital Improvement Project updates
Questions and comments may be submitted here
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Diamond Peak updating its Master Plan?
IVGID is not advancing the unapproved 2014-2015 planning effort for adoption or treating it as a current resort-wide program. The TRPA-approved 1987 Master Plan remains the approved planning baseline. The appropriate review path for each current project will be determined with the applicable agencies based on that project’s actual scope and relationship to the approved baseline and current permitted condition.
What is the status of the 2014-2015 planning document?
It is a historical planning study. It was not approved by TRPA, related TRPA files were withdrawn, and it did not replace or amend the 1987 Master Plan. It is not being used as an entitlement, approval, or baseline for current projects.
Is the current Snowflake Lodge project an implementation phase of the 2014-2015 planning effort?
No. The current work is a project-specific evaluation of replacing an existing facility. The approved 1987 Master Plan expressly contemplated a renovated and expanded Snowflake Lodge. The current proposal must be developed and reviewed on its own facts, including footprint, floor area, occupancy, uses, operating season, service capacity, access, utilities, and environmental considerations.
Has year-round operation or a new summer program been approved?
No new permanent summer operating program has been approved through the Snowflake Lodge Needs Assessment or the 30% design procurement. The Needs Assessment compared potential operating scenarios for planning and financial analysis only. Existing limited summer activities are conducted under applicable temporary or seasonal authorizations; those authorizations are separate from, and do not approve, permanent year-round operations. Any proposed change in use or operating season would require separate Board consideration and applicable agency review and approvals.
How will traffic, parking, capacity, and environmental effects be evaluated?
Those issues will be evaluated using the actual scope developed for each project. Depending on the project, the analysis may include footprint and coverage, occupancy and service capacity, operating season, parking and vehicle miles traveled, People-At-One-Time capacity accounting, utilities, grading, drainage, natural resources, and agency requirements. Historical 2014-2015 projections are not current project commitments.
