Ski Resorts in Canada

Canada is a country filled with very diverse terrain. Much like the United States, you go from the east coast mountains and islands/beaches, to the flatter middle portion of the country, to the western rockies (the Canadian Rockies). Canada has MANY resorts located in the Canadian Rockies or British Columbia. These resorts, much like the western US, are wild, open, spectacular mountains filled with powder and LOTS of skiing/snowboarding. Here are some of the best places to see and explore if you want to ski/snowboard in Canada.

Banff

Banff (or Ski Big 3) is an awesome place to ski/snowboard at, especially if you like red runs. Now if you’re like myself and are from the east coast of the US, our run classification system is a little different. For beginner runs we have green circles, for intermediate runs we have blue squares, then for advanced and expert runs we have black diamonds and double blacks. From what I’ve read, the red runs are in-between harder blue squares to easier black diamonds. So, I would say they are beginner black diamonds. For some geographic reference, Banff is located above the states of Montana and Idaho in the US. There are three mountains that makeup Banff, they are, Sunshine, Banff Mountain Norquay, and Lake Louise. Banff’s season is typically from late November to early May, so lots of time to ski or snowboard. Here is an article further explaining Banff.

Fernie

Fernie is another great ski resort, located in southern British Colombia, it’s a little further south (about 4 hours) compared to Banff on the map, it is right on the border with Montana (US) and Alberta, Canada. Fernie has amazing bowl skiing. Fernie has mostly the same terrain as Banff, there are a little more red runs compared to blue and black. It offers 2,504 total acres of skiing or snowboarding, with an average snowfall of 32ft. You can stay at the mountain resort of Fernie, at the base of the mountain, or you can take a short shuttle ride to and from the town of Fernie in Canada. Their seasons last from early December to mid April. Here is a website with further information about skiing or snowboarding at Fernie.

Jasper

Jasper is also another great resort, it is about 6 hours north of Banff. It is home to the largest National Park within the Canadian Rockies, and has an extremely friendly town of Jasper, that you and your family can stay at. Jasper Marmot Basin ski area is home to amazing scenery with mostly black runs and almost no lift lines. Open from late November to early May, receiving about 15ft of average snowfall with a total of 1,720 acres of total skiable terrain. To stay here, you can stay at the mountain resor, the town of Jasper, or just outside of Jasper, in the town of Crimson. Here is another website explaining more about the resort.

Kicking Horse

This is NOT a beginners mountain, with 60% of its terrain being advanced to difficult, the steepness of this resort is REAL. It’s only 2 hours from Banff, thus if you want to stay at either Banff or Kicking Horse, make sure you make a trip to the other! Their season typically runs from mid December to mid April. They receive about 25ft of annual snowfall with a total of 2,825 acres of ski/snowboard terrain. You can stay at the mountain resort or you can stay about 15 minutes away at the town of Golden. Ski Independence offers day trips to Revelstoke, which is another great mountain you can add to your list! Here is a website with even more information about Kicking Horse.

Lake Lousie

Lake Lousie offers mostly red runs, with 4,200 total skiable acres and an average of 15ft of snowfall. The season typically lasts from early November to mid May. Ski Independence also offers daily shuttles to Banff and Jasper from Lake Lousie. Many people stay at the town of Lake Lousie or the mountain resort. Lake Lousie is also only 40 minutes from Banff and its resort, thus Banff is a great place to stay at too, and you can hit up another mountain. Here is a website further explaining skiing/boarding at Lake Lousie.

Mont Tremblant

Now, jumping all the way to the other side of Canada, to the east coast, Mont Tremblant. Mont Tremblant is the biggest ski resort on the east coast of Canada. Mont Tremblant offers mostly black runs, with 665 acres of skiable terrain with an average snowfall of 15ft, with a season that usually runs from late November to mid April. Mont Tremblant has a great ski resort you can stay at, at the base of the mountain or you can stay in Montreal (about 2 hours away). Quebec people do speak French and English, but mostly French, thus be aware of this and maybe lookup some basic French before you go. Here is a website with further information about Mont Tremblant and here is a list of other east coast mountains within Canada.

Panorama

Alright, now jumping back to the west coast and the Canadian Rockies, Panorama, is another great mountain for advanced skiers, with Panorama just opening another bowl, Taynton, and expanding its total ski area by 128 acres. Panorama also offers many red runs, about 55% of their terrain. They offer 2,975 acres of skiing and snowboarding with a season lasting anywhere from early December to mid April, with an average snowfall of 16ft. For places to stay, you could always stay at the mountain resort at Panorama or Kicking Horse Resort which is only 2 hours away if you want to stay there instead and ski at a couple different resorts. Here is a website with further information about skiing or snowboarding at Panorama.

Revelstoke or Revy

This is North America’s newest resort with the longest vertical in North America, at 5,620ft. This IS the mountain for you if you LIVE for adventure and our an EXPERT skier or snowboarder. Revelstoke or Revy, is a very technical mountain and offers lift, cat, heli, and backcountry skiing all from the base of the mountain. This mountain is mostly red and black runs, so I DO NOT suggest coming here if you are beginner, you will NOT enjoy yourself (only 7% of their terrain is beginner). It offers 3,121 acres of total ski and snowboard terrain, an average of 38ft of snowfall with 3 lifts. Their season lasts from early December to mid April. Revy has one hotel in it’s downtown resort area, thus if it’s too expensive, I would stay at Kicking Horse, Revy is only two hours away. Here is a website with more information about skiing or snowboarding at Revelstoke or Revy.

Silver Star

Silver Star is British Columbia’s 3rd biggest resort with LOW crowds, not many people know about it. It is a quick flight from Vancouver, Canada. It offers mostly advanced terrain and is located north of Washington state of the US. Their season lasts anywhere from late November to early April. There is 3,282 acres of total skiable land with 23ft of average snowfall. Here is a website with further information about Silver Star.

Sun Peak

Sun Peak is Canada’s second largest resort. Sun Peak is a great family resort, offering mostly intermediate terrain. Their season lasts anyway from late November to mid April, 4,270 acres of skiable land, with 20ft of average snowfall. Sun Peak is only two and a half hours north of Silver Star. To stay here, Sun Peaks Resort offers many different hotels and condos that you and your family can stay at. Here is a website with more information about Sun Peak.

Whistler Blackcomb

Last but certainly NOT least, Canada’s probably most well-known resort, Whistler, is one heck of a ski/snowboarding mountain. Whistler is a MASSIVE mountain, with 12 alpine bowls, 3 glaciers, OVER 200 trails, and 8,171 acres of skiable terrain. Their season typically lasts anywhere from mid November to late May, with an average snowfall of 38ft, and offers mostly red runs (intermediate to advanced). Whistler offers many resorts on the mountains and nearby hotels. More about Whistler can be found here.

More Places to Stay

I mentioned some places to stay, but here is a better list of where to stay and how far away some of the resorts are from one another, and more central locations of where to stay.

1. Vancouver is a great city to stay at and explore, if you only plan on skiing or snowboarding at Whistler. It is about a 2 hour drive from Whistler, which is the closet mountain.
2. For Fernie, I would stay in Fernie, BC, Canada, or you could stay at the mountain resort.
3. For Kicking Horse and Revelstoke I would stay at either resorts, because they are pretty close to one another (two hours driving) and both have different resorts.
4. Also, Lake Lousie is only about an hour and a half from Kicking Horse and Revelstoke and Lake Lousie. Panorama is also only about 2 hours from the Kicking Horse Resort, so again I recommend staying at the Kicking Horse Resort or Golden, if you want to ski or snowboard at a couple different mountains.
5. Good places to stay at for Silver Star Resort, is again the resort itself, or in Vernon or Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Silver Star is about 30 minutes from Vernon, and about an hour and 15 minutes from Kelowna, Kelowna does have an airport, so traveling might be easier, if you stay in Kelowna.
6. You could also stay at Vernon, if you plan on skiing at Sun Peak, Vernon is just over 2 hours from Vernon. You could also stay at Kamloops, which is about 50 minutes from Sun Peak, and about an hour and 45 minutes from Sun Peak.
7. For skiing at Banff, I recommend staying at their resorts or at nearby towns, such as, Calgary or Airdrie, which are both about an hour and a half away.
8. For Jasper, I really recommend staying at the resort, or the town of Jasper or the nearby town of Crimson.
9. For Mont Tremblant, again, I would stay at the mountain resort or Montreal. Montreal is about a two hour drive away from the mountain.
10. You could always stay at the different resorts and road trip from the different mountains. However, if you want to road trip them, I would have Mont Tremblant as it’s own trip, with some of the other east coast resorts from the website provided. Then, I would do the western mountains of British Columba. I would then make a separate trip to Vancouver and Whistler, as they are pretty out of the way too.

Expenses

The typical price of a standard lift ticket is 120 Canadian Dollars (about $94 US Dollars). You can also get a deal with a 5 day lift pass being about 520 Canadian Dollars (about $410 US Dollars), which isn’t a bad price, unless you plan on skiing at multiple resorts. Thus, I would suggest investing in the Ikon or Epic pass. Mont Tremblant, Banff (or the Big 3), Revelstoke, and some more Canadian mountains can be found here. Whistler is apart of the Epic pass, which also includes, Fernie and Kicking Horse, here are the other Canadian mountains apart of this pass. The Ikon pass runs about $1,200 US Dollars. Also, the Epic pass runs about the same cost. If you are going to ski at all these mountains or live out west, this is a great deal, but if you’re just visiting it almost makes more sense to just buy an Ikon or Epic pass if you’re staying for more than 5 days. It’s up to you and your trip which pass you want to get or you could always get a 5 day(or 4 or 3 or 2 day) lift ticket pass, up to you. The hardest part about skiing and snowboarding is always how expensive the lift tickets and gear are, but the mountains are usually worth it.

National Parks of Canada/Banff

Another option is backcountry skiing in one of Canada’s National Parks. Canada has 46 different parks, that are all ran by the Canadian Federal government. Here is a great website that lists all the different national parks, with linked websites about each park. You can do a lot of backcountry skiing here but you just need to follow some rules, such as, obtaining a permit for certain parks, not camping in undesignated areas, and some more, that you can find here. Here is another website explaining further of what National Parks are great to backcountry ski/snowboard at. In addition, here is a great article explaining even more AMAZING backcountry places and mountains to ski and snowboard at within Canada.

Further Places to Go

Overall, Canada has some pretty sweet mountains as you can see from the list above. Much like the western United States, the Canadian Rockies are a sight to see, even better to ski or snowboard at. These were just a handful of all of Canada’s mountains, here is another list explaining even more mountains to ski or snowboard at that have EPIC powder and backcountry skiing/snowboarding, enjoy!

P.S. Some great stores for skiing and snowboarding gear are Outdoor Gear Exchange and Darn Tough.