Beautiful and big skiing at Lake Louise Ski Resort, Banff National Park, Alberta. Paul Zizka Photography, Banff Lake Louise Tourism.
O Canada, I have you on the brain.
Recently, Expedia Canada asked me to feature some “don’t miss” Canadian ski resorts. With over 180 resorts and ski clubs (with at least one in every province), Canada has plenty of options from which to choose, ranging from Whistler Blackcomb in the far west to eastern favorite Mont Tremblant in Quebec.
And this doesn’t even begin to consider numerous helicopter and cat skiing operations.
Forced to narrow my options, I chose three resorts I’ve enjoyed and a preview of three resorts my family and I will visit over Spring Break.
Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec
Thirty minutes northeast of beautiful Quebec City, Mont-Sainte-Anne is an eastern resort that westerners love.
The south side of Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec. Photo courtesy Mont-Sainte-Anne.
With a 625 meter (2000 feet) vertical drop and 547 acres of skiable terrain, Mont-Sainte-Anne is not exceptionally large, but the mountain skis big.
Fully 59% of the mountain is rated difficult or extreme, with famously steep black and double black runs off of the Panorama Express Quad, in the resort’s expert zone.
Elsewhere, skiers and riders will find terrain of all levels, radiating out in all directions from the mountain summit.
Don’t Miss:
Free bunny slope access, including a 185 meter (607 foot) magic carpet at the resort base.
The Express du Sud detachable bubble lift with top-to-bottom beginner and intermediate runs.
Make-your-own Maple Taffy at the sugar shack off of intermediate La Pichard.
Stunning views of the Saint Lawrence River from La Crete, the easiest of the black runs on the resort’s western edge.
200 km of Nordic skiing trails, 30 km of snowshoe trails and the highest vertical drop night skiing in Canada.
Revelstoke Mountain Resort, British Columbia
With bragging rights for the most vertical in North America at 1,713 meters (5,620 feet), Revelstoke is known for spectacular free ride and steep fall line skiing. Yet it is also surprisingly accessible for skiers of all levels.
A sweet sunlit shot looking into some of the endless Revelstoke glades. Many have been thinned out and are on moderate terrain making them perfect for building skills.
Until 2007, the only lift-served skiing in the area was at a small, local hill called Powder Springs. The addition of a well-placed gondola and two high-speed lifts extended the resort into a cat skiing area and made Revy a bucket list staple.
Easier terrain is found at the bottom of the mountain and the runs get progressively more difficult as you gain altitude. Glade skiing abounds and if you’re up for boot packing, you’ll be rewarded in a big way.
Bootpacking to Gracias Ridge and Greely Bowl.
Don’t Miss:
Top-to-bottom skiing on Snow Rodeo, a rollicking groomed run.
Snow Rodeo. Photo by Ian Houghton, courtesy Revelstoke Mountain Resort.
Stoke Chair steeps: Choose from bumped up burners like Jalapeno or the aptly named Vertigo.
Vertigo and Separate Reality offer soft, steep, single black turns just off The Stoke Chair
Family fun skiing for beginners and the tubing hill at Turtle Creek.
Intermediate glade skiing off of the Ripper chair.
Silver Star Mountain Resort, British Columbia
A big modern mountain, with a tiny Victorian village, Silver Star is a family-friendly destination offering solid value.
A view of the Okanagan Valley from the top of Silver Star Mountain Resort, BC.
Within the village, you’ll find a full range of lodging (check out the Snowbird Lodge with private hot tubs!), numerous dining choices and a surprising assortment of shops.
Of course, it’s the skiing and outdoor fun that makes Silver Star a winter wonderland.
An “all-inclusive” ticket lets you alpine or Nordic ski, ice skate, snowshoe or go tubing whenever you want, without additional costs.
The tubing hill at Silver Star Mountain Resort.
Don’t Miss:
3,065 acres of skiable terrain, with a 760 meter (2,500 foot) vertical drop. You’ll find more terrain than you can ski in a weekend.
A Backside intermediate run at Silver Star, BC.
World-famous Nordic terrain, with 60 km of groomed trail.
Me, with Canadian Hall of Famer, Guy Paulson cross-country skiing at Silver Star, BC.
Bowling at the Firelight Lodge.
On mountain evening dining. Choose your mode of transport, from snow cat to sleigh, from snowmobile to snowshoes or cross-country skis, and head out for a night of culinary delight.
Banff, Alberta: Sunshine Village, Lake Louise, and Mount Norquay
Like the Grand Canyon, Banff National Park is one of those astoundingly beautiful locales that many of us can picture before we actually arrive.
Snowshoeing in Sunshine Meadows. Paul Zizka Photography, Banff Lake Louise Tourism.
A wonderland of peaks, glaciers, waterfalls and canyons, Banff is the winter hub for three ski resorts: Mount Norquay, Lake Louise Ski Resort and Sunshine Village.
Bumps at Mt Norquay, Alberta during the Mountain Smoker competition on Lone Pine. The record is 24 laps.
Lake Louise Ski Resort, at 4,200 skiable acres, is the biggest of the three resorts and one of the world’s most famous beauty spots, with Victoria glacier providing a spectacular backdrop to the lake itself.
Breathtaking skiing at Lake Louise Ski Resort. Paul Zizka Photography, Banff Lake Louise Tourism.
Sunshine Village sprawls across three mountains high up against the continental divide, just 30 minutes from the town of Banff. Another huge resort with 3,358 acres, Sunshine Village features dramatic vistas and exciting big mountain skiing.
More beautiful peaks at Sunshine Village, Alberta. Paul Zizka Photography, Banff Lake Louise Tourism.
All together, these three resorts offer up over 124 miles of ski runs (on one tri-area lift ticket), endless cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, world-class spas, dog sledding and just about any other winter diversion you can imagine.
So far this winter, the Banff area has received abundant snow! We’re counting the days.
Small, but mighty, Mount Norquay. Paul Zizka Photography, Banff Lake Louise Tourism.
We’re Looking Forward To:
The region’s only night-skiing at Mount Norquay, including a fully lit terrain park.
Half-day guided ice climbing lessons. Or if that’s too ambitious, an ice walk to the waterfalls of Johnston Canyon.
Ice walking. Paul Zizka Photography, Banff Lake Louise Tourism.
Soaking in Banff Upper Hot Springs.
Skiing Lake Louise’s World Cup Downhill run.
Ice skating and pick up hockey on Lake Louise.
Ice skating on Lake Louise. Paul Zizka Photography, Banff Lake Louise Tourism.
Skiing Sunshine Village’s Delirium Dive and Wild West, hike-to terrain rated as some of the best off-piste skiing in the world.
Sunshine Village. Photo Courtesy Banff Lake Louise Tourism. Photographer: Dave Riley.
Many thanks to Travel Alberta (#ExploreAlberta) and Banff Lake Louise Tourism for inviting us to visit their beautiful mountains in March! We can’t wait!
More Canada:
- Quebec City: My Kind of Ski Town, December 10, 2014.
- Revelstoke Mountain Resort: For Families Who Love to Ski and More, March 3, 2014.
- At Quebec’s Le Massif We Can All Be Lugers, February 4, 2014.
- British Columbia’s Family Paradise: Silver Star Mountain Resort, January 27, 2014.
- Heli Skiing…Falling…And Getting Up Again, January 15, 2014.
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So Expedia have allowed you to “review” three other resorts you’ve never been to and label them “don’t miss”? How many resorts have you actually been to in Canada? I’m sure you’re a great blogger in your own right but articles like this are just meaningless coming from someone who doesn’t have the experience and can’t really offer much more than the big well known areas. These are nice little advertisements for the ski hills and nothing more.
Hi Anders! I appreciate your comment. As I said, this article was based solely on my experience and I certainly didn’t include every Canadian resort I’ve visited. I also provided my rationale for including the three I chose from past visits, as well as mentioned the three I’m looking forward to visiting and why I’m looking forward to them. I hope I was clear that there are many amazing resorts in Canada.
These are my opinions and nothing else.
I’d love to hear your suggestions for “don’t miss” resorts. Seriously. A conversation, with your suggestions, makes the post more valuable. I’m especially interested in what you have to say about lesser known resorts.
Thanks for taking them time to comment!
I hate to say but as a local (we live near Calgary) this year’s snow situation has been pretty awful – conditions across Alberta and BC are terrible, with Castle Mountain in southern Alberta closing already for the season, and warm weather wreaking havoc on the hills. Lake Louise (our ski hill of choice) has been decidedly mediocre with rain a few times, and Revelstoke last week had 3 solid days of rain (all the way up the mountain to the summit – not just the bottom third). So, while Banff and Lake Louise are usually fabulous resorts to visit, maybe wait til next year.
Thanks Kirsty! Colorado and the west have had their share of troubles, too. Hopefully, things will turn around in March! Cheers!