British Columbia, Canada, located in the Pacific Northwest, is littered with quality ski resorts. This list will cover what I think are the top 5 ski resorts in BC Canada.
What Makes a Great Ski Resort
Size isn’t everything, but size does count for something – the more terrain there is, the more exploring of that terrain that can be done.
But there are other things that make a ski resort awesome including:
- The quality of the snow
- The amount of snow
- The lift access
- The quality and variety of the trails
- The quality and quantity of terrain parks
- The facilities
- Beginner friendliness
So the list below will take into account all of these factors when deciding on the best of BC.
BC Ski Resort #5
Resort: Fernie Alpine
Ride-able terrain: 2500 acres (1012ha)
Vertical Drop: 1,082m (3,550ft)
No. of Lifts: 10 (7 chairlifts, 3 surface lifts)
Annual Snowfall Average: 37 feet (1127cm)
Total runs: 142
Beginner Runs: 30%
Intermediate Runs: 40%
Advanced Runs: 25%
Expert Runs: 5%
Terrain Parks: 1
Night Riding: Yes
The top 5 starts on the Eastern most side of BC, just 57 kilometres (35 miles) from the Alberta border.
Nestled in the Canadian Rockies, Fernie enjoys a very generous annual snowfall of 37 feet (1127cm) per year – so if you like your powder days then Fernie has a good chance of accommodating powder loving preferences.
If you’re into freeriding and all-mountain riding then there is plenty for you at Fernie – if you’re looking for Terrain park action then Fernie will be disappointing for you and you should check out one of the other options below.
Maybe it’s the location and maybe it’s the ample space to ride, but Fernie is known for having very low crowds and no lift queues – and that’s always a good thing!
BC Ski Resort #4
Resort: Sun Peaks
Ride-able terrain: 3678 acres (1488ha)
Vertical Drop: 882 m (2,893 ft)
No. of Lifts: 11 (6 chairlifts, 5 surface lifts)
Annual Snowfall Average: 18 feet (559cm)
Total runs: 122
Beginner Runs: 10%
Intermediate Runs: 58%
Advanced Runs: 32%
Expert Runs: 0%
Terrain Parks: 1
Moving further west (and north) now we come to Sun Peaks which sits pretty much smack bang in between the Alberta border and BC’s west coast.
It may only get half the annual snowfall of Fernie but that doesn’t seem to affect the quality of the snow nor how long they can open, with Sun Peaks opening 140 days last year, compared with Fernie’s 130 days.
And though it only has 1 terrain park, it’s an impressive one. It runs from top-to-bottom and covers 10 acres with heaps of variety.
And it’s seriously massive – the third largest ski resort in Canada in fact! – after Whistler (8,171acres) and Lake Louise, Alberta (4,200acres).
BC Ski Resort #3
Resort: Kicking Horse
Ride-able terrain: 2,750 acres (1112ha)
Vertical Drop: 1260m (4,133ft)
No. of Lifts: 5 (1 gondola, 3 chairlifts, 1 surface lift)
Annual Snowfall Average: 23 feet (700cm)
Total runs: 106
Beginner Runs: 20%
Intermediate Runs: 20%
Advanced Runs: 45%
Expert Runs: 15%
Terrain Parks: 1
Night Riding: No
Now we head back East and, like Fernie, get close again to the Alberta border. Except this time well north of Fernie. It sits next to Banff national park and is most easily accessed from Calgary, Alberta.
With the fourth highest vertical drop in North America, this is a freeriding gem!
And that allows the longest run to be 10km (6.2 miles) long.
It’s got a similar amount of terrain to Sun Peaks but half as many lifts (though one of them is a gondola) but this isn’t a problem, that terrain is more narrowly focused and one of the best things about Fernie is the backcountry.
There is definitely something for the beginner, but this is really for advanced to expert freeriders looking for a thrill.
Probably close to number 1 in terms of Freeriding but not much for the freestyler in the way of terrain parks – though you can still take advantage of natural hits on Kicking Horse’s varied and interesting terrain.
BC Ski Resort #2
Resort: Big White
Ride-able terrain: 2,765 acres (1119ha)
Vertical Drop: 777m (2,550ft)
No. of Lifts: 16 (1 gondola, 10 chairlifts, 5 surface lifts)
Annual Snowfall Average: 24.5ft (750cm)
Total runs: 118
Beginner Runs: 18%
Intermediate Runs: 54%
Advanced Runs: 22%
Expert Runs: 6%
Terrain Parks: 1
Night Riding: Yes – heaps!
Now we head back West again, and South quite a bit, to reach Big White, near the city of Kelowna (BCs 3rd largest city).
Big White boasts a couple of 1sts. It has the most ride in-ride out accommodation of any of BC’s resorts and has the largest night riding area.
It has practically the same area of terrain as kicking horse but it’s spread out over a more modest vertical drop of 777m (2,550ft). But what gets Big White the second spot here is the all-round characteristics of the resort.
With some awesome freestyle terrain (2 parks, a pipe and border x), plenty of options for beginners to experts and 38 acres of terrain open for night riding, Big White accommodates for riders of all abilities and styles.
BC Ski Resort #1
Resort: Whistler/Blackcomb
Ride-able terrain: 8,171 acres (3,307ha)
Vertical Drop: 1530m (5,020ft) on Whistler, 1565m on Blackcomb
No. of Lifts: 39 (5 gondolas, 18 chairlifts, 16 surface lifts)
Annual Snowfall Average: 33.5 feet (1022cm)
Total runs: 200+
Beginner Runs: 18%
Intermediate Runs: 55%
Advanced Runs: 18%
Expert Runs: 10%
Terrain Parks: 5 parks (plus superpipe and snowcross track)
Night Riding: No
Finally we head towards the western edge of BC.
What more can you say about Whistler/Blackcomb – it has the largest amount of terrain area in not just BC, not just Canada, but in all of North America!
It also has the 2nd highest vertical drop in all of North America – next to its BC neighbor Revelstoke Mountain Resort (1,713m {5,620ft}).
It has a large variety of terrain to accommodate all styles and abilities and, with all the facilities you could ever want, a great night-life and an easy 2 hour drive from BC’s largest city Vancouver. There really wasn’t much hope for the other BC resorts, though really high quality, in taking first place when they’re competing against Whistler/Blackcomb.
Perhaps the only downside being the potential for long queues, such is the popularity of whistler – though I’ve never found this to be a major problem when I’ve been there.
The Future of BC Resorts
Whistler/Blackcomb may take this one out fairly easily but they should watch their backs. Though it didn’t make this list yet, the Revelstoke Mountain Resort has some ambitious plans for the future.
Currently, Revelstoke already has the largest vertical drop in North America, but less than half of Whistler’s area and only 4 lifts.
But with plans in place for 25 lifts, 10,000 acres of terrain, and already with a 15.2km (9.4 mile) long run in place (whistler’s longest is 11km {6.8m}) – they could be challenging the incumbent – at least for size anyway!
Thanks for Reading
These are just my picks but there are plenty of other options in BC. What’s your favourite? Anything else you think should be in the top 5? Would love to hear what others think. Just leave a comment in the comments section below.
Photo Credits (from top)
Fernie Slopes: Photo by Chris Barton [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr
Sun Peaks: Photo by Chris Barton [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr
Kicking Horse: Photo by jhopkins [CC BY 2.0], via Flikr
Big White: Photo by claire rowland [CC BY 2.0], via Flikr
My 40th birthday is in December of 2016 and I want to go on a memorable snowboarding trip. One of the destinations under consideration is Whistler, and by that time, I hope to be at least a strong intermediate rider.
Although Whistler seems like the clear choice in BC, do you have any suggestions for including some of BC’s other resorts in a week-long trip? My party would be flying in from the east coast of the US.
Thanks, as always, for providing such great info for us snowboarding addicts!
Hey John
Whistler would definitely be a great destination for a 40th celebration. Both in terms of the riding on offer and the village itself is a sweet place to hang out. And there’s enough terrain that you’d never run out of new terrain to explore in a week.
Just because of the logistics of getting to other resorts in BC, I would probably stick to whistler for the whole week if you chose Whistler. It would be a long drive or you’d have to take flights to get to some of the others in the same trip (which would take up precious riding time!). There is Cypress, Grouse and Seymour (Vancouver local mountains) that aren’t too far (couple of hours drive) – but they’re smaller resorts and aren’t in the same league as Whistler.
If you wanted to do multiple mountains then you could do the Big White, Sun Peaks, Revelstoke triangle – there would still be 3-4 hours drive in between each but that would be doable for a multi mountain trip.
Either way sounds like an awesome idea for your 40th!