With more than 129 kilometres of cross-country and snowshoe trails, 8,100 acres of lift-serviced skiable terrain, a variety of backcountry adventures, and a lineup of entertaining holiday events and free festivities, Whistler has something to offer every family member.
In Whistler, celebration is a way of life. What better way to kick off your holiday season and ring in the New Year than with a visit to North America’s Number One Ski Resort. Whistler and Blackcomb mountains are open for the season with a snow base of 160 centimetres (63 inches). More than 70 centimetres (nearly 28 inches) of snow has fallen in the last seven days and Environment Canada’s weather forecast is calling for more snow throughout the week. Nordic skiing and snowshoeing are available in the Callaghan Valley and at Lost Lake Park.
The Coca-Cola Tube Park on Blackcomb Mountain opens December 18 and offers the thrill of on-hill tubing for adults and children alike. Don’t forget to take your family to the magic castle on Whistler Mountain and the tree fort on Blackcomb. Pick up a trail map to navigate your way to these two popular spots where you can take off your skis or board and explore the adventure area. Whistler Blackcomb also offers winter sightseeing via the PEAK2PEAK gondola and this week marks the return of the spectacular 7-Eleven Fire and Ice Show, featuring firespinners, fireworks and skiers and boarders jumping through rings of fire at the base of Whistler Mountain (every Sunday at 6:30 p.m. starting December 19).
Off the slopes and trails, Whistler also offers a host of winter activity options and welcomes a variety of holiday-themed events including the Whistler Holiday Experience, a new exhibit at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, skating with Santa, Christmas caroling and Whistler’s First Night.
Whistler Holiday Experience
The Whistler Holiday Experience welcomes families from December 17 to January 2 (with the exception of December 25 and 31). The free indoor fun zone located in the Whistler Conference Centre, in the heart of Whistler Village, is open from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and features mini putt, air hockey, fooseball, bouncy castles, movie screenings and video games. Santa visits on December 18 and 19 from noon until 4 p.m.
Special Whistler events this holiday season include a Christmas craft workshop at Millennium Place from 9 a.m. – noon on December 17. Sponsored by the Whistler Arts Council, all supplies are provided. A lantern-making workshop takes place on December 20 from 1-4 p.m. at the Whistler Conference Centre. For a $3 fee, guests and locals alike are invited to build their own lantern. The lanterns will be hung as part of the Festival of Lights at Millennium Place and then at the Whistler Children’s Art Festival this summer. Or, for an additional $6 fee, you can take your lantern home with you. The Festival of Lights is presented by the Whistler Arts Council and features lanterns and light sculptures on display in the Scotia Creek Gallery at Millennium Place 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 4-7 p.m. on Sunday.
Tours and exhibits at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre
Learn the art, history and culture of the area’s First Nations and participate in workshops, crafts and tours at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC). The centre is open Tuesday – Sunday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (exhibits will be closed December 24, 25, 26 and January 1). Guests can take a guided or non-guided tour of the centre, while the café and gift shop can be accessed admission-free on the Istken Hall level. Guided tours take place each hour on the hour and begin with a drumming performance followed by a brief film on the First Nations. Tours focus on specific elements of the First Nations’ culture, history and art. Winter featured tours include: drums and rattles, canoes and paddles, plants and berries and legends and language. Beginning Wednesday, December 15, the SLCC will be the temporary home of a unique and vibrant work of art – the Forest One car exhibit. A classic car – the 1965 Nash Metropolitan – is fully plaited in cedar bark, strapping and wool-wrapped twine. This masterpiece of Dr. Annie Ross, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University, encourages people to reflect on the ways in which we live in our shared environment. It will be on display until March 31. The SLCC is also home to the winter farmers market on Sundays. For more information, visit the SLCC website at www.slcc.ca
Santa, caroling and New Year’s celebrations
On December 21, skaters can enjoy a skate with Santa at the Meadow Park Sports Centre, located north of Whistler Village, off Highway 99.
The Fairmont Chateau Whistler will come alive with the sound of music as Christmas caroling takes place in the main lobby on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Santa also visits the Westin Resort and Spa Whistler on Christmas Eve, from 4-7 p.m.
Whistler’s First Night celebration is a long-standing local tradition for locals and visitors alike. The New Year’s Eve festivities are fun for the entire family featuring a program of live music, storytelling, art workshops and street entertainment. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. with performances by Five Alarm Funk, Brother Twang and Scott Verbeek taking place on the Village Square mainstage while activities take place inside the Whistler Conference Centre. The evening wraps up with a fireworks display. Tickets are available at the Whistler Visitor Information Centre and cost $15 for adults; $8 for kids 12 and under. Children aged two and under get in for free. Public transit will be free, on routes within Whistler, beginning at 6 p.m. Enhanced bus service begins after midnight.
To find out more about Whistler events and activities and to book your winter vacation package, visit www.whistler.com. Five-night/ four day lift ticket packages start at $395 CAD per person. Three-night/ two-day lift ticket packages start at $243 CAD per person and two-night getaway packages, with lift ticket, start at $224 CAD per person.
Whistler is Canada’s premier year-round leisure and meeting destination located in the Coast Mountains 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Consistently rated the top ski resort in North America for the past 12 years in a row, Whistler was the Host Mountain Resort of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The resort offers an extensive range of accommodations totaling 10,000 bedrooms among 24 hotels as well as townhomes, condos, B&Bs and chalets. Whistler also boasts more than 100 restaurants and bars, 200 retail shops, 25 spas and countless activity options from world-renowned skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking and golf, to hiking, rock climbing, and watersports. The Resort Municipality of Whistler is home to a diverse community of more than 9,000 permanent residents.
Tourism Whistler is the member-based marketing and sales organization representing Whistler, operating the Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler Golf Club, Whistler Visitor Centre, as well as 1.800.WHISTLER and whistler.com – Whistler’s official source for visitor bookings and information. As the convention and visitors bureau for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler represents more than 7,000 members who own, manage and operate properties or businesses on resort lands including hotels, restaurants, activity operators and retail shops.
