Canada is a year-round country to go and visit. I wanted to do some snowboarding and the other two girls, who I ended up doing this particular adventure with, wanted to try out skiing. Deciding on mid-March to depart England, we set aside two and a half weeks to see Niagara Falls as well as the Western side of Canada. I’ll get into the East Coast on a different blog.
Canada, just like Australia and New Zealand, has so much to offer. Different activities to add on and dive into, every step of the way. I will go into the main stops you should add into any Western Canada itinerary. However it won’t stop there, there are so many extra places you can add into any itinerary such as Vancouver Island, which we just didn’t have the time to explore. I would love to go back and visit again in the Summer, but for now let’s jump into a Winter in The Rockies.
So as always let’s talk about flight routes first of all and then we’ll get into the good stuff. Main city airport to fly into in British Columbia is Vancouver, this gives you a great base after a long flight and multiple options for car and motorhome hire. If you wanted to head into the Rockie National Parks first, such as Banff and Lake Louise, it would be best to come from the East and fly into Calgary. There isn’t much to see here unless you are flying over in July, when the Calgary Stampede is on. It’s only an hour drive to Banff, so you can land and set off straight away if the time of your flight permits. If you wanted to take a boat trip you can always fly into Seattle in the US and get the Victoria clipper across to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, or vice versa to finish off your journey.
Car hire or motorhome? Which is best for Canada? This will be published in another blog as well. When we went in March 2019 we hired a motorhome. In the winter, yes a little crazy, but a whole lot of fun.
Ok, off we go..
Vancouver
A beautiful city. Easy to walk around. Make sure you take a visit to Granville Island where you can wander around the old fishing yard. They have converted this into markets, bars and restaurants which has a buzzing atmosphere. Hire push bikes and take a cycle around Stanley Park, if a nice day take a picnic to the secret beach on the East side of the park. Add in a day trip to visit the Capilano Suspension Bridges, top tip: it is more cost effective if you book this in advance rather than paying the Canadian dollar price locally.
Whistler
Perfect for your Winter sports, Whistlers offers Blackcomb mountain as well as Whistler mountain for skiers to explore all sorts of different runs. You can take the many gondolas to the top of each mountain and even the Peak2Peak gondola which takes you across the top of both. Probably not the best if you are scared of heights. Be sure to try out all the different eating experiences here, two personal recommendations are the Mongolie Grill and The Royal Taste of India. There is so much to offer, you won’t go hungry, and you won’t have to eat at the same place all the time. There are multiple different bars which are situated up each of the mountains but also at the base as well, perfect for Apres Ski.
Sun Peaks Resort
This resort is quite a pricey one but perfect if you are wanting more of a resort feel to your holiday. Everything you could want in one place. Where it’s skiing in the Winter months or mountain biking in the Summer. If you are driving from West to East this is the first stop as you enter the Rocky Mountain ranges.
Lake Louise
Home of the famous Fairmont Lake Louise hotel. You’ve probably seen the photos, looking out of the huge bay windows onto the beautiful lake. Of course in the Winter the lake is just white, covered in ice and snow. It sounds an obvious thing but if you have in your mind you are going to see those beautiful snow covered mountains and aqua blue water – summertime is the time for you to go and visit. If you are visiting in December/January, right in the middle of Winter, there would be a chance for you to ice skate on the lake. However if you are visiting in the shoulder seasons the ice would be too thin to do so. If you wanted to keep out of the cold you can always have an afternoon at the Fairmont while looking out at the amazing scenery.
Banff
Banff National Park has so much to offer. Make sure you park yourself centrally to be able to have the chance to do everything. The Banff Gondola is a must, I would recommend this in the late afternoon, so you head up when it is still light, for you to get all the beautiful photos of the surrounding views. Then stay at the top until the sun sets. It’s magnificent, watching the glow catch all the snow top peaks around you. They have a café up there, live music on certain days and s’mores to munch on. If you didn’t want to pay for the Gondola you can walk the three hour walk up the mountain (this is what we did) and they will give you the Gondola ride back down for free. After this you can go into the Hot Spring Spas or you could head into the middle of town to find a bar with live music (very easy to do). We ended up spending four nights here because we loved it.
Other areas you could add into any itinerary are:
- Vancouver Island. Including: Victoria, Tofino, Campbell River
- Jasper National Park
- Kamloops
- Harrison Hot Springs
- Kelowna
Bears will be hibernating in the Winter so you won’t be able to do any bear tours until April/May time.
If you have any more questions about exploring Western Canada in the Winter, get in contact.
LEAH HANCOX 