I can see why Cypress Mountain is known as one of the best snowshoeing destinations in Vancouver…read more There are many beautiful trails to choose from in the daytime and they offer a nice brightly lit evening snowshoe experience too. Follow the signage to "Nordic" and that's the area with ticket office and rentals for cross country skiing and snowshoeing fun! It has a diverse range of trails suitable for beginners and experienced hikers. Snowshoe rentals are available till 3:30pm for day time snowshoeing and just take note to return rentals by 4:30pm as they start night time tickets and rentals at 5pm. If you didn't pack foods, it's quite easy to grab a drink or a bite at their Nordic Cafe or at the Lodge. Five stars for their guest services - i was very impressed by the genuine effort they put in to help locate lost item for guests. Cypress is roughly 30-minute drive from downtown Vancouver (check Google map for traffic congestion or delays) and about 10 to 15 minutes drive from West Vancouver and North Vancouver.

Went twice down the Eagle Coaster last month. It was a beautiful day, the most serene ride up the…read morechair lift, and the most shockingly bumpy ride down the coaster lol. They tell you to not hold your phone. Two people lost their caps. They tell you to release the brake and to speed up but I think you do need to slow down during the turns and bumps. Felt like I almost fell out at those times. It was a fun experience. Line was short at 10:30am. Much longer on the second ride down at around 11:30am.

It was my friend's birthday and he had never gone snow tubing before so we decided to surprise him!…read moreIt was so fun! I had only gone snow tubing in Whistler so this was the first time for me as well. They were pretty organized with getting everyone up and the wait was never too long. They had around 6 or 7 slopes with different levels of speed which was nice! You can also decide to go in a group or 2, 3, or 4 (would recommend!) Whistler slopes are definitely bigger but if you live in the city, this is closer and still pretty good!

The tubing itself is ok in good snow conditions, entertaining for kids and visitors who want to…read moreplay in the snow and don't want to ski. It's expensive, but everything is these days. But Boyne Resorts which operates Cypress now has really screwed up everything else. Booking tickets on the web site is an hour-long torture of registering for an account with Boyne Resorts, specifying a bunch of personal information for every visitor, and initialing and signing endless waiver forms for everyone. And once you get there you find it's pay parking now (new this year). You can't pay for the parking in advance, you have to do it in the snow on your phone, again with a tortuously long data entry process with multiple non-functional Captchas that's totally unnecessary. We never did succeed, but fortunately the staff are not enforcing either the parking or even the activity tickets. They're too interested in closing up early so they can get to lunch.

Mt. Baker... more like Baker Hill. The runs were short and lumpy. Our whole family came up for…read moreChristmas. It was fun but a lot smaller than what I'm used to. However, there were no lines for the chairlifts which was great. I was able to get 20 runs in an afternoon. I also can't believe they don't offer wifi in the lounge area and the fries were salty af in a small cup for $8.

So much to like about Mount Baker Ski Area. Tons of powder today and wide open areas which allow…read moreyou to easily switch between piste and off-piste skiing. Mondays are great; never a lift line. My only gripe is about the plastic bowls for the salads. The base of the bowl is too narrow so when you try to cut up your salad, it tips over and flings salad on the floor. Again much to else to like. All the serving dishes and utensils are washable or compostable. There is a service charge for using a credit card so bring cash for lunch.

Mountain used to be great. Close by in the Fraser Valley, decent time for kids and families…read more Purchased a season pass for several years. Been going downhill for some time. This season is gotten much worse. One of the main ski lifts has been broken since last season, and has not been opened at all this year. The begginers area "magic carpet" has also been closed all season long. They have the people taking begginer lessons walking up the bunny hill. It gets better, they also decided to close 2 days a week for the remainder of this month. They close 3 days a week for the remaining of the season! Save your cash. Go to Manning Park. May be a bit farther, but you will get your money's worth (or atleast provided for what you paid for). I am not sure they will last much longer.

We came here on a Friday afternoon to go snowboarding. Great place to learn if you're beginner as…read morethe runs were not crowded. It's a bit of a drive from Vancouver (~2 hours). This is a great resort if you're looking: * Reasonably priced - half day pass (12:30 to close - usually 8pm) is $46 for adults. * Smaller mountain with 3 chairlifts (good for beginners, 1 designated chairlift for beginners) * Less crowded (no wait time for chairlifts) * Night ski (only 2 chairlifts available at night) You will need SNOW TIRES OR CHAINS for the last ~10 km of the drive up the mountain to the resort if it's snowing or recently snowed. We saw a car in the ditch - don't be THAT guy.

Call this number to get the latest conditions up at Mt. Baker. The number is 360-671-0211. Give…read more'em a ring, they're usually pretty accurate in reporting the conditions.

Like everyone else, I'm pretty sure this year has been feeling like one of the longest never ending…read morestories of our lives!!! 2020 please end soon ... please!? Needed this dayscape - via the magnificent Sea-to-Sky Highway to the majestic mountain enclave - Whistler - in beautiful British Columbia! Folks be prepared - you will be tempted to stop several times on the drive up. Spectacular views during the daylight hours will leave you breathless!!! This review is done under - Whistler - but encompasses the drive up, the beautiful scenery, the mountains & forest that are all part of an amazing nature built province ('State' - for all those in Merica) of BC. And no, BC does not belong to Britain but to Canada. Don't laugh I've been asked this question before! I won't get into the whole Commonwealth technicality but yes if one is leaning towards that angle I guess you could say - the Queen does own the whole of Canada as we pay mega bucks as in millions each year to the UK - to be part of the British Empire! Oh how lucky we are!? So Harry & Megan got tired of this British royalty life & escaped to a quieter environment in ... Hollywood!?? Ok then!!! The big draw to Whistler is in the winter - skiing & snowboarding. The Blackcomb & Whistler mountains are world wide renowned & super popular! Hiking & mountain biking takeover in the summer. Whistler is mighty expensive so bring all 5 of your credit cards! There are a few good restaurants as well but please make reservations ahead of time or you'll be left hopping around to find whatever's available. Of note & in no particular order but worth trying, Oso Bar (Spanish) - make reservations this spot is fire (thank you manager for the complimentary dessert), Lucia Gelato (try the Ginger flavour), Fat Tony's Pizza (open till 3am so could be a real life saver), El Funiture Warehouse aka All Food @ $5.95 Everyday - that's like $3 bucks US right!?! Everyone eats here, superstars, the rich, the average Joe - there's no class rules when your starving & don't want to blow a lot of money - you will save money eating here!!! Avalanche Pizza, Splitz Grill (can be pricey but it's the burger you design so blame yourself for the hunger causing your mind to go crazy with so many toppings) & finally tacos at La Cantina. There's a few more spots including fine dining but that will be for an update after covid-19 ends. I'm real hesitant to go inside & prefer to stick to patio dining for now, as much as I can. The Whistler Village area is real easy to walk around in & you'll only need to drive if you have to go further up the mountain. I have been coming to Whistler since the early 90s & have stayed in many hotels & condo rentals. Definitely shop around & prebook your stay before coming up here. However, today's trip was just a day trip escape from the big city & was thoroughly enjoyed. The drive from Vancouver takes 90 minutes or less depending on how fast you drive - longer if you stop along the way & or make a pit stop in Squamish, a beautiful town & worth the stop - see my Squamish review. Whoa got the shock of my life while walking about! Five years ago on a cruise in the Caribbean, our group met the super charismatic, charming, & so awesome Cruise Director (entertainment) Matt! Check him out on Instagram @ mattcruisedirector. Merica many of you might be very familer with him from the Carnival Cruise Line!!! Couldn't believe he's now living here - currently on the Sunshine Coast of BC but will be relocating to Vancouver. It was a pleasure to run into him & his wife! I had vivid fond cruise flashback memories while chatting with him. That awesome cruise back in 2015 on Carnival Breeze was phenomenal!!!!! It was a total awesome riot! I discovered my island paradise - Curaçao! Side note - Vancouver & Whistler hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics! I can tell you from first hand experience with actually being involved in the Olympics as a volunteer - it was so spectacular an event!!!!! Vancouverites today still speak highly of it! Super natural Whistler is highly recommended if you've never been - so do check it out! Come experience Whistler & be wowed!!! You will exhale & feel that - we got this ... life is good after all!!!!!

Just a heads up to those of you thinking to get the edge or season passes. They've made the refund…read moresystem as much difficult as they possible could. I purchased the 5 days edge pass in May without realizing that my mom will need a knee replacement surgery this coming winter. As soon as I know the surgery is happening in this coming winter, I put in a request online to refund my money at the beginning of July. They not only asking you to fill out a mile long form with all those emails going back and forth, you are also requested to get all the signed documents from the doctors for approvals. It's been 2 months and I am still waiting for the refund. I've been going to Whistler for more than 30 yrs, this year is the worst experience ever.

We had the opportunity to go Heli-skiing with Powder Mountain yesterday. What can I say, trip of a…read morelifetime. Our guide Rory was awesome!! He knows his stuff and made sure we had a great experience. Darin our Pilot can land the heli on a dime. From start to finish this is a top notch operation. Safety is their number one priority, and we knew we where in good hands. Check one of the bucket list !!

While Whistler/Blackcomb are pretty great in their own right-there is nothing that can compare to a…read moreday with only a handful (under 10) people in a cat, on runs all to yourself. The crew over at PMS are professional, the terrain is awesome, and you will not be disappointed-totally worth the money on this one! We rode Whistler for 4 days in new pow each day before going up to Powder Mtn. I have to say I was hesitant to spend the money at first for the cat trip after all the dough we spent at Whistler. Man am I so glad that we sucked it up and spent it. Best day of pow we had all week! The day was snowy, it had dumped 2 ft of fresh the night before, and we only had 9 people total. Our group was really friendly and fun of all ages and countries. First up was the avalanche beacon training, which was fun and appreciated as it's something I don't really worry about when I'm not backcountry or if ski patrol is around. Hey learn something new every day right? Your crew gets 2 patrollers for the day, and a photog (thank kevin!-glad we met you on the gondola at Whis!). Felt totally safe for all levels of riding/skiing as one patrol stays up front to lead, and one stays behind if someone gets stuck. The terrain was alpine that day as it was still snowing and visibility was low-tree runs were awesome, deep, and led into big powder bowls before you get picked up and driven back up to a new run for fresh tracks. All in all Jordan took us up 7-8 times that day and we had snacks, water, and a sandwich lunch so you're never hungry. Nobody in our crew wanted to go home but the days gotta end at some point right? When that time comes, your legs will be tired but you won't be able to wipe the smile off your face! Days end you go back to the cabin and get to see all the shots your photog took of you shredding the gnar all day. You can buy a custom cd at the end with all your shots on it-get it-you'll want to remember that day when you go back home to work in your cubicle. Trust me on this one. Maybe set up a swear jar on your desk so every time you donate to it, you're one step closer to getting to go back up to Powder Mtn Snowcats. Don and Demelza-you guys were awesome guides all day-we definitely want to come back and next time want to go heli! Better start filling that swear jar. Sh*t.

We would NOT recommend booking a unit through Snowflake Resort Chalets. We booked a unit through…read moreSnowflake this ski season but due to the lack of snow this year, it did not look promising that the mountain would open. There was no clear cancellation policy on their website nor on the confirmation we received from the management company other than 'full payment required 30 days prior'. Full payment was taken 30 days prior to our reservation date and we called to cancel our reservation within 3 1/2 weeks of the reservation date. The people who we spoke to, Kevin and Wendy at Snowflake, refused to refund any of our money even though it was very unlikely the mountain would open. They were unprofessional, rude and condescending, offering no customer service whatsoever. Eventually they agreed to refund a portion of our money for the days our unit was re-rented net of a cancellation charge. We know of other parties who booked through other management companies and they were refunded their money, no questions asked. We had also booked a unit through Snowflake the season before and although there were no issues dealing with the management company, the unit we stayed in had wet carpets due to leaking. The unit was very old and outrageously expensive ($450 per night) given the condition. Given our experiences with Snowflake we would highly recommend NOT booking through this company.