Best Things to Do in Whistler

Whistler is just as thrilling in July and September as it is during a January powder storm: its twin mountains, five valley lakes and cultural museums offer a complete alpine holiday in every season. Here are the ten experiences that define a visit.

1. Ride the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola and walk the 2,182m Cloudraker Skybridge. Ascend Blackcomb, cross 4.4 kilometres in mid-air 436 metres above the valley in a silver glass-bottom cabin, and take the Peak Express Chairlift to the suspension bridge at Whistler Summit.
2. Rent a bike to pedal the 46-Kilometre Car-Free Valley Trail around Whistler's 5 Lakes. Swim off the floating docks of forest-ringed Lost Lake and Rainbow Park (Alta Lake) and photograph neon-turquoise Green Lake.
3. Hike to the painted boxcars of Whistler Train Wreck and sample Function Junction Breweries. Cross a suspension bridge over the raging Cheakamus River to seven 1956 derailed train cars turned into an old-growth forest street-art gallery.
4. Tour the Audain Art Museum and the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre (SLCC). Admire 19th-century Northwest Coast masks and Emily Carr masterpieces inside a striking black-metal forest building, then join an Indigenous hand-drum tour at the SLCC.

5. Soak in the silent cedar-forest hydrotherapy pools of Scandinave Spa Whistler. Alternate between 40°C outdoor thermal pools, wood-fired Finnish saunas, eucalyptus steam rooms and cold Nordic waterfalls overlooking the mountains.
6. Hike to glacial-turquoise Cheakamus Lake, Garibaldi Lake or Joffre Lakes. Walk an easy 3 km forest trail to turquoise Cheakamus Lake or visit the three stacked turquoise jewels of Joffre Lakes.
7. Ski or snowboard 8,171 acres at Whistler Blackcomb (or ride the Mountain Bike Park in summer). Experience over 1,600 vertical metres of ski runs in winter or Ziptrek Ecotours in summer.
8. Stop at 70m Brandywine Falls, the Sea to Sky Gondola & 335m Shannon Falls. Turn the drive from Vancouver into a full-day waterfall and fjord adventure.

9. Walk the enchanted night-forest trail of Vallea Lumina. Follow a 1.5-kilometre multimedia light-and-sound story through the old-growth forest of Cougar Mountain after dark.
10. Stroll the Whistler Village Stroll for Olympic Rings photos and legendary Après-Ski. Sabre champagne in the -32°C Ketel One Ice Room at Bearfoot Bistro.