We all know that Whistler Blackcomb is a world class ski resort – but there’s much more to Whistler in winter than skiing and snowboarding. So if you’re feeling a little more… adventurous, these are the Whistler adventures you need to have!
Just shy of an hour and thirty minutes outside of Vancouver, it’s a quick getaway from the city. Or it could be your holiday destination of choice for a week or even longer – there’s honestly so many things to do in Whistler in winter, you won’t get bored.
But these Whistler adventures aren’t just your average things to do! Whether it’s your first time visiting or you’re a regular weekender wanting to do something different, these experiences will definitely be memorable.
[Updated November 30, 2020]
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These Are The Whistler Adventures You Need To Have This Winter
Table of Contents
- These Are The Whistler Adventures You Need To Have This Winter
- 1) Explore The Snowy Landscape By Zip line
- 2) Snowmobile Through Whistler’s Backcountry
- 3) Snowshoe To A Trainwreck
- 4 ) Heli-Ski Untouched Mountaintop Powder
- 5) Bungee Jump Over A River From 160 Feet
- 6) Take On A Frozen Waterfall
- 7) Explore Ancient Ice Caves
- How To Get To Whistler
- Where To Stay
- Shop These Winter Essentials For Your Whistler Adventures
1) Explore The Snowy Landscape By Zip line
Did you know that zip lining in Whistler is something you can do all year long? What a cool way to experience the magical beauty of the forest blanketed in snow.
If you’ve never tried it before, zip lining Whistler in winter is a great time as any, isn’t it?
There are three different tours operated by Ziptrek Ecotours that run all year long. You can choose from a doing shorter, more first time friendly tour, to the more advanced, or you could spend the day and do ALL the zip lines!
You can get to speeds of up to 100 km per hour zip lining, and all you need to do is enjoy the ride.
If you’re extra adventurous, you definitely have to do The Sasquatch zip line! At 2 km long, this is the LONGEST zipline in all of Canada and the US and connects Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.
Unfortunately it’s not open in the wintertime, so you’ll have to come back in the spring or summer to try it out. We haven’t done it yet, but I’ll let you know when we do.
You can also check out Superfly Ziplines in Whistler too.
2) Snowmobile Through Whistler’s Backcountry
One of the best Whistler adventures in the winter is to go snowmobiling in the wild backcountry of the mountains.
The best way for most people to do this is on a snowmobile tour – pretty much anyone can do it.
You can choose from slower paced, scenic tours on groomed trails or get off trail and ride through deep powder.
Snowmobile tour packages usually include a cool stopping point for lunch or fondue in a mountaintop hut or even teepee.
You’ve got several different options too for snowmobile tour companies to go with: Blackcomb Snowmobile, Canadian Wilderness Adventures and Whistler Snowmobile to name a few.
Pro tip: If you tend to get really cold like I do, especially hands and feet – try using these hand warmers. Just stick them in your gloves and you’re good to go 🙂
3) Snowshoe To A Trainwreck
The Whistler train wreck is a pretty cool hike that you can do all year long. When it’s winter though, it’s one of the best snowshoeing trails in Whistler.
The trail winds through the forest and takes you to 7 wrecked train cars all covered in colourful graffiti. It’s an easy hike to do and you get to cross a suspension bridge too, that goes over the river.
Give yourself about an hour to do the trail round trip, including time to stop to look around the wreck site. To be honest, a lot of the time the trail is pretty hard packed so you might not even need snowshoes.
For directions and additional information click here.
Need snowshoes? If you think you’ll use them at least a couple of times, it’s probably worth it to buy yourself a pair. You can also rent them out for the day from places like MEC.
Check out these ones and other great options for snowshoes from Amazon here.
Other things you might need for snowshoeing or hiking to the Whistler train wreck are winter boots and gloves.
4 ) Heli-Ski Untouched Mountaintop Powder
This is THE DREAM of pretty much every skier and snowboarder, ever.
Imagine this: Flying in a helicopter over stunning mountain ranges you’ve never even heard of – all in pursuit of fresh, untracked powder.
You can’t stop grinning as you’re dropped off at the top of an alpine glacier, or an unbelievable open tree run – with the most perfect looking snow you’ve ever seen!
If that doesn’t paint the most epic picture in your head, then I don’t know what will. Heli-skiing is the ultimate of whistler adventures!
It doesn’t come cheap but it will definitely be memorable. There’s more than a handful of Heli ski tour companies in Whistler like Powder Mountain and Powder Guides you can go with.
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5) Bungee Jump Over A River From 160 Feet
You may, or may not be surprised to hear that bungee jumping is one of the activities in Whistler that you can do year round.
Whistler Bungee pretty much operates in any weather condition. The exception being lightning – but only because the bridge is metal. So don’t book and then get your hopes up that you can get out of it due to bad weather!
I’ve wanted to do a bungee jump for years. Jamie has bungee jumped a couple of times already but I wanted to do it with someone else who hasn’t before.
Anyway, an opportunity came up with some friends (and Jamie too) a few months ago and a big bunch of us went together. It rained, but I don’t think it made any difference to the experience and I’m happy I ticked it off the list.
If it’s something you’ve been wanting to do, Whistler is honestly a great place to go.
The jump is from a bridge that spans a glacial fed river in a scenic area. You can do it the traditional way by ankle, by your chest, or in even tandem with a friend.
Time to face those fears right?
Don’t forget to bring a GoPro or similar kind of action camera to record your jump!
6) Take On A Frozen Waterfall
Even if you’ve never climbed before, ice climbing in Whistler is something you can try.
Surprisingly, you don’t actually need any climbing experience to climb up a frozen waterfall.
In terms of whistler adventures you could have – this has got to be one of the coolest things to do!
Ice climbing is something that can only be done when the conditions are just right. You’re climbing up a waterfall after all, so obviously it needs to be frozen solid.
Usually the perfect conditions for ice climbing arrive around mid winter in Whistler. If you didn’t know this experience was on your bucket list until now – you’re not alone! I recently just added it when I found out you don’t need any specific experience to do it!
Ice climbing tours take place not only in Whistler, but in the surrounding areas of Squamish and Pemberton too. There are a few places you can book online with, try Mountain Skills Academy or Canada West Mountain School.
7) Explore Ancient Ice Caves
Imagine walking though icy blue caves made of ancient glacial ice, high up in the mountains.
The ice caps located in Whistler’s backcountry are really special. They’re only some of the rare few that are located this southern on Earth.
On this Whistler adventure, you’ll get to take a scenic helicopter ride over the amazing landscape to reach the ice caves. You’ll fly over glaciers, alpine lakes and have the chance to see wildlife you might not see anywhere else.
This is definitely one of those once in a lifetime experiences. Ice cave tours last around 4 hours including the flight time to get there. Several operators in Whistler offer ice cave tours, try Headline Mountain Holidays or No Limits Heli Adventures to name a couple.
How To Get To Whistler
Driving: From Vancouver get on Highway 1 heading west; after passing Horseshoe Bay (don’t take any exits) the highway turns into the 99 heading north. Keep following this road until you see signs for Whistler Village. The drive is about an hour and 45 minutes from downtown Vancouver by car.
*A note about driving: from October 1st – March 31st you need to have either winter tires or chains when you travel to Squamish or Whistler. You can find tire chains here.
Shuttle Bus: You can take a shuttle bus to Whistler from multiple locations in and around Downtown Vancouver and YVR airport. The journey takes a similar time to driving at around an hour and 50 minutes on average. Fares vary between $30-$100 for a round trip depending on pick up point and operator. Check here to compare and book shuttle bus services.
Where To Stay
There are really so many choices of places to stay in Whistler. If you want to be central to everything, it’s best and easiest to stay in Whistler Village itself though. If you have a car, you’ll open yourself up to many more options too.
In the village we usually stay in the Crystal Lodge if we’re staying in a hotel. Another fantastic option is renting an Airbnb, which there are a ton of in Whistler. (Get a place with a hot tub!)
Some other options are to stay in nearby Pemberton or Squamish, especially if you have a vehicle.
If you’re looking for a cool place to stay in Squamish, check out these awesome tiny homes you can rent out.
Shop These Winter Essentials For Your Whistler Adventures
- Winter gloves and boots
- Snow pants or ski or snowboard pants and ski socks
- Hand and foot warmers
- GoPro or similar adventure camera
- Winter parka or ski or snowboard jacket
- Toque or beanie
- Snowshoes and trekking poles
Which of these wintery, Whistler adventures are you planning to do? Let me know!
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