Activity Guide
Every Whistler activity in one place
Whistler runs two quite different resorts on the same mountains. From December to April it is 8,171 acres of skiing with a valley of snow tours, hot pools and long evenings around it. From May to October the same terrain is alpine hiking, a bike park with 1,500 metres of descent, five swimmable lakes and a river you can paddle from one to the next.
Almost everything here is guided, which means almost everything has a season, a minimum age and a booking window. The pages below tell you which, and our concierge team books the lot so you are not holding nine confirmation emails from nine companies.
If you already know the season you are coming in, go straight to winter activities or summer activities. If you are still deciding, start with the day you want to have.
30 activities
Winter
Skiing and snowboarding on two mountains, and a second winter running beside it: dog teams in the Callaghan, snowmobiles climbing to a candlelit hut, heli-skiing over 247,000 acres, fondue at 6,000 feet and a Village that does apres properly.
See all winter activities
42 activities
Summer
Alpine trails and the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, the bike park and forty kilometres of paved Valley Trail, lakes warm enough to swim in by July, rafting on the Green River and helicopters landing on the glaciers behind Blackcomb.
See all summer activitiesMost people arrive with a list and no order to put it in. These are the six days a Whistler trip usually contains, and what is worth booking for each.
Your first day
Do not book anything strenuous for the day you drive up. Ride a gondola, walk somewhere flat and eat well. You will plan the rest of the week better once you have seen the place from above.
A rest day
The legs have gone and nobody wants to admit it. Outdoor pools in the snow, an hour on a court, or a long lunch on the mountain without carrying anything.
If it rains
Whistler gets weather. These run whatever it is doing outside, and all of them are a short walk or a ten-minute drive from the Village.
With children
The hard part is the third afternoon, when the small ones are tired of lessons and the teenagers want something with an edge. Minimum ages are the thing to check first.
The one big thing
Every trip needs one booking you will still be talking about at home. All three of these sell out first and all three are worth the lead time.
Your last night
Nobody wants the last evening to be a scramble for a table. These three are the ones to lock in before you arrive, not on the day.
All 48 activities we cover, alphabetically, with the season each one runs in. Year round means it operates whatever the weather is doing.
The reference pages behind the bookings: what a pass costs, which lesson level fits, where the trail actually goes, and who runs what.
Staff Recommendations
Our team lives and breathes Whistler year-round. Here are their personal favourites, in their own words.
Kieran is a foodie and recommends Canadian Wilderness Adventures for one of their dining experiences. His favorite, snowmobiling in the morning and a feast of scrambled eggs, back bacon and golden waffles with real maple syrup. His highlight was being able to take the sleds on the frozen lake after breakfast, and briefly into the alpine. The sunrise through the snow-covered trees was pure wilderness.
When summer arrives, Kieran suggests exploring Whistler’s extensive hiking trails. There’s something for all levels and some of the hikes are accessed just steps from the village.
Winter would be skiing, of course. Then to Merlins for apres ski and the Hairfarmers band. Summer would be floating down the River of Golden Dreams. You can take a guided tour, rent a canoe or SUP, or like a true local, buy a dingy from the hardware store and hope it makes the voyage.
Jernee likes the Scandinave Spa for the relaxation it brings after a busy day. You can easily spend three or four hours there, even without a treatment. The eucalyptus steam hut is her favourite, and she brings a book for the solariums. The tranquility is such a contrast to the busyness of the village. The cafe is good too. It has some healthy meals and snacks, and you’re allowed to talk there.
Ice skating at Whistler Olympic Plaza is one of my favourite winter activities because it feels magical. Surrounded by snow-covered mountains and twinkling lights, the open-air rink and snow flakes falling all around with festive music playing makes skating feel extra special. Its also nice to see kids play on the sledding hill just across from the rink having fun, having snowball fights. Overall it is a very joyful atmosphere for everybody.
Easily, Karen’s favorite place in Whistler is The Point Artist-Run Center on Alta Lake. In the winter, the lodge is a cozy place to take in a writing workshop or paint ‘n sip class. In the summer, she likes to dangle her feet off the dock during the Sunday Concert Series on the lawn. The highlight of Karen’s summer is the Flagstop Theatre and Arts Festival that includes dinner, live theatre on a floating stage, and dancing to a live band in the lodge afterwards. thepointartists.com
Chris recommends Superfly side by side ziplines offered by Tag Whistler. The highest zipline of the four is 200 meters above the valley floor. They have two of the longest ziplines in Canada with the longest at 1.3km long reaching speeds of up to 90km an hour. If you have time, Chris recommends adding on the Advanced Aerial Course after, it’s a really fun challenge.
No matter what the conditions are, Nathan likes to get up early and go for a ski. On a pow day, no line is too long for Fresh Tracks, a mountaintop breakfast buffet and early access to the powder.
When there’s no snow, Nathan’s new favorite thing is to take a float plane to Victoria or Vancouver for the day. Harbour Air leaves from Green Lake, beside Nicklaus North Golf Course.
Everything on this page that can be booked is booked through the company that runs it, with us as your single point of contact. It costs the same as going direct, and it means one person knows what you have on which day and can tell you when two bookings will not work together.
If you cannot find what you are after, email connect@whistlerwired.com. We will either book it or tell you honestly that it is not worth the money.