Boarding & Skiing
Famous for its dry, fluffy snow and brilliant cloudless winter skies, Alberta offers unparalleled skiing and snowboarding. With thousands of hectares of powder and new snowfall almost every day, our Canadian Rockies ski resorts are beyond compare. But you'll be surprised at the number of regional ski hills across the rest of the province.
Canadian Rockies – Top Spots
Castle Mountain, located 2.5 hours from Calgary and 1.5 from the U.S. border towns of Carway and Roosville, features slopes for the expert level skier, although the resort plans to expand to accommodate those newer to the sport.
Lake Louise Mountain Resort is Canada’s largest ski area with 18 sq km (11 sq mi) of terrain on four mountain faces. Known as North America’s most scenic resort, Lake Louise has runs for every skill level. Skiing Magazine consistently ranks it number one for scenery and value—something the locals have known for years.
Marmot Basin located twenty minutes from the town of Jasper, is a family-friendly resort and one of the least crowded ski areas for its size. Eighty-four runs are tailored for novices to experts, providing plenty of fun for the whole family and more than enough to challenge serious skiers and boarders.
Nakiska, less than an hour west of Calgary, was home to the 1988 Winter Olympic events. Because of its groomed fall-line skiing, Nakiska is a cruiser’s paradise and ideal for family fun. If you’re just beginning, check out their “First Timers Guide” for everything you need to know—even before you take your first lesson.
Ski Norquay is known as the most family-friendly resort of the Big Six. The four runs you see when approaching the hill, just ten minutes from the town, are widely legendary as some of the most challenging anywhere. Norquay also has lots of gentle runs for beginners, plus flexible hourly rates and night skiing, making it popular with visitors and locals.
Sunshine Village just outside of Banff, usually has the longest ski season—sometimes well into May—and some of the best snow in Canada. With its on-slope accommodations, Sunshine is the most popular ski resort in the Rockies. If extreme skiing is the lure, your skills will be tested on the double black diamond run, aptly named Delirium Dive.
Around Alberta
You’ll find regional ski clubs and resorts all over Alberta that offer terrific ski and snowboard packages at family-friendly prices. Use our search engine to get complete results. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Edmonton
Rabbit Hill lays claim to the largest local ski and snowboard area.
Snow Valley claims to have the best snow in the city. If Mother Nature isn’t cooperating, their state-of the art snowmaking equipment and daily grooming keep skiers and boarders happy and certified instructors busy with alpine, telemark and snowboarding lessons for all ages.
Edson
Silver Summit, located 50 km (31 mi) north of Edson on Hwy 748, is the second-largest ski area in central Alberta. Only 2.5 hours from Edmonton, it has overnight accommodations, making it a great location for anyone in the Edmonton area looking for a weekend getaway.
Red Deer
Canyon Ski Area, near Red Deer, is Alberta's largest ski area outside the Rockies. The facility offers instruction packages in both skiing and snowboarding for all ages. Runs range from beginner to expert.
Amenities & Events
All major ski resorts in Alberta offer snow school programs, first-track programs, daycare, food services, day lockers, free ski host tours and evening torchlight runs. There’s plenty of room for skiers and boarders—spines, table tops, quarter pipes, jumps, berms and banks are standard fare. Weekend races, demo days and festivals abound.
Heli-skiing: the Ultimate in Pristine
For those adventurous souls looking to rise above it all, nothing compares with heli-skiing and boarding. Our heli-ski operators have years of experience and offer half, full and multi-day Canadian Rockies vacation packages. Lift off from a resort helipad or companies in Banff , Jasper and Canmore. The thrill of a run down deep untouched powder is the stuff memories are made of.
Canadian Mountain Holidays offers excellent packages. They have a well-earned reputation for providing a
safe environment for their guests.
Backcountry Skiing
While you don't need previous mountaineering experience to ski the backcountry, you do need to be in good shape. According to the experts at the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC), you must be able to ski the equivalent of blue/intermediate downhill runs and be able to carry a 16-18 kg (35-40 lb) pack for several hours. The ACC—Canada's national mountaineering organization, headquartered in Canmore—has excellent
backcountry skiing and winter mountaineering packages. Another excellent outfit is
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures which, like ACC, is also based in Canmore and also offers
hut to hut traverses as well as glacier ski mountaineering and
lodge based programs.
Ski Vacation Packages
All the big resorts offer Canadian Rockies vacation packages, which always include the basics—lift tickets and lodging. Offered by most hoteliers in the Banff area is the Tri-Area package which includes lift tickets and transportation to and from the “
Big Three” – Norquay, Sunshine Village and Lake Louise. It’s an affordable way to for families and friends to experience the best of Banff skiing. Look for extras like discounted accommodations for longer stays or adventure tours like a trip to the
Columbia Icefield to round off your package.
And more...
Be sure to have a look at all of the wonderful skiing opportunities throughout Alberta. Use the
Advanced Search feature on the
top right corner of this page. Select the
Category tab, click on
Activities & Adventures and choose
Skiing/Alpine Downhill.
