Best Cross Country Skiing near Vancouver BC
Last Updated on January 30, 2024
The cross country skiing near Vancouver, BC is absolutely amazing! There are lots of wonderful options with excellent grooming as well as rentals. For my fellow American skiers, if you have not ventured north of the border for cross country skiing, it’s time to start! I love heading up north British Columbia for the abundance of winter fun and I can’t wait to share it with you.
Cross country skiing is also referred to and is the same thing as nordic skiing.
Related: Best Cross Country Skiing near Kamloops, Beginner Cross Country Skiing near Seattle
I’ve included four wonderful options for groomed and developed cross country skiing near Vancouver, including how far from Vancouver they are and more details about what makes them so wonderful!
Related: Best things to do in Vancouver
There are of course many other options for skiing in areas that are not groomed or more appropriate for backcountry skiing, but this article focuses on just the groomed cross country skiing near Vancouver, without taking any ferries!
- Cypress Mountain/Hollyburn Nordic Area
- Lost Lake – Whistler Village
- Whistler Olympic Park/Ski Callaghan
- Manning Park
Cypress Mountain Hollyburn Nordic Area
- Distance from Vancouver: 26 km/16 miles (30 minutes to an hour depending on traffic and road conditions)
- There are 7 km of lighted trails for night skiing
- Costs: $30 for adults; $19 for seniors over age 65 and youth ages 13-18; $16 for children age 6-12; $5 for children under 5. If you arrive at Noon or later, the cost is $25 for adults; $16 for seniors and youth; $12 for children and $5 for young children 5 and under.
- Lessons and Rentals: Both are available here with lots of different options
- Dog Friendly: No, dogs are not permitted on the trails
- Cell Service: Yes
- Services available: The Hollyburn Lodge has a cafe and restrooms. There are restrooms in other areas of the trail system as well (marked on the map)
Why it’s an awesome place for cross country skiing near Vancouver
Cypress Mountain is super close to Vancouver and incredibly convenient! It has great views down to the water and the city of Vancouver and has lots of beautiful forests as well.
There are plenty of beginner trails here but there are also lots of very challenging trails here for people who are into that! Cypress Mountain is also a big downhill ski area so you can carpool with your downhill skiing friend.
Cypress also has over 7 km of lighted trails so it’s perfect for night skiing, especially if you live in Vancouver or are visiting there and doing other things too.
Lost Lake – Whistler Village
- Distance from Vancouver: 120 km/75 miles (1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours and 15 minutes depending on traffic and road conditions)
- There is a 4 km loop that is lighted for night skiing
- Costs: $23 for adults; $13.75 for youth ages 13-18; $11.50 for children ages 6-12; night skiing from 3 pm – 8 pm is $11.50 for adults; $7 for youth and $5.75 for children.
- Rentals and Lessons: Both are available from the Cross Country Connection where you also buy passes
- Dog Friendly: No. Dogs are not permitted on the Lost Lake trails
- Cell Service: Yes
- Services available: A cafe and restrooms are available at Cross Country Connection.
Why it’s an awesome place for cross country skiing near Vancouver
The best thing about Lost Lake is it’s location in Whistler, perfect for those who want to cross country ski while others in your group are downhill skiing! You can walk here or take the free shuttle that goes around Whistler.
There are also spectacular views here of the mountains surrounding Whistler.
Whistler Olympic Park – Ski Callaghan
- Distance from Vancouver: 120 km/75 miles (1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours and 15 minutes depending on traffic and road conditions) – note that although it’s the same distance from downtown Vancouver, this is NOT in Whistler Village! Whistler Olympic Park is about a 30-45 minute drive from Whistler Village in the Callaghan Valley.
- Costs: Day passes cost $29.50 for adults and $15.75 for youth ages 7-18. There is a $6.75 pass required for dogs. Seniors over age 65 can ski at a reduced rate on weekdays.
- Rentals and Lessons: They have a variety of lessons (including Biathlon!) along with plenty of rentals
- Dog Friendly: Some of the trails are dog friendly and there is a large loop for off leash dogs! This is a really fun place to come with your dog. There is a separate parking area for dogs, please make sure to park there and not go onto the other trails with your dog.
- Cell Service: Yes
- Services available: The day lodge has restrooms and a cafeteria.
Why it’s an awesome place for cross country skiing near Vancouver
In addition to the nearly 90 km of groomed ski trails at Whistler Olympic Park, you can pretend you’re an Olympian at the location of the nordic skiing events at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics!
You can ski past the Olympic rings, around the stadium and on the same trails the Olympians used. A fun bonus here is you can try out some more unusual Olympic sports like Biathlon, which I highly recommend trying. They give you a skiing and a shooting lesson which is really fun and unique.
If you’re really into the Olympics, at certain times they offer lessons in other Olympic winter sports like skeleton and ski jumping!
Manning Park Resort
- Distance from Vancouver: 220 km/137 miles (generally 2.5 – 3 hours from Vancouver depending on traffic and road conditions)
- Costs: $22 for an adult nordic day pass; $17 for youth age 13-18; $12 for children age 7-12; $19 for seniors age 65 or older
- Rentals and Lessons: Manning Park offers private and group lessons as well as rentals with or without lessons
- Dog Friendly: Dogs are not permitted on the groomed trails, but they are permitted (leashed) on the snowshoe trails and the backcountry ski trails. The Beaver Pond trail does allow dogs.
- Cell Service: Very limited to none
- Services available: Outhouses are available along trails and restrooms are available at the Nordic Centre and the Day lodge. There are restaurants at the resort and a cafeteria in the day lodge.
Why it’s an awesome place for cross country skiing near Vancouver
Manning Park Resort is a wonderful place to get away from it all! This is the furthest from Vancouver and the furthest you can get from the city vibe while still being relatively close to Vancouver. Make it a weekend getaway and spend some time enjoying this beautiful place nestled in the Cascade Mountains.
Excellent grooming and the beautiful and snowy Cascade forest will be your constant companion here!
If you are a star gazer like me, Manning Park has incredibly dark skies which is another reason to stay for the weekend.
Related: Complete guide to Winter in Manning Park, BC
