Spring Skiing

Canada’s second-largest ski resort after Whistler, Sun Peaks is the place for blue skies and tree skiing. It’s optimal for intermediates, and has a festive ski-in/out alpine pedestrian-only village. Try a Swiss-style fondue party with moonlight ski under the stars, or go extreme and heli-ski virgin slopes. Want something different? You’ll have your choice of tubing, dogsledding, ice skating, snowshoeing and snowmobiling. Finish with winter wine touring in Kelowna.  

Do it all at Sunshine Village resort, just 20 minutes from the lively mountain town Banff. This mega-resort offers panoramic views of the Rockies, plus shopping, buzzing nightlife and restaurants, spas, ice skating, snow shoeing, sleigh rides and free outdoor concerts. Hit the patio in your bikini and soak in the celebrated castle-side hot springs.

Obviously, world-renowned Whistler is epic. But backcountry diehards, heli- and cat-skiers take to southeast BC’s Powder Highway—known for deep champagne powder and home to the Big 7. The roster includes youthful, low-key Fernie, off-the-beaten-path Revelstoke, steep, black diamond go-to Kicking Horse and crowd-pleaser Red Mountain. Pair your trip with one of many spring festivals.

There’s a reason Mont-Sainte-Anne, near historic Quebec City, is known as “la belle”—“the beauty.” With sweeping views across the St. Lawrence, this mountain is a must for boarders and adventure-seekers. Cross-country ski, go ice climbing and canyoning, snowshoe, go tubing or try winter ziplining and via ferrata.

Quebec’s Mont-Tremblant doesn’t just boast some of North America’s best slopes, it’s also a charming Euro winter playground with a quaint cobblestone street village and sophisticated dining scene. Ski in and out in French hunting lodge-style, then fatbike, dogsled, try your luck at the casino and dip into an outdoor Finnish spa.

Learn to snow-sail with Inukpak Outfitting on the frozen ocean or go on an intrepid backcountry skiing expedition. Make tracks where no one has passed — except for a few polar bears and Arctic foxes — either outside the Northern capital of Iqaluit or way out in the wilderness in a heated cabin at a remote basecamp.

Zip down a new trail at Ontario’s largest resort, Blue Mountain. The black-diamond “Burner” is accessible by a high-speed six-pack chairlift. This latest addition brings the total number of runs on the ski hill to 43 with 365 acres of terrain. Blue Mountain, a two-hour drive from Toronto, has also added mountaintop skating.

Cross-country or telemark ski 11 miles of trails at Ski Tuonela, a one-hour drive from Sydney. Then overnight in the charming assemblage of cabins and chalets in the frosted woods and recharge in the sauna. The fabled Cabot Trail is just a 2.5-mile ski away.