Must-dos in Whistler

Howdy! My hubby and I are going to spend a week at Whistler this month ... our first visit to Canada. Any suggestions as to things we should NOT miss? We'll have our car, so transportation isn't a problem. Also, since we're driving up, what sort of ID do we need to cross the border?

Thanks,
Melissa

Right now to cross the border back into the US, you'll need a drivers license and your birth cert. Canada just wants picture ID. (edited to add :A passport would be the best thing to have to cross the border.)


There is lots to do in Whistler, three must do

1. take the gondola to the top of the mountain for a hike in the high meadows.
2. Walk or bike the many trails around the town
3. Go to and use the meadowpark pool and athletic center.

There are several threads over the past year in the canada board giving advice about whistler. go back and read them. Some give advice about the best driving directions, some about buying wine before you cross the border, some about were to eat ect.

Have a great trip.

Thanks Bill! As to getting back into the US, will a passport do? Those would be easier to keep track of than birth certificates. We both have one ...

Thanks again!
Melissa

Also Bill, I just looked back thru all five pages of the Canada board and didn't see the threads of which you were speaking (food, wine, etc.) Is there a Canada archive somewhere? The oldest post was Jul 05.

Thanks again!
Melissa

There are quite a few things to do. At the Blackcomb lift area there is an alpine slide, miniature golf, trapeze that you can do, and also a rock climbing wall. Mountain biking, the chair lifts take you and your bike up the mountain. ATVs that you can rent to go on trails up the mountain. Lots of hiking, golf courses and horseback riding available. Possibly they still may have some skiing available up on the glacier. We were there the first week of July a couple of years ago and they were still skiing. Lots of shopping and restaurants. Also make sure that you go to Cow's for ice cream it is really good. A passport would be the best thing to have to cross the border.

Have Fun,
Paul

Thanks Paul! That's WAY helpful!

Melissa

The wine info was part of another thread about getting to Whitler.

Basically wine in BC is about 3 times of cost of similar wine in Washington. So we alway bring our own when we go to BC. There are several stores in WA just this side of the border if you want to stop. Or bring some from home.

The best way to get to Whistler depends on your plans for seeing Vancouver. If you take I-5 the entire way to Vancouver, you can get caught in terrible traffic in Vancouver, but that OK if you want to spend some time in Vancouver.

But if getting to whistler the fastest, most straight forward way, is your plan then going thru Lynden is best. Get of I-5 in Bellingham at the Meridian / Lynden exit. Take meridian north thru lynden, (GET GAS IN LYNDEN at the Safeway) then another few miles to the border. Once over the border stay on that road for about 5 miles till you hit the transcanada freeway. Head toward Vancouver and follow it till it ends at HWY99, which is the road to whistler. This hwy bypasses downtown vancouver and simplifies your trip.

I would suggest taking a day and drive down from whistler, to spend the day in Vancouver.

We've been going to Whistler every summer for the past 15 years. The things we never miss are...

1) Take the gondola up Whistler Mountain. Hike a bit, and eat lunch in the Roundhouse Lodge. There is a new Peak Chair that goes up above the top of the gondola. It's well worth riding up (the views are INCREDIBLE) and we like to hike back down to the Roundhouse. Build a small stone cairne enroute (you'll see where

2) Spend time at the beach at Alta Lake (our first choice recently... on the far side of the lake), or Lost Lake, or Alpha Lake.

3) Ride bikes or skate on the Valley Trail... usually to/from Meadow Park. If you have young kids, let them play at the free outdoor Meadow Park water park.

4) Sit at the base of the Whistler Gondola and watch the mountain bikers come down. Or, if you're so inclined, take a bike up and ride down.

5) Get chocolate fondue or afternoon tea at the Chateau Whistler. Get ice cream at Cows. Lunch at Milestones. A fancy dinner at Araxi.


A few things we do less often, but enjoy...

1) Spend a day and drive up toward Lillooeet and look for bears (often we see some just past Pemberton). Decide not to be dissappointed if you don't see any (but if you look hard, consistently, you're apt to).

2) Visit the mining museum and/or train museum near Squammish.

3) Zip Trek tour.

4) Canoe trip on the River of Golden Dreams.


There are too many things to list them all


Krisj

OK, so we'll bring our own wine and snacks ... that's a great tip especially because we really love our wine! Are the restaurants way more expensive than in the US? Is an American Express credit card pretty widely received up there or do we need to bring travelers' checks? And last, but not least, will we need to convert our US money to Canadian? As you can tell, I've never vacationed in Canada before ...

Thanks SO much, everyone, for the wonderful tips and suggestions!

Melissa

Credit cards are the best way to pay vs cash. Visa and MC are taken everywhere, BUT, AMEX and Discover isn't widely used in BC. Everyone take US money but the exchange rate can be bad.

There is a trick to converting US dollars to Canadian Dollars.

The trick is Do it there in a cash machine!! You simply go to any of the many cash machines in town. (The credit unions have the cheapest fees.) and use your cash card to take out money. Almost all US cash cards work in BC. The fee to use the cash machine will be alot less than the the fee your bank in the US will charge you to exchange money. All the banks in Washington charge between 3 - 5 % over the stated exchange rate to convert into C$.

{edited to add: Check with your bank and Credit union there can be a significant difference in the charges you'll pay using foriegn cash machines. Anywhere from no fees or charges to $3 fee plus 3-4% exchange fee)


Good Luck

Lucky you! We took our teens to Whistler in August 2000 and had a wonderful time. The Sea-to-Sky Highway has been totally re-done since Vancouver won their bid for the 2010 Olympics in 2002. We really enjoyed stopping at small towns north of Vancouver on the way to Whistler. (Squamish & Lions Bay & Brittania Beach come to mind).

During our time at Whistler we enjoyed walking the town since it is set up for pedestrians. The majority of parking is underground with the exception of a copule of surface lots on the fringes of the town. Most condos are three stories with the first story being a store or a restaurant. The prices seem inflated because of the rate of exchange between US & Canadian money. If you use your credit card you will be charged in US dollars. Their restaurants rate from 5 star (Fairmont Chateau) to KFC & McDonalds. We thought the deli sandwiches in the little Whistler grocery store were fantastic. We took a collapsable cooler with sandwiches and bottled water and hiked at a few of the surrounding provencial parks. (No charge, just follow one of your complementary maps). One of our favorites was Nairn Provencial Park. We hiked along a beautiful river to a waterfall and then back again. We refilled our water bottles from an artesan well that we pumped by hand. Heaven!

My daughter and I went horseback riding for a day (a little over 100 for both of us). My hubby and son went on the abandoned silver mine tour in Brittania Beach (not much dollars but looked scary). We bought a family pass for the gondola ride to the top of the mountain and enjoyed lunch at the ski chalet and hiked a while. We enjoyed just getting in the car and driving to the pristine mountain villages. Pemberton was gorgeous. North of Vancouver you are not going to see a lot of shopping, WalMart, etc. It is pretty much what I thought Alaska would look like. I used a disposable camera and for the first time in my life the pictures turned out FANTASTIC. If you would like me to send you a link to my album send me a private message with your e-mail address. It might take me up to a week to respond. BTW, my kids have been on a few nice trips in their time and they BEG me to go back to Whistler.

Hey everyone, I just thought I'd give you an update of our Whistler trip. It was AWESOME! For all the wonderful tips, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! :whoopie:

What a gorgeous place that is and, for folks who like "outdoorsy" vacations, it ROCKED! We biked the cross country ski trails, watched the mountain bikers, rode the gondola up and hiked down, went hiking, and went Tree Trekking. It was absolutely wonderful. The food was incredible and the village was so cool. We're gonna try to go back there next summer.

We stayed at the Whiski Jack at Whistlerview. While the location was perfect (and yes, we fortunately had a condo in the back), it IS desperately in need of a face lift. That being said, it was comfortable, well-stocked and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Again, thank you for all the tips and suggestions. For anyone curious, our pics are at:

http://melizzard.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php

xxoo
Melissa