For years, we’ve heard from our Maui friends that Big White Ski Resort in Kelona, BC, Canada is the perfect family ski destination with great snow and decent prices. We finally made the trek, and it made our Spring Break!

Getting There

We flew direct to Vancouver, grabbed a room at an airport hotel, then shot over to Kelowna on Air North (quick flight.)

We then hired a shuttle to take us the last hour to Big White. Our friends also rented a small car, just in case we needed it when there (and we did.)

Hawaii Arrival

It’s worth noting that whatever marketing Big White Ski Resort is doing targeting Hawaii residents is working! We arrived at the little airport in Kelowna, and we knew almost everyone there! It was weird. Great, but weird! They even do a party for Hawaii residents with food, drinks, and live music. Lots of fun!

Grocery stop

We highly recommend loading up on some groceries in Kelowna. Our shuttle driver obliged and let us shop for 45 minutes. The store in Big White is sparse and at the same prices we’re used to on Maui. No good. We still shopped there a bit.

Big White Accommodations

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We opted for a ski in ski out 3 bed 3 bath home in the Feathertop Estates. It had a great kitchen, plenty of beds (including 4 bunk beds for the kiddos), a jacuzzi in the snow (nothing beats jumping in and out of the snow unless you belly flop), a very large garage, and easy access to the slopes. The house was spectacular!

The only negative would that for kids that aren’t ready for chair lifts, you need a car to get into town for lessons. you can walk it, and there was a free shuttle, but it just makes things way easier with a car. That said, I’d stay here again, without a doubt.

The Snow

We arrived to 10+ inches of snow! It was incredible! From every window of the house, we had great views of the snow, ski bridge from town, and mountains. It was kind of nice being a bit removed from town. It was quiet, and all the fresh powder around us was untouched (until the kiddos got into it.)

Things to do at Big White

We didn’t get a chance to do it all during our week, but we did quite a bit.

Ski School

In the village, we dropped our kids off at ski school for a few of the days. They’ve got a decent handle on both skiing and snowboarding (thanks to our last Spring Break in Japan), but it’s always good to get refreshers. They did the magic carpet, which is just down the hill from the village. They also went on the beginner chair lift, the Plaza Chair. Oddly enough, this was the hardest one to get off of. Many people ate it coming off. Maybe they do that on purpose, so beginners are ready for bigger lifts? After a few days of the Hummingbird, Whoop Dee Doo, and Woodcutter runs, they were ready for bigger lifts and excited to take advantage of our ski-in ski-out set up.

Snowboarding and Skiing

We mostly stuck to the blue diamonds on the right side of the mountain. We took the Bullet Express, Telus Park Chair, and Back Forest Express. I can’t tell you how many times we were on runs completely alone. It was just so much fun! We took the Sundance run to get back to our house.

Snowmobiling

This was a real eye-opener. I’d never tried it, didn’t really know I needed to, and absolutely loved it! My wife and I shared one, and it was a tour with a guide and just one other friend. We had a blast! Since it wasn’t many of us on the tour, only 3 snowmobiles, we were able to go pretty deep into the Canadian backcountry. It was beautiful. One thing I wasn’t totally ready for was the fact that being a passenger is kind of terrifying. These things are pretty loose and go pretty fast, so not having control is sketchy. But when it was my turn, I looked forward to scaring the hell out of my lady. We managed to get to an area with great views and deep powder. I almost got stuck. Worth it!

Tubing at Big White Adventure Park

Lara’s Gondola from the Village Centre took us up and down to the Tubing area. They have a couple different tracks, some fast, some really fast. The kids loved it!

Snowball Fights & Snowmen

Battles ensued on the regular. So much powder!

Massages

We had some apres ski massages at the Spa at Stonebridge, just a few minutes from our house. Excellent massages and much needed after many days on the slopes.

Big White Village

Though there isn’t really any parking (other than for dropping off), it’s a pretty cool, family-friendly vibe. Everything is easy access, just a quick walk from restaurant to gear rentals, to groceries, to lift tickets, to lifts. So easy! We loved it! There’s everything you need within stone’s throw. If you didn’t want to rent a car, I would suggest staying directly in the village. You don’t need to leave.

Big White Restaurants

Black Diamond Bar and Grill

Our First meal was good with french onion soups, sandwiches, burgers, and hot chocolates.

House Steaks and Salad

As mentioned before, we loaded up on groxeries in Kelowna, so we had a bunch of delicious steaks. I grilled them while literally in the jacuzzi! One of my fondest memories from this trip. We also made cocktails with actual icicles!

The Woods

More hot chocolates and this time a delicious french dip!

Fat Marmot

One of our best meals was at the Fat Marmot where we had some delicious ramen.

Snowshoe Sam’s

More hot chocolates and some sub-par food, but the kids liked it.

Dinner with Friends

Just a 2 minute drive away, we had a great meal with some of our Maui friends.

6° Bistro

Our best meal out-did every other meal by quite a bit.