Though a family vacation at Whistler may not turn out to be the least-expensive family outing you’ve ever had, your stay at the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics venue is sure to be one of the least-forgettable.
Families with small children will be best served on Whistler Mountain, the somewhat less challenging of the two. The ideal beginners’ area can is located around the midway terminal of the Whistler Village gondola up at the Olympic station. Besides the kids’ park, other easy (marked green) options for beginners include “Upper Fantastic,” “Upper Olympic” and “It Happens.” If your kids are already advanced enough to take on some longer trails, “Lower Olympic” (green) and the slightly more challenging “Lower Fantastic” (blue) run all the way back down to the base. Further family highlights on Whistler Mountain include the Tree Fort at the Bear Cub trail not far from the Big Red Express chair and the Family Zone at the Emerald Express chair.
Little aspiring freestylers have their own terrain park on Blackcomb Mountain called “Big Easy Terrain Garden,” which is best accessed via the Solar Coaster chairlift. That is also where the children’s adventure park is located with its “Magic Castle,” for an adventure minus the skis and snowboards. If you’ve planned to stay for more than one day, you’ll have time to throw a little variety into your stay with some time at the Tube Park up above parking lots 7 and 8.
Families with of more experienced skiers and boarders won’t have any trouble at all finding more than enough trails of all different levels of difficulty throughout the entire ski area. Due to the size of it, however, parents should be certain to keep at least one eye on the kids at all times to ensure they don’t get lost in the expanses of Whistler Blackcomb.