Whistler City. BC Hotels

- All Photos courtesy of Tourism Whistler

Whistler, British Columbia, is located less than an two hours drive from the west coast city of Vancouver, BC. While it offers some of the finest skiing found anywhere Whistler is more than a world class ski resort, it has grown to become one of the world's most popular four seasons resort destinations.

Whistler's setting in BC's Coast Mountains offers visitors a wide variety of both winter and summer outdoor recreation. Throughout the year, the cosmopolitan Village of Whistler serves up endless dining, shopping and nightlife.

Winters in Whistler finds skiiers enjoying unsurpassed downhill skiing on Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. In addition to downhill ski facilities, visitors in the winter enjoy cross-country skiing, heli-skiing, snowmobiling, sleigh-riding, dog-sledding, ice skating, and a range of other winter outdoor recreational opportunities.

Just as spectacular as winter, summer in Whistler is the time for sightseeing on the mountain tops, world-class golf, mountain biking (Whistler is considered "one of the top bike towns in North America"), hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, in-line skating, and even glacier skiing are but of the few of the area's summer pursuits.

First envisioned as a ski resort in the early 1960's, Whistler became Canada's first, "Resort Municipality" in 1975. The name "Whistler" comes from the shrill whistle sound of the western hoary marmots who dwell among the rocks in the mountains. Designed in distinctive mountain resort architecture, Whistler's award-winning pedestrian village is nestled at the base of Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. Whistler Village and the adjacent Upper Village are perfectly situated for easy access to the mountains and the many first class restaurants and distinctive shops. The surrounding valley is scattered with parks that offer beaches, picnic areas, boat launches and hiking trails. Along the valley there are five lakes, numerous creeks and rivers with kilometers of established trails for hiker, bikers and inline skaters.

Whistler Weather: Whistler/Blackcomb consistently offers the most reliable snow conditions because of it's location in the Coast Mountain range of British Columbia. The average annual snowfall is 914 cm (30 feet).

At the summit the average snowfall is 9.14 metres (30 feet) per year. Due to Whistler's coastal BC proximity, temperatures are moderate throughout the winter season, rarely dipping below -10C (12F) in the Valley and -15C (5F) in the alpine during the coldest part of the year.

During most of the winter months, the average daily alpine temperature is -5C (22F). During the summer months of July and August, temperatures will reach an average of 27c (80F).

Population: 9,600

Elevation: 640 m. (2,100 ft.)

Access: Whistler lies 120 km (74 mi.) north from Vancouver, British Columbia, or 44 km (27 mi.) north of Squamish on the scenic BC Highway 99. It is also accessible by bus and train charter air service, taxi, and limousine.

Accommodations: The resort village offers a range of accommodations from lodges and condominiums to luxury hotels. Whistler has the most ski-in/ski-out accommodation of any mountain recreation resort in North America (over 18,000 pillows within 500 metres of the lifts) There are 115 hotels, condos, and bed & breakfasts, offering more than 5,213 rooms.

Facilities & Activities: golf courses, 2 world class ski mountains, downhill ,cross country and heli-skiing skiing, ice skating, snowmobiling, hiking, swimming, fishing, boating, biking; photography, sightseeing, camping. Whistler was selected as the venue for the snow events of the British Columbia 2010 Sea to Sky Olympics.

Whistler Mountain Facts:
Top Elevation: 7,160 ft / 2,182 metres
Base Elevation: 2,140 ft / 652 metres
Vertical Rise: 5,020 ft / 1,530 metres
Terrain: 3,657 acres with 100+ marked runs
Lift Capacity: 29,895 skiers / snowboarders per hour Terrain Type: 25% expert, 55% intermediate, 20% beginner.

Blackcomb Mountain Facts:
Top Elevation: 7,494 ft / 2,284 metres
Base Elevation: 2214 ft / 674 metres
Vertical Rise: 5,280 ft / 1,609 metres
Terrain: 3,414 acres with 100+ marked runs
Lift Capacity: 29,895 skiers / snowboarders per hour Terrain Type: 30% expert, 55% intermediate, 15% beginner.

Services: The resort community of Whistler, BC, offers a complete range of services including banking/foreign exchange and Interac banking machines; church services; medical and dental clinics; physiotherapy and massage therapy; office services; public library; museum; movie theatre and video rentals; health and fitness centres; swimming pool; ice rink; indoor tennis courts; spa facilities and beauty salons.

Attractions: Brandywine, Alexander & Nairn Falls; Garibaldi Provincial Park;Whistler Historic Museum & Archives; Whistler & Blackcomb Mountains, gondola sight-seeing, art galleries, Millenium Place (live theatre).