Want to see how Revelstoke stacks up against some of the other Western Canadian ski resorts? Check out our Ultimate guide to Western Canadian Ski Resorts!

Revelstoke – on top of the world

It’s been a long time since either of us had seen powder this good! Revelstoke had had two feet of snow in two days… The perfect conditions for a powder day in the resort with North America’s most vertical -1,713 metres (5,620 ft)..

Revelstoke resort hasn’t been around for very long, but it hasn’t taken long for it to build a reputation as one of the best powder destinations in North America.

The weekend we were here we had about 2 feet of fresh snow and had some of the best conditions we’ve seen in a long time.

If you’re looking for powder so deep that you lose your feet, Revelstoke is definitely worth checking out.

Here are a few of our top reasons why Revelstoke is awesome:

1. Most vertical in North America.

This is one BIG mountain. We spent a whole day lapping the Stoke chair; each time finding a new route through the trees. Try skiing from top to bottom and have your mind blown by how far and long you’ll be skiing; but prepare for a real leg burner! This is definitely a resort that needs a few days to explore fully.

Note: If you visit earlier in the season, the bottom half of the mountain is generally closed. We recently visited for the 2019 opening day, and could only go down as far as the bottom of the Stoke chair. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t plenty of amazing snow, but you can’t get back to the bottom without taking the main gondola.

2. Get away from the crowds:

It’s no secret that Revelstoke is one of the more remote ski hills in the Canadian Rockies, and as a result it means it’s beautifully uncrowded. Considering we’d arrived just as a huge blizzard dumped on the mountain, we were amazed by how uncrowded the resort felt.  The only time we really saw anyone was at the lift line, and as soon as we set off into the trees, we felt as if we had the whole resort to ourselves.

3. Direct flights from Vancouver to Revelstoke

Speaking of getting to Revelstoke, things just got a lot easier for Vancouverites looking for a quick ski weekend without the long drive. You can now fly direct from Vancouver to Revelstoke with Revelstoke Air.

Current prices for flights are from $166CAD, and are only running on Mondays and Fridays in March 2020. Some flights are already sold out so book fast if you want to get a spot!

And as an added bonus, guests are greeted with champagne as they disembark. How awesome is that!?

4. First tracks programme.

If you love to ski fresh powder, Revelstoke also offers the awesome “First Tracks” programme. Get up early and ski the hill before anyone else is allowed on it. And even better, you get to follow a guide that takes you to all the best spots. And for only 35 bucks, it’s money well spent if you ask us! (Make sure you book by at least 3pm the day before, and if the forecast says snow.. book as early as possible!)

5. Dog sledding

This was a first for us, so when we heard that Revelstoke had a local dog sledding company – Revelstoke Dogsled Adventures, we were desperate to give it a try. There’s nothing more Canadian than a dog sled ride, and these dogs are the Ferrari’s of the mushing world.

This is a great, super experienced, outfit that really cares about its dogs, and we guarantee you’ll never have seen anyone as happy to be at work as these dogs.

Eric (the musher/breeder) lives and breathes these dogs and gives his guests a real insight into the effort and work it takes to keep all these dogs in their amazing condition. He even competes his dogs in real dog sledding races during his time off!

(As a side note, you may be wondering why dog sledding is so expensive, and if it’s actually worth the money?

The reality is that keeping dogs fit and healthy is just super expensive – vet bills/feeding 27 dogs per day etc! The guys that run this business certainly aren’t in it for the money; their dogs are their family, and you can tell that every penny goes into the dogs. In our opinion, the money is 100% worth the experience, especially once we understood the reality of running a business like this. and that the price wasn’t just a way of gouging customers. Check out their Facebook page here.

6. Ski in Ski out.

There’s nothing better than being able to ski right to your door after a long day of shredding. Whereas other resorts in Canada may require a short drive to the hotel, Revelstoke’s Sutton Place Hotel let’s you ski, then après on the hill, before finally crashing in your hotel room/hot tub. No need to worry about getting home after!

7. Tree runs

In our opinion, Revelstoke has some of the best tree runs in Canada. The fact that the mountain is so big means that there are an awful lot of trees. Even better though is how widely they’re spaced at higher elevations. Loads of space to bounce around and not have to worry about getting poked in the eye by a branch!

8. Great food!

There are heaps of good food options on the ski hill, and our personal favourite was the Rockford grill. We were expecting to find all of the food at the resort to have a fairly typical pub grub feel to it (burgers, pies etc) but were shocked to find a delicious Asian fusion restaurant at the Rockford Grill with great noodles and Asian dishes. For dessert, make sure you try the ‘chocolate chango’ dessert.. it’s amazing!

There’s also a fantastic little bakery (la Baguette) just at the bottom of the hill that sells enormous croissants in all different flavours. Good for a quick snack between runs!

9. Shuttles between Revelstoke and the Ski Hill

 We came to realise that Revelstoke is not just a ski resort, but also a great little village. If you’re staying in the Sutton Place Resort on the hill and you want to get away from the resort, there’s a free shuttle that runs every 30 minutes from the hill to the town in the evenings. The shuttle opens up a world of new food and drink opportunities without having to worry about driving in the snow (or driving back after a couple of pints). Village idiot has great pizza, and taco club is famous for its great .. tacos..(no surprises there).

10. Other things to do at Revelstoke

Skiing isn’t for everyone, so there are lots of other cool options for all sensibilities (and risk levels) .

For example, why not try some winter paragliding – (this is 100% what I plan to do next time), or night time snowmobile tours (also this..). There are some epic things to do here that we really don’t see very often. And if you’re here in the summer? Why not give the new rollercoaster a try – The Pipe Mountain Coaster!

11. Hot tub on the mountain

Everyone needs a good soak after a day on the ski hill, and fortunately the Sutton Place hotel has a few hot tub options just metres from the gondola. We even found time to sneak a mid-day hot tub in between ski runs!

12. Babysitting

Having young kids can sometimes make finding time to relax difficult, but Revelstoke resort has a great babysitting service from only $16 per hour, packed with things to keep little minds occupied. Even the local residents use it!

Other places to stay

We’ve now stayed in Revelstoke a couple of times and while staying on the hill works really well, it might not always be in the budget.

Your alternative to staying on the hill is staying in the town of Revelstoke itself. It’s a quiet town that’s only 5 minutes from the hill, and staying here will give you some good variety.

Last time we visited (2019), we stayed in the Stoke hotel. It’s a very basic hotel but tastefully decorated and super cheap! (We paid less than $70 for our stay). You can check prices and availabilities here

Here’s a full list of hotels and options in Revelstoke.

There are also plenty of Airbnb’s in the town worth checking out; many with plenty of character!

If you’re looking for any more resources to plan your trip to Revelstoke, feel free to get in touch with us!

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