Getting to Big White

First things first, the home of the snow ghosts, Big White, is located in the Okanagan Valley, with the closest airport and city located in nearby Kelowna.

If you’re driving from Vancouver you’re looking at about a 5-6 hour drive. If you’re over ambitious (like we were) and plan to drive from Calgary, you’ve got a 7 hour drive to look forward to. (Don’t worry, there’re plenty of snacks and beautiful views on the way.)

While you certainly don’t get as steep and deep as you do when you’re in the Rocky Mountains, Big White is known for its incredible powder, super fun tree runs, balmy weather and of course, its Snow Ghosts.

What on earth are snow ghosts??

This natural phenomenon looks just as cool as it sounds, trees completely coated in snow and ice that are spooky, unique and a signature of Big White Ski Resort.

Taking the chair, aptly named Snow Ghost, up the hill, you’ll want to have your camera out. Seeing these things in real life will make you never forget your trip to Big White.

Just make sure you don’t run into them. They’re basically huge pillars of ice and hard as rocks. Not to mention the enormous tree wells that can form at the base of them and are inconvenient, at best, to get out of.

For those of you that aren’t into skiing, why not also give snowmobiling a try! There are some great options at Big White, and we had a blast flying along their snowy trails.

Big White Hotels

Big White is the perfect weekend retreat if you’re living in BC and it’s got a cozy little ski village atmosphere to go with the ski-in ski-out resort (click here to check out their rates).

We stayed at the Inn at Big White and you could literally ski right to the back doorstep when the day was over. Combine that with the good food, a bit of hot tubbbing and some night skiing, and Big White is certainly a winner in our books.