Whistler Olympic Park / Ski Callaghan, BC

This page was created in Dec. 2021 for our club's general membership meeting, but we are leaving it up for general information. You are invited to join our meeting:  (Zoom) meeting on Tuesday, December 14, 2021. Hope to see you then!

Whistler Olympic Park and Ski Callaghan are two separate places with separate systems of Nordic ski trails. But they are near each other and provide two separate ski experiences. Great for a multi-day trip!

• Whistler Olympic Park (WOP); Facts and Figures (pdf) -
• Ski Callaghan -
• a wide variety of activities, including Nordic skiing and snowshoeing. It has 120 km of groomed trails.
• Location: is 70 miles north of Vancouver, BC; it's 133 miles from Bellingham. Approximately 3 hours from Bellingham if you can time your trip through customs and Vancouver traffic!
• Elevation: WOP - 2700-3050 feet; Ski Callaghan -is higher!
• Google Road map to ski area
• Driving: It's in the mountains and it's wintertime. Better be prepared! Snow tires are required by Canadian law. Conditions and discussion. Having said all that, it's a major highway that gets a lot of traffic and maintenance!
• Type of skiing: Most trails are groomed nightly for classical and skating.
• Trail map: Trail map (pdf); Trailforks map; Avenza map available.
• Length of season: Expected season is November 26, 2021 to April 3, 2022 (end of November - early April).
• Snowmaking:we understand that there is 1.5 km trail with possible snowmaking if necessary.
• Expected Weather: Fantastic, perfect, blue-bird days - or Pacific Northwest gray and rain.  Or anything in between.
• When would I go? Any time the weather is good!
• Places to stay / price range: People often stay in Squamish (sample hotel search), a small city about 35 miles south of the ski area. Prices in motels there are much less expensive than in the resort area of Whistler.
• Places to eat: If staying in Squamish, there are many dining choices available.
• Trail fees / passes needed:
• Nordic Ski Lessons: (both skate and classical) are available - Whistler Olympic Park;
• Equipment rentals are available - Whistler Olympic Park;
• Special Events: There should be good skiing all season long. But a race/tour gives you a chance to be part of an event! Join others for specially marked trails, feed stations, and the fun of a race! Some to check out: The P'ayakentsut Cross Country Ski Loppet 2022 (Feb 26,2022)
• Some trails are set up as dog-friendly.
• A nice network of snowshoe trails.
• Other things to do: downhill skiing at Whistler and everything at the Whistler resort town.
• Want to talk about it? Want some stories? Want a suggested itinerary?  This is a forwarding email address, your questions will be sent to 'the 'experienced user' – questions@nooksacknordicskiclub.org

What I would do/ski:

• As a retired person with limited responsibilities, I think of this as the perfect opportunity to watch the weather and go when conditions are good! (And probably also aim for mid-week). The one time I was there, it was beautiful! And some of the best skiing that I've ever had. But when enthusing about the perfect conditions to a local, he smiled and said, 'you do know that not every day is like this...' - Pete
• Whistler Olympic Park has recommended itineraries and suggestions for 'new to the park' skiers
• On our trip, we paid for a snowcat ride from the parking lot up to the upper Ski Callaghan trails. Then had a great ski up there (see picture at top of page) and then a long gradual downhill ski back to the parking lot. Pretty cool!  We saw others skiing up the trail - good workout!!