Hollyburn – Cypress Mountain, BC

It counts as a local day trip because it’s only 2 hours away and has more consistent grooming than Salmon Ridge.

Advantages:

Nightly grooming. Nice snowshoe trails interspersed with ski trails. (but snowshoers are not on ski trails. Classical tracks and skate lanes on all trails. Reasonable prices (senior discount at 65). Bathrooms, warming hut, and cafe on site. Lessons and rentals. Depending on the weather, one could drive up there with summer tires. (Or not! It really depends…)

Disadvantages:

You have to drive through Vancouver. It should take less than 2 hours each way, but an accident on a bridge could add hours. Or hitting customs at the wrong time. It opens at 9:00. We have found that going up for a morning ski (after the morning rush hour, but before it gets too crowded) and then coming back in mid afternoon seems to work. I would guess the area is very crowded on weekends, but I’m not sure that I will ever personally find out.