Things to do · Whistler · Canada
16 best things to do in Whistler
16 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Quick answer
The essential sights in Whistler are Whistler Blackcomb ski resort, Peak 2 Peak Gondola and Whistler Mountain Bike Park. Of the 16 picks below, 6 are free, 3 work on a rainy day and 9 suit children. Allow about 5 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Whistler Blackcomb ski resort
- Free sights
- 6
- Good on a rainy day
- Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre
- Time to see the highlights
- 5 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whistler Blackcomb ski resort | Whistler Village | Full day | Expensive |
| Peak 2 Peak Gondola | Whistler Blackcomb | 1–3 hours with time at the top | Expensive |
| Whistler Mountain Bike Park | Whistler Village | Half or full day | Expensive |
| Cloudraker Skybridge and summer alpine trails | Whistler Blackcomb | Half a day | Expensive |
| Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre | Upper Village | 1.5–2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Audain Art Museum | Village North | 1.5 hours | Mid-priced |
| Village Stroll and Olympic Plaza | Whistler Village | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Lost Lake Park | Village North | 1–3 hours | Free |
| Alta Lake and Rainbow Park | Creekside | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Valley Trail | Whistler Valley | 1–3 hours | Free |
| Train Wreck Trail | Function Junction | 1–1.5 hours | Free |
| Brandywine Falls Provincial Park | Sea-to-Sky Highway | 45 minutes | Free |
| Scandinave Spa Whistler | Lost Lake | 2–4 hours | Expensive |
| Whistler Olympic Park | Callaghan Valley | Half a day | Mid-priced |
| Whistler Sliding Centre | Blackcomb | 2 hours | Expensive |
| Ziplining over Fitzsimmons Creek | Whistler Village | 2.5–3.5 hours | Expensive |
The 16 best things to do
Nature · Whistler Village
1.Whistler Blackcomb ski resort
Two mountains with more than 200 marked runs, three glaciers, alpine bowls and long groomers, rising more than 1,500 vertical metres above the village. The season usually runs from late November to April, and the high alpine snowpack makes conditions reliable at the top even when it rains in the valley.
Head up early and ski the alpine before it gets tracked out, then move down to the trees if visibility drops.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Lift tickets and passes are cheaper bought online in advance than at the ticket window; ski school spots fill over holidays.
- Iconic
- Active
- Outdoors
- Views
Viewpoint · Whistler Blackcomb
2.Peak 2 Peak Gondola
Opened in 2008, the gondola links the Roundhouse on Whistler Mountain with the Rendezvous on Blackcomb in about 11 minutes across 4.4 km, with a 3 km unsupported span and a maximum height of 436 metres above the valley. A couple of cabins have glass floors.
Wait for a glass-floored cabin (marked silver) if you want to look straight down at Fitzsimmons Creek.
- Time needed
- 1–3 hours with time at the top
- Cost
- Expensive
- Iconic
- Views
- Kids
- Photo spot
- Couples
Experience · Whistler Village
3.Whistler Mountain Bike Park
From about mid-May to October, the lower half of Whistler Mountain becomes a lift-served downhill bike park with trails for beginners to experts, including famous lines such as A-Line. The park hosts the Crankworx festival each summer, and village shops rent full-suspension bikes and protective gear.
Book a lesson for your first day; the beginner Fitzsimmons zone is the place to learn before tackling the main trails.
- Time needed
- Half or full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Rentals and lessons sell out on summer weekends; reserve ahead.
- Active
- Outdoors
- Iconic
Viewpoint · Whistler Blackcomb
4.Cloudraker Skybridge and summer alpine trails
In summer, the Peak Express chair lifts sightseers to the summit of Whistler Mountain, where the Cloudraker Skybridge, a 130-metre suspension bridge, crosses to a viewing platform hanging over the West Ridge. From the top, alpine trails such as the High Note Trail lead past Cheakamus Lake views and wildflower meadows.
Go on a clear morning; cloud often builds over the peaks in the afternoon.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Views
- Outdoors
- Active
- Photo spot
- Nature
Museum · Upper Village
5.Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre
Shared by the Squamish and Lil'wat Nations, whose territories meet at Whistler, the centre's longhouse-inspired building holds carvings, weaving, canoes and a reconstructed pit house. Indigenous ambassadors lead tours and share songs, and the café serves bannock and salmon.
Join a guided tour on arrival; the cultural ambassadors explain far more than the labels.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Kids
Gallery · Village North
6.Audain Art Museum
A dark, elongated building raised on stilts in the forest, designed by Patkau Architects and opened in 2016, holds a collection of British Columbia art from historic Northwest Coast masks to Emily Carr, E.J. Hughes and contemporary artists.
Start with the gallery of Northwest Coast masks, one of the strongest parts of the collection.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Street · Whistler Village
7.Village Stroll and Olympic Plaza
The pedestrian Village Stroll winds through squares and lanes of shops, restaurants and patios. Olympic Plaza, built for the 2010 medal ceremonies, has the giant Olympic rings, a lawn for free summer concerts and an outdoor skating rink in winter.
Take the classic photo with the Olympic rings early in the morning before the crowds.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Shopping
- After dark
- Kids
- Food
Park · Village North
8.Lost Lake Park
A 15-minute walk from the village, Lost Lake has a small beach, a swimming dock and a lawn for picnics, surrounded by forest trails used for walking and mountain biking in summer and cross-country skiing in winter.
Walk the loop around the lake early on a summer morning, then swim from the dock.
- Time needed
- 1–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Kids
Park · Creekside
1.Alta Lake and Rainbow Park
Rainbow Park, on the west shore of Alta Lake, has a sandy beach, swimming docks and one of the best views across the water to Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. Paddleboards and kayaks can be rented at the lake, and the River of Golden Dreams flows from its north end.
Paddle the River of Golden Dreams from Alta Lake towards Green Lake on a guided or self-guided trip.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Views
- Couples
- Kids
Nature · Whistler Valley
2.Valley Trail
More than 40 km of paved, car-free paths link Whistler's neighbourhoods, lakes and parks, from Function Junction in the south to Green Lake in the north. In summer it is used by walkers, cyclists and inline skaters; parts are groomed for cross-country skiing in winter.
Rent a cruiser bike and ride a lake loop — Alta Lake to Rainbow Park and back is about an hour.
- Time needed
- 1–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Active
- Outdoors
- Kids
Nature · Function Junction
3.Train Wreck Trail
A short forest walk south of the village leads over a suspension bridge across the Cheakamus River to several boxcars left in the woods after a 1956 derailment. The cars have since been covered in colourful graffiti and are surrounded by mountain-bike features.
Combine it with a coffee and pastry in Function Junction, at the trailhead end of town.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Photo spot
- Outdoors
- Off the beaten path
- Kids
Nature · Sea-to-Sky Highway
4.Brandywine Falls Provincial Park
About 17 km south of the village, a short, flat forest trail leads to a viewing platform beside Brandywine Falls, where the creek plunges about 70 metres into a basalt bowl. A further viewpoint looks over Daisy Lake and the Black Tusk.
Stop on the drive between Vancouver and Whistler; the walk takes only about 15 minutes each way.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Photo spot
- Views
Experience · Lost Lake
5.Scandinave Spa Whistler
An outdoor Nordic spa in the forest near Lost Lake, with hot pools, cold plunges, saunas, steam rooms and relaxation areas. Silence is requested throughout, which makes it a calm counterpoint to après-ski.
Follow the hot–cold–rest cycle three or four times; the cold plunge feels best on a snowy day.
- Time needed
- 2–4 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Reserve entry times ahead in winter and on weekends.
- Couples
- Rainy day
- Nature
Historic site · Callaghan Valley
6.Whistler Olympic Park
In the Callaghan Valley south-west of Whistler, the 2010 Olympic Nordic venue offers groomed cross-country ski trails, snowshoe routes and biathlon experiences in winter, and you can see the ski-jump towers. In summer the trails open for hiking and biking.
Try a biathlon taster session to fire the same rifles and targets Olympic athletes used.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Active
- History
- Outdoors
- Kids
Experience · Blackcomb
7.Whistler Sliding Centre
The 2010 Olympic track for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton, on the lower slopes of Blackcomb, is one of the fastest in the world. Visitors can ride as passengers in a bobsleigh with a professional pilot or slide head-first on a skeleton sled from a lower start.
Expect high G-forces; read the health requirements before you book.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Public sessions are limited and sell out; book well ahead.
- Active
- History
Experience · Whistler Village
8.Ziplining over Fitzsimmons Creek
Zipline courses run between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains across the old-growth forest of the Fitzsimmons Creek valley, with suspension bridges and treetop platforms. Courses run year-round, and guides explain the coastal rainforest ecology along the way.
Book the longer course if you want the highest, fastest lines across the valley.
- Time needed
- 2.5–3.5 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Active
- Kids
- Nature
- Views
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre and Audain Art Museum |
| History | Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, Whistler Olympic Park and Whistler Sliding Centre |
| Views | Whistler Blackcomb ski resort, Peak 2 Peak Gondola, Cloudraker Skybridge and summer alpine trails and Alta Lake and Rainbow Park |
| Outdoors and nature | Whistler Blackcomb ski resort, Whistler Mountain Bike Park, Cloudraker Skybridge and summer alpine trails and Lost Lake Park |
| Food and markets | Village Stroll and Olympic Plaza |
| After dark | Village Stroll and Olympic Plaza |
| With children | Peak 2 Peak Gondola, Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, Village Stroll and Olympic Plaza and Lost Lake Park |
| On a rainy day | Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, Audain Art Museum and Scandinave Spa Whistler |
What to book ahead
- Whistler Blackcomb ski resort: Lift tickets and passes are cheaper bought online in advance than at the ticket window; ski school spots fill over holidays.
- Whistler Mountain Bike Park: Rentals and lessons sell out on summer weekends; reserve ahead.
- Scandinave Spa Whistler: Reserve entry times ahead in winter and on weekends.
- Whistler Sliding Centre: Public sessions are limited and sell out; book well ahead.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Whistler?
Whistler Blackcomb ski resort. Two mountains with more than 200 marked runs, three glaciers, alpine bowls and long groomers, rising more than 1,500 vertical metres above the village.
+What can you do for free in Whistler?
Village Stroll and Olympic Plaza, Lost Lake Park, Alta Lake and Rainbow Park, Valley Trail and Train Wreck Trail. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Whistler when it rains?
Head indoors to Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, Audain Art Museum and Scandinave Spa Whistler.
+What is there to do in Whistler at night?
Village Stroll and Olympic Plaza are best after dark.