Sun Peaks Ski Resort Guide
Sun Peaks is the second largest ski resort in Canada, not that you would assume this from its lack of crowds and laid-back village. Formerly known as Tod Mountain, Sun Peaks continues to undergo development in and around the village with the lift infrastructure also having recent upgrades. Sun Peaks has firmly placed itself amongst the top Canadian ski resorts. The Sun Peaks trails are shared across three separate peaks with runs in total.
SUN PEAKS FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Arriving at Sun Peaks for a winter season I was pleasantly surprised by the Village feel. The purpose built village, at the base of the slopes, has everything you would need at a ski resort. This felt convenient and much less aggravation then having to continually travel up and down from the mountain. The ski area itself is pretty impressive with plenty to keep you interested. The only thing really lacking from Sun Peaks is any teeth clenching terrain that could excite the more advanced skiers and snowboarders.
SUN PEAKS SKI AREA
Sun Peaks ski area has a good mixture of terrain to suit all abilities. This is part of the reason why some see Sun Peaks BC as a perfect family ski area. Split across three mountains; Mt Tod, Mt Morrisey and, Sundance Mountain, each has its own characteristics.
MT TOD
Mt Tod marks the highest point in the resort, with the highest lift the West Bowl T-Bar at 2080m. Mt Tod is home to some of the gnarlier terrain at Sun Peaks with ♦♦ Green Door leading into some pretty awesome glades. You will also find the Gil’s backcountry area at Mt Tod. The Gil’s is a dedicated sidecountry zone which can be great fun in the right conditions. The only downside to the Gil’s area is the long cat track back out. It is not all black diamond runs on Mt Tod, with the longest green also available here, 5 mile. 5 Mile is popular as it allows learners to leave the beginners area and head up to the top of the mountain. Lower Mt Tod has some fantastic groomed blue terrain, perfect for laying into those carves.
SUNDANCE MOUNTAIN
Sundance Mountain is home to some of the best intermediate runs in the resort with perfect groomers like Sundance and Sundowner. This area of the resort comes into its own with some brilliant trees for intermediates. Lone Fir West and Lone Fir Centre offer widely spaced trees on a mellow pitch. Sundance Mountain is also home to the terrain parks at Sun Peaks. There are three main parks that run underneath the Sundance chair, with the features increasing in size towards the base area.
MT MORRISEY
Mt Morrissey is sometimes neglected by visitors to Sun Peaks which is exactly why you should go there. Morrisey sits on the other side of the valley and for this reason alone some visitors cant be bothered to walk across the car park to get to it. This means Morrisey is the place to go when you want some time to yourself away from the weekend visitors. On Mt Morrissey you can find some big bumps on ♦♦In Tatters and ♦♦Static Cling or stick to the groomers that run underneath the Morrisey Express Chairlift.
SUN PEAKS SKI AREA BY ABILITY
BEGINNERS TERRAIN SUN PEAKS
Sun Peaks has two dedicated ski school areas in addition to a nursery slope for the really young starters. The carpet outside the ski school base will be the first place to take your turns before moving to the Village Platter. If you are up and running but not looking for anything too challenging, then Homesteader leading into the bottom of 5 mile is a great place to start.
INTERMEDIATE TERRAIN SUN PEAKS
There is intermediate terrain everywhere at Sun Peaks so just pick a lift and go. If you are wanting to stay on the groomed runs then Sundance Express, Morrissey Express and Sunburst Express chairs will all take you to perfect wide blue terrain. If you want to try your hand at some ♦ single black diamond terrain then ♦Sting could be a good place to start.
ADVANCED TERRAIN SUN PEAKS
Bowls and trees will be the places to go to ensure you are making the most of the advanced terrain at Sun Peaks. ♦♦Green Door ♦Hattrick and ♦Crystal Bowl are all good places to start. If you can deal with the slowest lift on the mountain, Burfield, then you have to check out ♦♦Freddy’s.
SUN PEAKS FREESTYLE TERRAIN
The terrain parks at Sun Peaks are all found on Sundance Mountain and effectively run underneath the Sundance Express which has its positives and negatives. Positive, it means you can scope your line from the chair and get quick laps. Negative, everyone can see you from the chair which can be off-putting if you are not a narcissist. What was nice about the freestyle terrain at Sun Peaks, is that the Park Crew regularly changed it up with new features throughout the winter.
LIFTS AT SUN PEAKS
There are seven chairlifts, three button lifts and two carpets at Sun Peaks. Recently installed Orient chairlift is a Quad chair that accesses some mellow terrain near the village. Morrisey Express Quad, Sundance Express and Sunburst Express are all fast Quad chairs with the Sunburst Express having the added benefit of a bubble! Elevation and Crystal chairlifts are both slow but over short distances so they do the job. Whereas Burfield chair is an enigma. Some people love it because it deters people from riding the runs on that side of the mountain, keeping it quiet. Other (and probably rightly so) would say it should be replaced as its 23 minute journey time is ridiculous.
SUN PEAKS SNOW RECORD
Sun Peaks receives an average snowfall of around 6m per season. In comparison to other resorts in BC this isn’t impressive (Revelstoke 14m, Shames Mountain 12m). What is impressive though is the quality of the snow with Sun Peaks receiving dry BC powder.
SUN PEAKS PISTE MAP
SEASON DATES
Sun Peaks season dates tend to run between a late November start and and early to mid April close. The snow quality is good throughout the season with lots of smaller snow showers rather than huge dumps. The ski lifts at Sun Peaks tend to run from 9:00 until 15:30 although the Sundance lift opens at 08:30.
SUN PEAKS LIFT TICKETS
Sun Peaks season passes cost $1200 Canadian on the early bird deal which is not bad value for the amount of terrain on offer. A daily lift pass will cost around $95 for an adult pass with multi-day discounts available.
TRAVEL TO SUN PEAKS
WHERE IS SUN PEAKS?
Sun Peaks is close to the town of Kamloops in British Columbia. Kamloops has an airport that is a 45 minute drive from the ski resort of Sun Peaks. The closest major city is Vancouver which is situated South West of Sun Peaks.
DRIVING TO SUN PEAKS
The road between Kamloops and Sun Peaks is pretty mellow by mountain road standards. Driving between Kamloops and Sun Peaks will take around 45 minutes. If you would prefer to take a shuttle, I highly recommend Mostly Mental Shuttles who I used throughout my stay at Sun Peaks.
PARKING AT SUN PEAKS
Sun Peaks has parking at the base area and at the bottom of Burfield Chair. Parking at Sun Peaks is free but overnight stays in the car park are prohibited. If you have accommodation in the village, they will have dedicated overnight parking.
HOW TO GET TO SUN PEAKS
INTERNATIONAL
To fly into Sun Peaks from outside of Canada you will need to get a connecting flight. Kamloops Airport has regular connections with the larger international airports in Vancouver and Calgary. You can also fly via Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton or Toronto into Kelowna Airport. Transfers from Kelowna will cost more as it is a further two hours from Sun Peaks.
SUN PEAKS ACCOMMODATION
The Village at Sun Peaks has lots of great hotels and lodges. During my time in Sun Peaks I spent time staying at the Sun Peaks Grand Hotel, a four star hotel on the foot of the slopes. There are many accommodation options for different budgets at Sun Peaks including the Sun Peaks Hostel, and the Peaks Bed and Breakfast. Most of the accommodation is situated in the village a short walk from the slopes however the hostel is closer to the Burfield Chair.
The Sun Peaks Village is very clearly European inspired with buildings that would not look out of place in Austria or Switzerland.If you stay in the village the Main Street remains snow covered throughout winter ensuring it is possible to ski from your accommodation to the lifts.
Away from the village centre it is possible to stay in East Village. East Village consists of many private accommodation rentals, mainly self-catering condos or houses. East Village is even more convenient with the introduction of the Orion chairlift.
SUN PEAKS PROS
Sun Peaks is the second largest ski resort in Canada (over 4,000 acres) meaning there is plenty of terrain to keep you occupied.
Sun Peaks ski resort has a village feel with ski-in ski-out accommodation
Snow quality at Sun Peaks is brilliant with regular cover and top up dustings of snow.
Sun Peaks lift infrastructure is mostly modern and quick.
The Tree skiing at Sun Peaks is great with widely spaced trees around the whole mountain.
SUN PEAKS CONS
The Burfield Chairlift… please someone just rip that thing out
There is a lack of real expert terrain at Sun Peaks.
The cheaper accommodation (Sun Peaks Hostel) is a 2km walk from the village.
SUN PEAKS GALLERY
SUN PEAKS ACTIVITIES
Away from the ski lifts Sun Peaks has plenty to offer. The 30+ km of cross-country ski tracks double up as a fat-biking trail which is a fun alternative to being in the resort. The village itself has; an ice-rink, spa, outdoor pool and dog sledding in addition to a large tubing area near the village platter.
If you fancy the trip 45 minutes downhill into Kamloops, then a trip to watch the Kamloops Blazers ice-hockey team is a must. In Kamloops you will find more facilities, like large supermarkets or shopping centres that could help you during your trip.
SUN PEAKS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
IS SUN PEAKS GOOD FOR BEGINNERS
Sun Peaks is excellent for beginners with two dedicated beginners areas and some nice long green trails. At Sun Peaks beginners can move around the whole mountain as there is green terrain accessible from most chairlifts. Beginners will enjoy 5 mile, a long run that winds its way from top to bottom of Mt Tod.
WHAT IS SUN PEAKS KNOWN FOR?
Sun Peaks is probably best known for its European style village that is perfectly placed to ensure visitors can make the most of its three mountain peaks. Sun Peaks refer to this as Sun Peaks 360 due to the 360 degrees of skiing that is possible from the village. It is also pretty call that it’s possible to ski down the Main Street in Sun Peaks to the chairlifts!
WHAT IS THE LONGEST RUN AT SUN PEAKS?
Out of the 137 trails at Sun Peaks 5-mile is the longest. Not surprisingly, this green trail is 5 miles (8km) long and can be found at the top of Mt Tod.
WHERE IN BC IS SUN PEAKS?
Sun Peaks closest major city is Kamloops a town with 83,000 residents. Sun Peaks is a 45 minute drive to the North of Kamloops down the mountain road. Sun Peaks location close to Kamloops makes a trip to see the local ice hockey team, Kamloops Blazers, popular amongst guests.
HOW BIG IS SUN PEAKS RESORT?
As the second largest skiable area Sun Peaks boundary covers 4,270 acres of skiable terrain split across three mountains; Mt Tod, Sundance Mountain, and Mt Morrisey. The layout of Sun Peaks ensures crowds (if there are any) are spread out around the resort keeping lift queues to a minimum.
DOES SUN PEAKS HAVE NIGHT SKIING?
Yes, but don’t get too excited. Night skiing at Sun Peaks is an infrequent occurrence and involves the lighting of the two green slopes at the Village Platter chairlift. There is access to the lower terrain park with small features. I would love to see Sun Peaks light up Sundance Mountain for night skiing. The terrain on that mountain is perfect and would make a great addition to night-skiing.
SUN PEAKS APRÈS SKI
In general, Sun Peaks is a quiet village but there are some decent bars if you do want to dance the night away. At the base of the slopes you will find Bottoms. Check out Bottoms for their happy hour and a Canadian staple.. Poutine. As the evening gets later Bottoms changes from restaurant feel to nightclub with regularly hosted special events and DJ sets. Morrisey’s Bar in the village hosts an open mic night which is where some of the resort locals come to share their musical talent. If open mic isn’t your thing then head out back to the Morrisey’s games room, a great way to meet other people and challenge for the pool table.
GET IN TOUCH
Thanks for reading this Sun Peakls ski resort guide and I hope it has answered many of your questions. I’ve given my opinion but I’d love to hear from you in the comments or via the socials. Have you been to Sun Peaks ski resort? How does Sun Peaks compare to other BC ski resorts?