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Cross-Country Skiing at Whistler
Olympic Park in British Columbia
5 Callaghan Road, Whistler, BC V0N1B0
The Whistler Olympic Park (877-764-2455, whistlerolympicpark.com) was built for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games for the xc skiing, biathlon, ski jumping, Nordic Combined Olympic events held and Paralympic biathlon and xc ski events. The trails are surrounded by a panarama of mountain views with more than 55 km of recreational xc ski trails, 6 km of lit trails for night skiing, 20 km of snowshoe trails and 5 km of trails for roller skis.
There is a state-of-the-art day lodge and rental shop on site along with three sport stadiums for competitions and a ski play area. The Brandywine Restaurant in the lodge offers a place to relax or a healthy lunch, cup of coffee or lounging on the outdoor patio. Whistler gets plenty of sunshine and snow averaging 4 meters (12 feet) annually.
Hours of operation vary at different times of the season and night skiing on Wednesdays is 4:00 - 9:00 PM. Trail passes are $22 for an adult, $14 for youth aged 13-19, $12 for a child under 13, and $53 for a family. Night skiing after 4 PM is $15, $10, $8, and $36 respectively. A pet pass for the dog-friendly trails is $3 and backcountry skiing is $10. There are also discounted multipass books available for 3, 6, or 10 passes.
Rental equipment is available for classic or skate skiing at $31 for an adult, $18 for youth aged 13-19, and $14 for child under 13. Snowshoes are $22, $17, and $13 respectively. Classic or skate ski lessons are $32 in an hour group lesson. They are $52 with a trail pass and $72 for a package with rentals, lesson, and the pass.
Biathlon lessons are $85 with gear, $20 without skiing, and $5 per extra clip of ammo.
Directions: From Vancouver take Highway 99 and from the traffic lights in Squamish go 39 km to the large blue recreation site sign. Take a left at the Callaghan Valley Road and go 9 km. CCSAA member