Sea to Sky Gondola Opens for Winter Season
Squamish attraction offers holiday and family-friendly activities galore.
Winter is a season when family fun and holiday activities seem to fill the cold days with laughter and smiles. There are parties, songs, walks in enchanted snow-covered woods, sliding, Christmas events, food and so much more to look forward to each year. And in Squamish—just 45 minutes north of downtown Vancouver— there’s one amazingly scenic spot where you can find it all in one place… and at 885 metres above sea level.
The critically acclaimed Sea to Sky Gondola opens for its winter season on December 4, bringing a plethora of Christmas events and familyfriendly holiday activities and fun for everyone.
“The weekend we open, we’ll be offering brunch and photos with Santa,” says Sea to Sky Gondola General Manager Kirby Brown, explaining the attraction’s Spirit of Christmas program. “The lodge will be decorated like an old-fashioned Christmas, and we will have an outdoor Christmas market as well.”
The Spirit of Christmas program also features a monthlong schedule of holiday concerts and performances, special storytimes for kids, traditional fondue dinners and more.
“We’ve really gone big on choirs this year,” says Brown. “It’s always very popular and really sets the mood for the season.”
But for Brown, the winter season is all about getting outside and having fun.
“We want to be a gateway to experience winter and that sense of play,” he explains. “Come up, build a snow fort, tramp around in the snow or go for a winter walk in the forest and have a good time… and then have hot chocolate.”
Brown says that visitors are sure to enjoy walking the decorated Spirit Trail for a Christmas Forest Walk, or—weather permitting—any number of winter activities while overlooking Howe Sound and the beautiful Coast Mountain range.
“Snowshoeing, ski touring for experienced backcountry enthusiasts, or just making a snowball… it’s a completely different world up here in winter,” he says. “And families will of course love our tube park, because everyone remembers sliding as the ultimate winter activity. So, when people come up here, it’s as if suddenly this whole new world of outdoor winter play just opens up for them.”
The Sea to Sky Gondola opens daily on December 4 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and crampons, tubes and snowshoes are all available for rent at the Summit Lodge. For more information and a full schedule for events, go to seatoskygondola.com.