A RESORT FOR ALL SEASONS
Sun Peaks an adventurer’s paradise
Quickly. Name the fastest growing municipality in British Columbia.
Unless you are already a happy denizen of the Sun Peaks community, whose population grew 66 per cent between 2011 and 2016, chances are that wasn’t your guess.
And this hidden gem of a fourseason resort town — one of Canada’s largest ski areas with 1,728 hectares across three skiable peaks (Tod, Sundance, and Morrisey) around an intimate, ski-in/ski-out village — is expected to continue growing. It has its own on-hill K-12 school, and just launched a $3-million upgrade to on-hill food and daylodge services.
Sun Peaks, with 615 full-time residents, is 56 kilometres from Kamloops in the Thompson Okanagan region. Its mayor, Al Raine — husband of longtime resident and former Olympic skier Nancy Greene Raine (who still leads mountain peak hikes) — expects the number to grow to 1,000 by the next census.
The population jumps to 4,000plus during peak winter season, staying in 1,500 residential units (from ski chalets, townhomes, and condos) with 4,000 beds.
And its summer reputation is growing. There’s the 3,500 to 4,000 visitors drawn to its annual Alpine Blossom Festival; mountain bikers getting 610 metres of lift-accessed vertical and 40 distinct trails; and golfers discovering the championship course (at 1,200 metres elevation, B.C.’s highest).
“From the moment you arrive in Sun Peaks, you park your car and are done,” says Kyle Taylor of Tourism Sun Peaks. “Everything is walkable, accessible.”
It is also multi-generational friendly with all three mountains having beginner to expert runs from the tops.
“You never have to wait more than five minutes in a lift line,” Taylor says.
For the first time in nearly a decade, the resort is adding 24 new luxury residential units in the village centre, called Village Walk.
“A lot of people say Sun Peaks is what Whistler Blackcomb was like 25 years ago.”
The overall Thompson-Okanagan region has long been a popular playground, which boasts warm lakes and winery regions like Kelowna, Penticton and Osoyoos. Howard Grieve of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) says the region continues to see strong visitor numbers.
“There are beaches, lakes, golf courses, wineries — those are really strong motivators.”
In the Kamloops region alone there are 13 golf courses (eight championship establishments including Sun Peaks’), with 79 courses (25 championship) in the Thompson-Okanagan.