An Epic Guide to the B.C. Powder Highway

Nestled in the southeastern corner of British Columbia, the Powder Highway offers a unique blend of majestic mountain landscapes, vibrant towns, and world-class ski resorts. This circular route is a dream come true for ski enthusiasts, with its deep powder, varied terrains, and welcoming communities.
Each ski resort along the Powder Highway boasts its own distinctive charm, making it a must-visit for anyone looking to experience the pinnacle of skiing in Canada. While the route has seven resorts on the route, it’s five of the resorts that stand out in our books. Together they offer the best skiing in North America and some of the best in the world.
Guide To Powder Highway

Our picks on the Powder Highway
You can’t really go wrong on the Powder Highway, but we definitely have some favorites. The resorts are somewhat ranked below, but that’s entirely subjective to the rider or skiers ability level.
- Best Resorts: Whitewater, Red, & Fernie
- Best Snow: Whitewater & Revelstoke
- Best Terrain: Kicking Horse, Whitewater, & Revelstoke
- Best Towns: Rossland, Fernie, Nelson
Whitewater Ski Resort & Nelson

Whitewater Ski Resort, near the town of Nelson, is a hidden gem renowned for its abundant snowfall and laid-back atmosphere. It still has that old-school charm that’s tough to find with the corporate giants. While you find many high-speed lifts and on mountain huts the people who ski and ride at Whitewater are in no rush to see it change. It’s a powder Mecca for diehards as it receives nearly 12 meters of snow every season .

The resort offers a myriad of challenging terrains that cater to advanced skiers while also providing ample opportunities for beginners to learn and enjoy. It’s best known for its exceptional tree-skiing, which it has in abundance. The terrain here is playful, with steep bowls, tees, and no shortage of pillows and drops. We haven’t hit the resort on a powder day, but judging its terrain, it’s the stuff of legends.


We came expecting the legendary terrain, but what also surprised us was the family-friendly nature of the hill. On any given weekend, you’ll see all the local families enjoying the groomers or the little groms tearing down the mountain. The “resort” is exactly what you want from skiing in B.C. However, the natural beauty of the steep alpine bowl in which the resort may be the best and most surprising. After you finish up at the hill just make sure to stop in Coal Oil Johnny’s Pub for apres-ski and excellent food.

Nelson is a bustling cultural hub known for its eclectic arts scene, free-spirited vibes, mountain biking, charming shops, and great eateries. Visitors can explore the town’s historic streets or unwind in its cozy cafes. The Oso Negro Café shop is a can’t miss coffee shop. The friendly locals and lively community events add to the town’s charm, making it a perfect complement to the outdoor adventures at Whitewater.
Revelstoke Mountain Resort & Revelstoke

Of all our favorite ski resorts, we talk a lot about Revy. We love it so much that we’ve been every season since our first visit and even spent a season in town. Similar to many of the resorts on the Powder Highway, it’s a big mountain that begs to be explored, with a ton of “local’s secrets” and exceptional skiing. Also, naturally, it receives a lot of snow, nearly 12 meters every season.
The skiers and snowboarders on this mountain can rip. It’s common to see someone tear down the mountain and huck a backflip off a cat track under the Stoke Chair. With only 93 marked runs and enormous terrain, it’s a mountain where you find your own line. The mountain is renowned for its outstanding free-ride terrain, tree skiing, and big mountain backcountry runs.



Revelstoke has one big downside. Despite being called Revelstoke Mountain Resort, it’s not a good resort. The terrain is primarily ungroomed and not ideal for beginners or intermediate riders. Most of its “green” runs are essentially just cat tracks. It also lacks the technical steep lines you’ll find at Kicking Horse. That said, there are still very tough lines to be found with creativity.

The town has its charms but lacks the same vibes you’ll find at most other towns along the Powder Highway. Revelstoke is far from the prettiest Canadian ski town, and while there are a handful of hotels, cabins, and restaurants, it still leaves a little to be desired. Visitors can’t miss The Village Idiot, one of our favourite apres-ski bars in the world. If you’re after great skiing, head to Revy, but if you want a great town, head to Fernie, Nelson, or Rossland.
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort & Golden

Ask any well-traveled skier, and they’ll likely share that Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is the most challenging mountain they’ve ever skied. Renowned for its dramatic peaks and powder, it attracts advanced, expert skiers looking for a challenge. Get lucky enough to catch the mountain on a powder day, and you’ll talk about it for the rest of your life.

Although the mountain does not receive as much snow as the other powder destinations on the highway, it makes up for this with fewer crowds and far more difficult terrain. Since most runs require work to access by traversing or hiking from the top gondola, you can often find snow days after the last snowfall. It feels like lift-accessed backcountry skiing within the confines of a resort.

On that note, Kicking Horse is not a beginner’s mountain! It features crazy double black diamond chutes and bowls. Over half of the runs on the mountain are either rated as black or double black, making it an advanced and expert rider’s paradise. There is little wonder that Freeride World Tour makes its only North American stop at the resort.

Golden is a small, charming town with some really welcoming locals. It has great access to the Purcells, Selkirks, and Canadian Rockies. We’ve grown to love it over the years, but don’t expect anything luxurious about the town. Unlike the development happening in nearby Revelstoke, Golden remains a working town, albeit a nice one.
Fernie Alpine Resort & Fernie

Numerous sites and magazines, including National Geographic, have named Fernie one of the best ski towns in the world. It’s historically a mining town and was voted the “Best Little Town in B.C.” for a good reason. It’s such an awesome little mountain town with restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, and plenty of outdoor stores. Locals take recreation seriously, that’s because the ski in this town is legendary.

Fernie has to be the best all-rounder when it comes to the Powder Highway. It has something for everyone, from beginners to experts. The resort receives a respectable 7 meters of snow annually, which falls on a wealth of terrain. Fernie Alpine Resort spans over 2,504 acres, including five large bowls, ridges, and meadows. Exploring all the mountain has to offer would take a season at least, with countless options for new lines.



The downside of Fernie is its very fickle weather and relatively short season compared to other resorts in the area. In the middle of February, we’ve ridden across puddles of water and worn trash bags to stop the old lifts from dripping oil on our ski jackets. This is because the resort sits in a “rainforest” with heavy amounts of precipitation, either heavy rain or heavy snow.

That being said, like many of our favorite ski resorts in B.C., Fernie feels like stepping back in time, and it remains one of our ski resorts in Canada. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that they shot the cult classic “Hot Tub Time Machine” at the resort. If you do make it to the resort you have to check out the legendary apres-ski bar the Griz Bar which perfectly encapsulates the spirit of Fernie.
Red Mountain Resort & Rossland

Red Mountain Resort is everything we love about skiing and it’s mountain well suited for any ability level. The resort is perfectly complemented by the small and charming town of Rossland. The old-school resort is beloved by families and it has some excellent groomers that offer excellent skiing for intermediates and beginners.




The ski area gets around 750cm of snow a season and is well known for its surprisingly challenging terrain. It has a huge variety of terrain that is often deceptively steep. Experts will not be disappointed as there is no shortage of pillows and drop. It’s big, too, with 3,850 acres of skiable terrain that fans out across three mountains—Red, Granite, and Grey.

When the snow starts to fall, it often dumps, making for epic powder days. We’ve spent days here in January on a powder day lapping the chairs with absolutely no lines. Days there can be a bit quiet, and there aren’t a wealth of restaurants or hotels, but the ski more than makes up for it.

With its rustic charm and open spaces, Red Mountain offers a refreshing escape from larger, commercialized resorts. Rossland, the nearby town, is a charming, historic community with a rich mining history. Visitors can explore its quaint streets, albeit they aren’t much! Rossland’s friendly residents and relaxed vibe create a welcoming environment, making it a great place to unwind after a day on the slopes.
Roger’s Pass

While it’s not a resort, Rogers Pass is the apex of powder skiing in Canada. The notorious pass is likely the snowiest place in Canada, and the rugged Selkirk Mountains provide no shortage of legendary descents and lines. If huge powder-filled faces, tight chutes, hair-raising couloirs, and pillow lines are your fancy, then look no further. It’s little wonder that every pro skier and rider who dabbles in the backcountry has skied a line in Rogers Pass.
The only way to access the ski here is through incredibly complex terrain even the simplest tour requires traveling across avalanche paths. Add in to the fact that the snowpack alternates between continental and intermountain snowpack conditions it can make avalanche conditions touchy to say the least.
The pass is a critical piece of national infrastructure and uses live ordinance from the military to keep the roads and train lines through the pass safe. Due to this Parks Canada has a strict winter travel permit that all recreating must have. The Winter Permit is free to acquire, but requires a test to ensure all winter travellers are aware of the avalanche control works conducted in the pass.
There have been too many unfortunate accidents that have claimed the lives of the skiers and snowboarders. We highly recommend anyone visiting to hire a guide from Revelstoke or Golden. Capow based out of Revelstoke is a great option .
Honourable Mentions
Big White Mountain Resort

Big White is not on the Powder Highway and is a destination in itself. However, on our last trip along the highway we added it on to our itinerary. The ski resort has long been loved by Canadians and those in the know looking for a full-service resort perfect for families. It has the largest ski-in-ski-out community in Canada and has a ton of short-term rental available for visitors. This makes it exceptionally popular with families, and we don’t blame them.


While it’s not along the powder circuit it still receives similar levels of snow that is known as “Okanagan Champagne.” The ski here is great, but not as exceptional as the resorts listed above on the Powder Highway. Granted, only experts and advanved skiers would be able to discern the difference. In fact, we’d say most skiers and riders would greatly appreciate the more approachable terrain at Big White.

You can’t mention Big White without touching on the mountain’s notable collection of snow ghosts on the summit. The mellow terrain along the summit and often white-out conditions form the natural phenomenon beloved on social media. It’s also the mountain’s only weakness as visibility can often be pretty poor, but that’s not a problem on the resort’s tree-lined groomers.

The well laid out resort is certainly a hit with families or those seeking an affordable ski-in-ski-out holiday. It’s also worth noting there is no town or village near the resort, instead visitors are limited to resort amenities with most choosing to self-cater in a rental. There are a few on-mountain restaurants and bars in town.
Panorama Mountain Resort

Panorama is a hidden secret in the Purcell Mountain range on the Powder Highway. Panorama is a quiet mountain tucked away in the Purcells with excellent terrain and an impressive vertical drop. It’s a modern resort with decent lift infrastructure and an excellent selection of holiday rentals at the base. The Purcells are a real sleeper too, as they are gorgeous mountains!

It’s a great family resort with beautifully groomed runs ranging from beginner to intermediate. Advanced skiers will largely be confined to mogul runs unless they’re ready for big ski terrain. As Panorama Resort operates on a former heli-ski area, it has some extreme terrain, such as the Extreme Dream Zone, a long ridge with alpine and steep tree skiing. There is also the Tayton Bowl, which can be accessed by snowcat when the conditions are good.
Panorama’s largest issue lies with its unfortunate location, as the mountain receives a lot of sunshine and moderate snowfall. The average season will see a healthy blanket of snow, but it’s often firm and icy from the sun. We’ve never been fortunate enough to visit Panorama in ideal conditions, but on a powder day, we have no doubt it would be a blast. We find none of the headaches of a busy resort at Panorama, as only the two small towns of Invermere and Radium Hot Springs are nearby.
Kimberly Mountain Resort

Kimberley is a great little resort because it is unassuming. Unlike Fernie, Kicking Horse, or Revelstoke, there are no massive bowls, famed double blacks, or white knuckle glades to scare your ski pants off. Instead, it is a magical, simple, and quiet mountain perfect for ripping a groomer or letting your kids have fun without fearing they’ll fall off a cliff.

If you like gladed runs, you’ll love Kimberley. The tree-lined runs off the Black Forest are a real treat. It was arguably our quietest time on pistes as we never saw another skier or snowboarder in our path. If you’re looking for our favorite run on the mountain, it would be Vortex. It’s a tree-lined run in the Black Forest area with a natural half-pipe perfect for snowboarders and skiers.
Hitting The Powder Highway In A Camper

Traveling the Powder Highway in an RV with was an unforgettable experience. There is no doubt it takes some work learning how to manage an RV with a winter trip, but by the end of the week we were getting used to the experience. We rented a Canadream Winter RV for the adventure, and it turned out to be the a great way to explore the Powder Highway. The RV was a home away from home, and we felt comfy and cozy.

Along the route we parked at a mix of campsites and ski resort parking lots, always staying close to the mountain. The new campsites at Whitewater were a real highlight as they have amazing access and is in such a serene spot. It was like having a ski-in-ski-out condo at a mountain with no on-mountain accommodation, it was awesome. I love to cook and we cooked all our meals in the kitchen, which made the trip feel even more intimate.

The RV came with everything we needed—from a full stove and fridge to a shower and toilet. The grey/black water had me nervous to deal with, but it really wasn’t too bad. It was incredibly convenient to be able to relax, enjoy a home-cooked meal, and unwind after a long day of skiing. It was like having a ski-in-ski-out condo that you could move anywhere!

The RV was fully winterized, which was essential for our trip. With the snow and freezing temperatures, the added features like insulating blankets, a heater, and arctic mats to prevent the water tanks from freezing kept everything running smoothly. It really allowed us to focus on the skiing.
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Plan Your Trip to the Canadian Rockies
- Recommended Experiences: There are many things to do in the Rockies, but our top recommendation is the Banff Gondola – a must do experience! If you want to get active, consider snowshoeing on top of the world. Lastly, enjoy nighttime in Banff on this Sunset and Stars Tour!
- Want an all in one tour? Pursuit is running this special Winter Wonder tour on weekends!
- Transport in the winter: If you don’t want to drive to Banff in the winter, we totally get it. To avoid this book with the Banff Airporter.
- Hotels in the Rockies: There are many places to stay, from luxury hotels to wilderness cabins. See all our favorites here.
- Get Around: We suggest renting a car to get around. You can search for rental cars on Rentalcars.com. For a campervan trip, you can check prices and compare on Outdoorsy.
- We can help you plan your 2025 trip to Western Canada! If you’re feeling overwhelmed by planning we can assist! We’ll personally go over your itinerary, hop on a 1 on 1 phone call, or create a bespoke itinerary just for you! See our services here.