What's on in Whistler, Canada through the year

Peak crowds — Christmas and New Year peak, Winter / Christmas break in Canada

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Ski season (25 Nov – 18 May (usually)), Sea to Sky highway closures (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)), Christmas and New Year peak (18 Dec – 4 Jan)

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ski season (25 Nov – 18 May (usually)), Sea to Sky highway closures (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — March break / semaine de relâche in Canada

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ski season (25 Nov – 18 May (usually)), Sea to Sky highway closures (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — World Ski and Snowboard Festival

• Festival

  World Ski and Snowboard Festival

  6–12 AprMajor festivalCrowded

  A week of spring skiing, big air and free concerts in the village in early April, at the point in the season when the days are long and the snow is soft. Source ↗

• Closure

  Whistler Mountain closes

  19 Apr

  Whistler Mountain and the Peak 2 Peak gondola shut in the third week of April; Blackcomb carries the last month of the season on its own. Source ↗

Still on: Ski season (25 Nov – 18 May (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Opening

  Bike park season

  15 May – 12 Oct · usuallyTrail season

  The lift-served downhill park opens with the melt and runs to Thanksgiving, which is the other half of the Whistler economy and the busier half in August. Source ↗

• Nature

  Black bears on the mountain

  20 May – 15 Oct · usuallyWildlife seasonRisk

  Sixty-odd bears live on the two mountains and are visible from the lifts and the golf courses from the melt onward, most obviously in spring on the new grass and in autumn on the berries.

Still on: Ski season (25 Nov – 18 May (usually))

Busy — Summer break in Canada, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Bike park season (15 May – 12 Oct (usually)), Black bears on the mountain (20 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Crankworx, Summer break in Canada

• Season

  Alpine hiking season

  1 Jul – 5 Oct · usuallyTrail season

  The high trails only clear in late June or July. Garibaldi and the alpine above the village are the summer, and they are under snow for eight months.

• Hazard

  Wildfire smoke

  20 Jul – 10 Sep · usuallySmoke season

  Smoke from interior British Columbia fires drifts into the valley for days at a time in late summer and flattens the view from the Peak 2 Peak. Bad years close the bike park for the air, not the fire. Source ↗

• Festival

  Crankworx

  24 Jul – 2 AugMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Ten days of mountain bike racing and slopestyle at the end of July. The village is at capacity, and it is the busiest week of the Whistler summer. Source ↗

Still on: Bike park season (15 May – 12 Oct (usually)), Black bears on the mountain (20 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Crankworx, Summer break in Canada

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Bike park season (15 May – 12 Oct (usually)), Black bears on the mountain (20 May – 15 Oct (usually)), Alpine hiking season (1 Jul – 5 Oct (usually)), Wildfire smoke (20 Jul – 10 Sep (usually)), Crankworx (24 Jul – 2 Aug)

Busy — Summer break in Canada

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Bike park season (15 May – 12 Oct (usually)), Black bears on the mountain (20 May – 15 Oct (usually)), Alpine hiking season (1 Jul – 5 Oct (usually)), Wildfire smoke (20 Jul – 10 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Bike park season (15 May – 12 Oct (usually)), Black bears on the mountain (20 May – 15 Oct (usually)), Alpine hiking season (1 Jul – 5 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  The rain month

  1–25 Nov · usuallyOff-season shutdownRisk

  The village spends November as a rain gauge while the snow piles up above it, out of reach. Booking the first three weeks is paying alpine prices for a wet forest.

• Opening

  Ski season opens

  20 Nov

  Whistler Blackcomb targets 20 November for the 2026/27 season, conditions permitting. Source ↗

• Season

  Ski season

  25 Nov – 18 May · usually

  Two mountains and the longest season in North America: Whistler runs to late April, Blackcomb into May, and the base can be raining while the alpine is fine.

Peak crowds — Christmas and New Year peak, Winter / Christmas break in Canada

• Hazard

  Sea to Sky highway closures

  1 Dec – 15 Mar · usuallyAvalanche seasonClosures

  Highway 99 is the only road in, and snow, rockfall and avalanche control shut it for hours several times a winter. Winter tyres are a legal requirement on it from October. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year peak

  18 Dec – 4 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The dearest fortnight of the Whistler year, booked months out, with ski school and rentals gone before you arrive. Early-season cover rarely matches what people are paying for. Source ↗

Still on: Ski season (25 Nov – 18 May (usually))