Whistler in spring/summer
Discussion
Just thinking about a possible holiday to Vancouver/ BC in June or October and wondering if anyone else here has been? Basically I'll be on a 1 or 2 day pass to play around on my bike but things will be much smoother if there's something for my wife to do and there's decent lively bars / restaurants we can visit in the evening. Any thoughts and tips gratefully received!
I've been in the summer, really great place. XC mountain bike routes w high are good and big chair assisted more hardcore type stuff. Obviously load bike hire placed, from tow paths to pure downhill bikes.
The town has quite few bars and that, isn't necessarily the cheapest, but I know out of winter season prices are put down. There is a Mongolian grill place where you pay by ingredient weight, I know that's half price out of ski season. I recommend this place, especially after sone hard biking.
A great ice cream parlour called cows, some of the best ice cream I've ever had, I've eaten a lot!
There are spas and stuff. Mountain walks and waterfalls, unless your a real city dweller, it's pretty hard not to enjoy yourself!
Hope that helps!
The town has quite few bars and that, isn't necessarily the cheapest, but I know out of winter season prices are put down. There is a Mongolian grill place where you pay by ingredient weight, I know that's half price out of ski season. I recommend this place, especially after sone hard biking.
A great ice cream parlour called cows, some of the best ice cream I've ever had, I've eaten a lot!
There are spas and stuff. Mountain walks and waterfalls, unless your a real city dweller, it's pretty hard not to enjoy yourself!
Hope that helps!
I've been in the summer, really great place. XC mountain bike routes w high are good and big chair assisted more hardcore type stuff. Obviously load bike hire placed, from tow paths to pure downhill bikes.
The town has quite few bars and that, isn't necessarily the cheapest, but I know out of winter season prices are put down. There is a Mongolian grill place where you pay by ingredient weight, I know that's half price out of ski season. I recommend this place, especially after sone hard biking.
A great ice cream parlour called cows, some of the best ice cream I've ever had, I've eaten a lot!
There are spas and stuff. Mountain walks and waterfalls, unless your a real city dweller, it's pretty hard not to enjoy yourself!
Hope that helps!
The town has quite few bars and that, isn't necessarily the cheapest, but I know out of winter season prices are put down. There is a Mongolian grill place where you pay by ingredient weight, I know that's half price out of ski season. I recommend this place, especially after sone hard biking.
A great ice cream parlour called cows, some of the best ice cream I've ever had, I've eaten a lot!
There are spas and stuff. Mountain walks and waterfalls, unless your a real city dweller, it's pretty hard not to enjoy yourself!
Hope that helps!
The things to do side isn't going to be a problem.
Time of year can be. June and October are both "in between" months. In June you could get late spring/early summer days, or you could get a cloud base about 20 feet off the ground and more moisture in the air than you'd think possible!
October is the shoulder season - too late for summer and too early for winter. I've not been there at that time of year, but from what I know (we've been going there for 20+ years in winter and 15 in summer) I think the village will be mostly populated by locals rather than tourists. So quiet. Again the weather could be anything from clear crisp autumnal to wet and cold.
June is probably the better bet.
ETA: if your dates aren't locked in, and you are into MTB'ing, find out when Crankworx is on, and go there then.
Time of year can be. June and October are both "in between" months. In June you could get late spring/early summer days, or you could get a cloud base about 20 feet off the ground and more moisture in the air than you'd think possible!
October is the shoulder season - too late for summer and too early for winter. I've not been there at that time of year, but from what I know (we've been going there for 20+ years in winter and 15 in summer) I think the village will be mostly populated by locals rather than tourists. So quiet. Again the weather could be anything from clear crisp autumnal to wet and cold.
June is probably the better bet.
ETA: if your dates aren't locked in, and you are into MTB'ing, find out when Crankworx is on, and go there then.
Their MTBing season is longer than the Alps, the Bike Park opens on the 15th of May for example, the Alps doesn't get going until end of June, but they don't exactly wait until it's warm and sunny - they opened a few years ago by digging the trails out of the snow on top.
There's some great riding down the road in Squamish which is closer to Sea Level so should be warmer in June.
But sod it, take a jacket, the riding is amazing - certainly try a day in the Bike Park, even if you rent a bigger bike - it's crazy fun.
There's some great riding down the road in Squamish which is closer to Sea Level so should be warmer in June.
But sod it, take a jacket, the riding is amazing - certainly try a day in the Bike Park, even if you rent a bigger bike - it's crazy fun.
I'm in Vancouver in late June and renting a road bike with a view of tackling some of the hilly pretty bits in the whistler direction. No insight to add myself but if anybody can recommend any road highlights for a 4-6 hour ride out of Yaletown please let me know. Balls-out V-max descents would be ideal.
Gruffy said:
I'm in Vancouver in late June and renting a road bike with a view of tackling some of the hilly pretty bits in the whistler direction. No insight to add myself but if anybody can recommend any road highlights for a 4-6 hour ride out of Yaletown please let me know. Balls-out V-max descents would be ideal.
The only ride I've done out of Vancouver is the one to Whistler, which undulates to Squamish and then from there is a grind with some downhills to Whistler, but not especially steep at any point. I've driven up the road to Cypress Mtn (which is around West Vancouver), and I'd think that would fit the bill of hilly up and a demon descent. If you email La Bicicletta in Vancouver, they may be able to give you some better local ideas. ETA: thinking about it, there must be a ton of rides from North Van up to the Cypress/Grouse Mountain ridge. Probably just a case of grab a map and take your pick. NB use the pavement crossing the Lions Gate Bridge, and NOT the road!
If you can get your bike up to Whistler, the ride from the Village up the the top of the Callaghan is ok - again, not especially steep, but the descent is brilliant as it is not twisty, good road surface and excellent sight lines. Other than that, if you want steep in the Village, the service road to the top of the bobsleigh track is good for reps (although there's a barrier you have to navigate around).
More ambitiously, ride from Whistler to Pemberton (mostly downhill) and take the Duffey Lake Road towards Lilloet up to Joffrey Lakes. It's called the local Alpe d'Huez, with good reason - it's just a bit shorter and just a bit less elevation than the real thing. The beginning kicks up like you've started to ride up a ladder. That's about a 75 mile round trip from the Village and back.
Otherwise, if you just want to ride, Whistler to D'arcy and back is almost bang on 100 miles round trip.
Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 2nd March 22:27
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