Banff Sunshine Ski Resort

Banff Sunshine, set at a base-area altitude of 7,200 feet, sits high on the Continental Divide in the heart of Banff National Park, and just a 15-minute drive from the town of Banff. Sunshine’s seven-month season stretches from early November until late May, making it the longest non-glacial ski season in Canada. Sunshine boasts 3,300 of skiable terrain, covered in light, dry snow, and offers everything from gentle beginner runs to big-mountain runs for advanced skiers and riders. Sunshine can receive up to nine meters (30 feet) of snow in a season.

Where Is Sunshine Village Ski Resort Located?

Banff Sunshine Village is located 80 miles west of Calgary International Airport and 5 miles from Banff off the Trans-Canada Highway. Calgary International Airport is serviced by many different airlines, including non-stop flights from many American cities. Once there, you can rent a car or take one of the Banff shuttle buses. From Banff, there are daily shuttle buses between the town and the ski resort, which are free if you have a Sunshine Village or SkiBig3 season pass or lift ticket.

Terrain

Sunshine Village's terrain spreads across three mountains: Goats Eye, Lookout Mountain and Mount Standish. Goat’s Eye contains mostly expert terrain with challenging steeps, moguls and some tree glades. Lookout Mountain is home to some expert terrain towards the top with more intermediate and beginner trails at lower elevations. Mount Standish is predominately beginner terrain but contains some advanced terrain worth checking out.

The famous Delirium Dive is an expert's only area that requires avalanche equipment to enter. Delirium Dive is truly for the expert skier, and some lines end with mandatory cliff drops. This area and Wild West are considered to be some of the most extreme lift-accessed, in-bounds terrain in the world.

Total skiable acres are 3,360.6 acres with a base elevation of 5,450 feet and a top elevation of 8,960 feet. There is a total of 120 runs, broken out as follows: 15% beginner, 37% intermediate, 40% advanced and 7% expert. Servicing the runs are 1 gondola and 9 chairs with a lift capacity of 20,000 skiers per hour. Along with 3,510 feet of vertical, there are 2 terrain parks. The ski resort on average receives about 360 inches of snow. The ski season runs typically from early November until late May.

Head up the Continental Divide Express chairlift to Lookout Mountain and ski in two provinces on one run. Sunshine Village is Canada’s highest elevated resort with guaranteed snow conditions from December to May and an average annual snowfall of over 30 feet.

During the summer, you can catch the shuttle bus to the mountain to access its many hiking trails and alpine meadows. This resort features the only ski-in, ski-out lodge in the Banff-Lake Louise area: Sunshine Mountain Lodge.

Purchase the Marmot Card to get discounts on lift tickets at both Marmot Basin in Jasper and Banff Sunshine. You can also get free ski days as an additional amenity for buying the card.