Sunshine Village, Banff

Sunshine Village offers over 3,300 acres of terrain across three mountains: Goats Eye, Lookout and Standish, and boasts 107 runs and 12 lifts.

Sunshine has a slightly unusual layout in that you park in the large parking lot at the base area and then take a 15 minute gondola ride up to the village itself. Once there, the lifts are easily accessible and the village offers the usual amenities one would expect, including bars and restaurants, ski and board rental, daycare facilities, and ski and snowboard school.

Sunshine Village also has the added bonus of the only ski-in ski-out hotel in Banff, the Sunshine Inn. Hotel guests get to ski or board for free at Sunshine Village and get free daytime transport from the Sunshine base area to Banff for the duration of their stay.

The Ski Banff-Lake Louise-Sunshine tri-area lift ticket can be used at Sunshine Village, which gives the holder free use of the shuttle bus service from Banff and Lake Louise, and also includes one free night-skiing session at Ski Norquay. Check SkiBig3 for more details.

The shuttle bus service picks up at many hotel locations in downtown Banff (daily) and from the village of Lake Louise (Sundays and Thursdays only).

In addition, Sunshine Coach (Tel: (403) 241-0443) offers a convenient daily service from Calgary and Canmore to Sunshine Village, with reservations required a day in advance. Combined bus and lift ticket rates are offered as well as discounted rates for season pass holders and Sunshine Marmot card holders.

Ski season at Sunshine Village runs from around mid November through to late May.

www.skibanff.com