Sunshine Village and Lake Louise are the two major ski areas located close to the town of Banff. These resorts offer true Canadian skiing, set in the impressive jagged peaks of the Rockies. Sunshine Village has impressive snowcover each winter and the terrain is a nice mix for all levels.

Choosing which mountain to ski can be a bit difficult (though make sure you get to both while there!) Banff and Lake Louise are both surrounded by spectacular scenery, and offer equally good value lodging, so it's essentially convenience versus resort facilities and atmosphere. Banff's main street is lined with hotels, restaurants, bars and souvenir shops. The buildings are thankfully low-rise and many have wooden clapboard facades, though in terms of character Banff is certainly no true western town. It's a 45 minute drive from the largest ski area (Lake Louise); 20 minutes from Sunshine; 10 minutes from the limited Mount Norquay slopes. In contrast, Lake Louise village is only 5 minutes from the ski area of the same name. But "village" is rather too grand a term for its tiny collection of buildings by a busy railway track. 5 minutes away is the lake itself which is nowhere near as pretty winter as in summer. The ski shuttle service isn't the best so we recommend car-hire to all clients. If you don't want to drive after a long flight, we will put you in a Calgary airport hotel and you can pick up the car the following morning.