Sunshine Village Ski

My first time back here in years. Still a beautiful place to take in the day outside. Even when it is a little chilly. There is a great clubhouse to warm up, have something to eat and maybe a bevy.

Lifts are kind of short, and usually busy. Prefer Lake Louise where lifts are longer and you ski for longer before having to go on a lift back up. LL probably has more varied terrain but lately I've been liking the snow and park at SV more

Really disappointed on the so called “opening day”. They had like no lifts opened and charged $50 for lift tickets. Also, we rented our equipments, so that’s another $80 per person. More than 50 people were on the bunny hill. People started climbing the mountain just to get to a higher elevation. The so called “park”was like the smallest playground I’ve ever seen. People left in like less than an hour. I don’t know why this happened at Banff’s biggest ski resort. If you guys are not ready then don’t promote that you guys are open. I would do my best to share my experience with others and let them know how disappointing my experience is at Sunshine Village.

They should not be open already! Do not go! The conditions are absolutely atrocious, but Louise yesterday was absolutely perfect. I can’t understand how different they are in condition. They would not refund my ticket even after 15 minutes since purchasing it. I don’t care, packing up and heading to Louise right now. Unless they refund, this post will remain. But it sounds like they won’t. Sad waste of my time. Louise here I come. DONT GO UNTIL Xmas by the conditions I experienced during one run. Atrocious.

There's a reason why they say they have "Canada's best snow"!
Spectacular views with multiple lifts to get you to the top.

You can't beat the view and the skiing was next level! The price for a lift ticket is wild. Worth it for the experience to ski in the mountains.

Not impressed like we should have been.

The mountain of course is beautiful.

The ski runs were somewhat disappointing as their seemed to be too many flat or even uphill spots on runs, I had unfortunately chosen my snowboard for this trip. Steep.flat.steep.flat.if you fall you may not have the speed to make it up the next pitch.

The biggest disappointment is the price gouging in the food areas, which explained why 80% of the locals seem to bring a bagged lunch.
$22+ for a burger in the cafeteria, and $27+ in the restaurant, and No the portions nor the appearance justify any of the prices.

They have obviously decided that earning double of each person who is willing to pay their prices, 20% of skiers, is better than earning a smaller amount off 80% of the skiers, Basically relying on the tourist dollars. A VERY SHORT TERM THINKING as I have NEVER seen so many bagged lunches, what a missed opportunity to earn far more from the majority of skiers.

This line of thinking, putting dollars ahead of experience is disappointing in the least and many other ski resorts dont do this!

Then to top it off the main eating area kept the upper area closed mon-thursday.so everyone was elbow to elbow packed in. Why? So their would be less area to clean at the end of the days. Sure, sacrafice peoples experience to save a couple of bucks.

Obviously this place is run by a scrooge putting a large profit off a small group over earning a smaller profit off of a much larger group.

The bigger picture is.earn more money overall by charging less for food, and dont close off seating areas as it comes at the expense of experience.

We will choose other ski resorts from this point forward.
No plan to return, and very surprised that more reviews dont mention this. YET!

An amazing ski hill for skiing, but have to knock a star since I'm a snowboarder and the flat sections killed me. That said the views are amazing and it's a very well run resort so almost everyone will have something to remember fondly when the leave.

Great place for skiing. Just need to add more public area to eat and to place your belongings. Is not good to place outside the door. Especially when is super windy and cold outside like yesterday. Bur other than that everything is great.

The best alpine ski resort in Alberta (imo)
A large selection of trails for anyone's taste and any skill levels - from beginners to advance and even extreme skiers, snowboarders and freeriders. Enjoy natural snow on every trail combined with panoramic views of the Canadian Rockies.
Take the Great Divide Express to the highest point ski lifts can get you to in Canada (2730 m), and use a unique opportunity to ski or snowboard in Alberta and British Columbia provinces during a single run from there.
Too cold outside? Need to warm up, but don't want to leave the hill? Jump into the Teepee Town ski lift's heated seats - the first ski lift with heated seats in Canada. When it will bring you to the top, you'll be warm enough to fully enjoy your next run.
Overwhelmed with emotions? Share them when sunbathing during your break or relaxing après-ski around fire pit that always welcomes you at the bottom of the gondola.
This resort has everything to make your day a memorable "present".

Amazing ski ing. Tickets pricey. Food really expensive. Lives up to its claim Canadas best snow

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the best, which led to low visibility. Not much of a view. Next time

Mid April, great snow, sun shone most of the day, no fresh powder but really, we got the best of early spring Sunshine!

Always the best spot in banff for skiing. Stewart L.and Colleen from their ski school are 5 star top notch! You won't find any better in North America!

Update: Still the best spot in the valley.

We are there for 3 days in Apr 2023. There are 3 mountains in this ski resorts, including all different level of runs, from family fun to experts. You can take a free shuttle to base from Banff, or drive to there with free parking lots. If you are there, the 3-hour free tour, starting from noon (12: 00), is highly recommended. I was on the tour with Doug, who is very friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. Doug told us the history of the Sunshine, how to transfer among 3 tops with different lifts, how to contribute to the environmental conservation.
We will see Sunshine next season.

Great place for skiing. Very friendly staff. No wait on any of the lifts. A variety of runs for all levels. Taken advantage of the free guided tours. We took two separate guided tours: One with Patty and another with Ginger. Very accommodating to our group of 4. They took us all over Sunshine. It helped that we have three days of real Spring Sunshine

Amazing runs for all skiers, but they are LONG. The gondola ride is great, even if you don't ski. Plenty of places to eat, drink and snack. There's even a food truck. It wasn't overly crowded, and there seemed to be plenty of storage for gear, paid or free. Didn't use the rental or shop, but everyone who used it seemed happy. Cannot wait to go back! You can even stay on the mountain!

Sunshine is a great resort. We arrived on a day with 21 cms of new snow, so that was awesome. Not about the resort itself, but Sunshine can get brutal weather. The wind was blowing and temp was -22C. That made for an exhausting day.

Excellent mountain for all abilities. Gondola from parking to the village and great choices for food and drinks.

J'adore cette montagne. Pas trop difficile, juste assez, mais il y a des pistes très difficiles a des pistes très difficiles aussi

I am a local and used to much better snow conditions on Sunshine. Don't let the total annual snowfall amount fool you. There are lots of stones, exposed terrain which is unmarked, and the ski-out (the way down the mountain to the parking lot) is atrocious. I believe it should not be recommended. Take the Gondola all the way down. This mountain requires, at present, more than a little snow every night. It requires a lot of snow, in the order of 30-60cm to alter the terrain and cover the areas needing it. I do like this mountain very much - the resort owners and employees have no control over this whatsoever. Nature just has not played a vigorous enough game this season. I will be watching the snow reports and won't be back until I note significant change.

Breathtaking views and unbelievable runs.

Went at 9AM on a Friday and it was very well organized. Main Gondola was a 5 minute wait, almost no lines at any of the lifts, conditions were immaculate.

Sunshine is a MUST if you’re looking for an unforgettable skiing experience.

Awesome place.but lack of sunshine cos it was snowing.the Chill Zones are excellent.the mountain WiFi was a total shock and very welcome