Sunshine Village Reviews & Ratings

Love the place & tucked at the border of Alberta & BC so the snow is always good, but you need to take the gondola to reach the resort which provides a perfect view for the surrounding mountains.

Sunshine has the best snow quality in the Alberta Bow Valley. We enjoy skiing at Sunshine 3 to 5 times a year on top of the twice weekly skiing we do at other mountains. The variety in terrain, variety in lifts, expansive ski runs and high quality ski instruction makes this our favorite mountain in western Canada! At the beginning and end of the season, Sunshine is often the only viable skiing option as theyre quick to get their base built up and are often blessed with huge dumps of fresh snow on a regular basis. Often, when we sign up for a group ski lesson for our 6 and 9 year old (who are ski racers), they end up getting all day private lessons and an exclusive tour of the mountain, making them that much more passionate about skiing. The adults enjoy the lodge for its food and beverage options that is ever-evolving. Sunshines coffee offering recently got upgraded to Monogram coffee (our favorite roaster) as well!

Easy access from Calgary. Great options for lift ticket discounts. A lot of options for varying terrain depending on skill level. Rarely are there line ups at the lift. Called Sunshine for a good reason, incredible views on those blue bird days. Can't beat Trappers for a beverage and a bite at lunch time. Ski out is great to finish the day to get you back to the parking lot.

Sunshine has a wide variety of terrain for all skill levels. This hill is open the longest until the Canadian May long weekend. I find it doesn't have great snow coverage until closer to Christmas. Lots of places to eat or bring your own lunch, but beware of where you end up skiing so that you can end up where your lunch is. Love the ski out, one of my favorite things to do here. Price is a bit high and initial line-up at the gondola is usually long. Thankfully there's a shuttle bus in the parking lot since it can be a long walk. Very close to Banff which is nice for visitors or stay at the hill.

Sunshine is a great resort for new skiers and experts. Plenty of groomed runs to learn on, plenty of tree runs, lots of powder. Theres a few quick hikes well worth it, if youre not up to the hikes theres a seemingly endless amount of runs to try with great features. With two mountains at this resort the terrain varies making each run different then the last. There is many parks at sunshine with unique features and stuff you wont see anywhere else.

I skied at sunshine 6 times this season and was very pleased with the service and runs. The terrain park is well maintained and black and double black zones were very good conditions until the season started to come to a close. There were never any delays while I was present. The ski school instructors taught my first time skier friend and in 2 days he was competent on blue and green runs. I look forward to next ski season.

Understand, this is an Alberta hill. The snow in 'berta is never comparable. THAT BEING SAID, frankly I think Sunshine slaps. It's 4 mountains converging into a valley, so this Alberta hill holds its snow vastly longer than the others and as a result hosts an impressive Slush Cup. You take a gondola to get up to the actual ski area, and you have to arrive first thing in the morning if you want to park in the lot (otherwise it's shuttle life for you) and not get stuck in a horrific gondola line, but once you're up there, there are so many places to go that is rarely feels as crowded as other hills. The views are also spectacular, and there are some seriously challenging terrain that even has a separate area so noobs can't accidentally wander over. You can stay on the hill now - as there's a hotel up there as well as a chalet and a pub, both of which get pretty crowded, and with the gondola there's no tailgating option. You can ski down to the parking lot area instead of taking the gondola - can be absolutely littered with people but it's always a fun option and there's a base chalet at the gondola as well. Overall a great hill for everyone (if you don't mind the rattle of skis on Alberta ice).

Great resort close to Banff, so there are a lot of options for staying and shopping. Can be pricey in this regard.

The green and blue runs are good but not very long and it seems like there are a lot of flat areas.

Restaurants have limited space and get crowded. Runs can be crowded but not terrible if you avoid weekends and holidays. More modern lifts than some of the competitors.

My favourite ski village for all round ski and after ski. Very friendly and the food is good. P.s. don't tell anybody it's our secret.!!!

We have been skiing/boarding at Sunshine for 17 years and tried Jan/Feb/March and April skiing. Our favourite is spring skiing at Sunshine, it never fails to provide powder every other day, runs are well maintained and theres plenty of mountain for all levels of ability.
Theres always backcountry, Delirium Dive and the Wild West for this a bit more adventurous.

Highly recommend Sunshine for all age groups. Ski school is brilliant as is Tiny Tigers, weve used it all in our 17 years of visiting. Weve had group lessons and individual lessons or you can use the mountain guides.

Plenty of eating places to suit your pocket and taste too or bring your own youre very welcome to.

If you stay on the hill you can experience Sunshine Hotel, highly recommend a loft suite, what a view to wake up to. The hotel is cosy, great service and plenty of food options. Weve stayed on many occasions over the years.

Nice sized resort, with good bus links to and from the mountain, as it it a fair distance from the town of Banff. If you have a car then its perfect with the car park shuttle service too.

Polite workforce. Good skiing, the runs are a bit shorter than what Im used to in Europe. The mountain does cater for all, with pisted, untouched terrain for touring, parks and theyve done the best they could with what theyve been given snowfall wise this year.

The resort becomes very busy on public holidays and weekends. Best time to go is midweek. Its mid April now and although its hot, the mountain is still providing good skiing.

Tips would be if youre bringing a bag, leave that at the mid station tent. That way you can always get back to it on a ski out, rather than have to go up the mountain to come down when youre finished.

Really great place. Family friendly. Tree runs are awesome.
Friendly and helpful staff. Visited in January and the snow was unbelievably good

A lot of flat spots for a snowboarder. It's better to tie in short laps. The ski out conditions often suck because of lower altitude. Good place to learn. Very exposed

Back in Banff after 14yrs away and it didnt disappoint. This time around I had my 14yr & 6yr old daughters with me. Its the best ever ski holiday were their words. The ski school was excellent in Sunshine Village, so much so we booked extra days for youngest and also private tuition for myself and eldest daughter in the moguls, using same instructor she had in ski school. Vast improvement on my mogul skiing which wasnt good to start, but finished session on black mogul runs. banff itself is a fantastic town, the elk & avenue was excellent, large rooms and excellent restaurant. Plenty to do on day off, we went dog sledging with snowy owl dog tours, and sightseeing around banff. Two weeks was too short. Also a mention to Lake Louise ski school who were great, but kids preferred sunshine resort, plus shorter bus transfer. Already looking at booking for next year.

I went to Sunshine as one of many resorts on our trip across Canada we all agreed that this mountain was the most fun and best experience to ride on

An awesome resort with some of the best snow Canada has to offer. So many great lifts and great runs that there is something for everybody to ski, with beginners and experts able to go up the same lift and find their separate ways down.

The advanced and expert runs at Sunshine are unbelievable. So much powder and reliable snow to offer a great skiing experience. Beginner and blue trails are also great with the groomers being maintained to an excellent condition.

The resort has such a family friendly atmosphere and there are so many great people who work on the hill who are always happy to help out or answer any questions.

The only downfalls Sunshine Village has is a few flat spots in several key places, which can be hard to avoid or maintain momentum, and the fact that only 1 chairlift has footrests, which really makes a difference.

Apart from that, the skiing is amazing, with good value for money and an enjoyable skiing experience for all.

Sunshine is a really great hill. Its very spread out so lift lines and crowdedness are never a problem. No matter what chair you go on you have your options for which park you want to hit. New or pro there will be challenging features for everyone. It covers many mountains giving tons of different options for terrain styles. Its a super sweet mountain and you cant have a bad day here.